MacBook DisplayPort faulty?

It looks like users taking advantage of the freshly-released Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adaptors to hook their MacBook Pros up to high-resolution monitors might be wishing the company had stuck with the more traditional DVI interface, with reports of display corruption issues surfacing.

According to Gizmodo's Jason Chen, who has personally encountered this issue, the problem occurs when the Mini DisplayPort adaptor is used to connect a MacBook Pro to a dual-link DVI monitor. A random period of time into using the device, the image will corrupt, resulting in a picture that looks "like it's missing half its display information, like one of its dual 'links' has failed."

When this corruption is experienced – somewhere between a few minutes and an hour after the unit is connected – the only solution is to disconnect the adaptor from either the Mini DisplayPort or USB port from which it draws its power.

With users on Apple's support forum reporting the exact same issue with Apple's own Studio range of monitors, it doesn't appear to be an issue with the Dell 3007WFP monitor Gizmodo has been using the test the device but rather a problem with the software or hardware on the MacBook Pro itself. With the Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adaptor having been delayed from its original ship date, many are wondering if there are design issues at fault here.

According to Chen, an easy way to replicate the issue is to connect a USB hub to one of the other ports on the MacBook while the adaptor is in use. While this suggests that the adaptor is attempting to draw more power via the USB port than the laptop can provide, it also occurs when a powered USB hub is used – with the result that the corruption occurs "almost immediately."

So far, there has been no comment on the issue from Apple – and no mention of a fix beyond simply disconnecting and reconnecting the device, and to avoid using other USB devices at the same time.

Any MacBook Pro owners blessed with big monitors encountering this issue, or is dual-link DVI from a Mini DisplayPort just being greedy? Share your thoughts over in the forums.