Q&A: Radius PrecisionColor Display/21

Mac G3/G4 (OS X or OS 9)

Question: Can I use a Radius PrecisionColor Display/21 (PCD/21) 21" Monitor with an Apple G4 or G3 under OS 9.x or OS X?

Short Answer: Yes.

Detailed Answer:
   Although you can not access all the possible display resolutions and refresh rates via the display's menu-bar drop down (OS X), or the monitors control strip module (OS 9.x), you can get at all of them through the Displays system pane (OS X), or the Monitors control panel (OS 9.x) if you insure that "Show Modes Recommended by the Display" check box is off. Note that the PCD/21" does not support mode-recommendations (i.e. - it does not provide feedback to the computer of which modes it can handle, as that is a feature that became standard at a later time and was originally handled by the video cable when the PCD/21 was released). You may require a different video cable between the card and the monitor if your cable is 'hard-wired' to a specific resolution or if you are using a 5 BNC to Mac video cable with a VGA adaptor on the end; any good quality 5-BNC connectors to VGA cable will work.

  The following resolutions are supported by the NVDA GeForce2 TwinView video card, the card that shipped on many G4's:

PCD 21" supported/unsupported resolutions offered on the GeForce 2 video card, and comments:

1920 x 1200 @ 76 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
 
1920 x 1080 @ 72 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
 
1600 x 1200 @ 85 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
1600 x 1200 @ 75 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
1600 x 1200 @ 70 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1600 x 1200 @ 65 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1600 x 1200 @ 60 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
 
1600 x 1024 @ 76 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
 
1280 x 1024 @ 85 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
1280 x 1024 @ 75 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
 
1280 x 960 @ 85 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1280 x 960 @ 75 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1280 x 960 @ 60 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
 
1152 x 870 @ 75 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
 
1024 x 768 @ 85 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1024 x 768 @ 75 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1024 x 768 @ 70 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
1024 x 768 @ 60 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
 
800 x 600 @ 85 Hz -- Support Natively by PCD/21"
800 x 600 @ 75 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
800 x 600 @ 72 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
800 x 600 @ 60 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED -- SEE NOTE A!
 
640 x 480 @ 85 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
640 x 480 @ 75 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"
640 x 480 @ 60 Hz -- NOT SUPPORTED BY PCD/21"

NOTE A -- The only real problem with using a PCD/21" with the G4's equipped with the GeForce2 card is this particular resolution (800 x 600 at 60 Hz refresh rate). This resolution is considered a "recommended default" resolution, and thus when switching into it, you will not get a confirmation dialog, even though the monitor doesn't support the resolution. Result: black screen, without the ability to switch back automatically.
   There are a couple solutions to this conundrum. The first is to try to click sucessfully on a supported resolution and hit return between each click, in the hopes that while clicking on the screen that you can't see, you will sucessfully click another resolution that your PCD/21 can use. This is a pretty crappy solution, but sometimes it's all you've got.
   The second solution applies if you own QuicKeys. Set the monitor to 800 x 600 @ 85 hz (a supported resolution) and then create a mouse sequence (called Mouse Actions in QuicKeys for OS X) that opens the displays dialog box and scrolls to the end of the resolution list, and then select a supported resolution. Since screen real estate at 800 x 600 is the same at any Hz, this action should be able to trigger this rescue if you accidentally switch into 800 x 600 at 60 Hz. Assign the sequence to a function key or key combination that you won't forget (I suggest command-F3).
   The third and final solution works only if you have two monitors plugged into your system. Click and drag on the dark monitor, until you sucessfully grab the title bar of the displays window and thus move the displays window to the still working monitor. It's clumsy, but still a lot easier than the first solution (clicking in the dark with the hopes of hitting a supported resolution).