We just got some new Mac Minis last week. I helped one user to set one up with a Dell 30″ monitor. We used the included Mini-DVI to DVI adapter to connect the Mac Mini and the monitor. When the machine was up and running, we found that the maximum resolution is only 1280×800 which is way to low.
I first thought it’s software related, so I tried different software to use customary resolutions. The software I tried are ResSwitchX and DisplayConfigX. They did allow me to define resolutions, but neither of them would let me use the monitor’s native resolution 2560×1600. I then checked the spec of the Mac Mini and found that I need a Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter to connect it to a 30″ monitor.
The adapter is kinda expensive at $99.00. I cannot seem to find a cheaper 3rd party alternative. After we got the adapter connected, we were able to get the native 2560×1600 resolution. Note that the adapter is not plug and play, you might need to reboot your Mac to get it to work.
