DeathInACan Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) Hi all, First time posting my own thread (please be nice). I am just getting started adding a few things to my rig. I recently purchased some of the Cougar MFDs (they are still in the box) and they seem decent. Although the buttons seem a bit squishy, wasn't really expecting that. I was originally going to get some of the Lilliput UM-80s for them, although that is a bit spendy for my current budget. Fortunately I have a water damaged 15" Macbook Pro Unibody and the screen should make a really nice base to put the MFDs on. With the actual glass covering the display it should look very nice if I can get it to work. So my important question is: Does anyone have experience using a laptop screen as a additional monitor? It seems they (might) use a somewhat standard connector across most laptops? So I am looking for a USB to laptop ribbon cable connector board ideally as I don't have any spare ports on my GPU other than HDMI. The cabble is apparently an LVDS connector, but I have been unable to tell if it is apple specific or universal:helpsmilie: Any help would be most appreciated! I promise to post pics as it progresses if this thread takes off. Edited February 24, 2014 by DeathInACan AMD 1090T X6 @4.01Ghz, XFX 6950 890/1375, 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600, WD Velociraptor 600GB, complete watercooling setup, Dell U2711 + Dell U2410, Thrustmaster Warthog, Saitek Combat Rudder, Track IR5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outlawal2 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hi all, First time posting my own thread (please be nice). I am just getting started adding a few things to my rig. I recently purchased some of the Cougar MFDs (they are still in the box) and they seem decent. Although the buttons seem a bit squishy, wasn't really expecting that. I was originally going to get some of the Lilliput UM-80s for them, although that is a bit spendy for my current budget. Fortunately I have a water damaged 15" Macbook Pro Unibody and the screen should make a really nice base to put the MFDs on. With the actual glass covering the display it should look very nice if I can get it to work. So my important question is: Does anyone have experience using a laptop screen as a additional monitor? It seems they (might) use a somewhat standard connector across most laptops? So I am looking for a USB to laptop ribbon cable connector board ideally as I don't have any spare ports on my GPU other than HDMI. The cabble is apparently an LVDS connector, but I have been unable to tell if it is apple specific or universal:helpsmilie: Any help would be most appreciated! I promise to post pics as it progresses if this thread takes off. Welcome! Hate to break it to you but laptop screens are all proprietary (And ANYTHING with the Apple logo on it is painfully proprietary) so not a chance of getting a USB to laptop screen connector. Not going to happen.. Cheap monitor is your best bet.. 1 "Pride is a poor substitute for intelligence." RAMBO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidfan Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Cheap monitor is your best bet.. Agreed. I have a 17" Dell (1280x1024) that I picked up for $50 at a used computer parts place, over two years ago. In fact, exporting MFDs is what I got it for originally. ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1 :thumbup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javelina1 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I'm using 15in VGA LCD, with my Cougar MFD's. Everything extracts just fine. As the other contributors noted, doubt you'll find a laptop solution. You can find VGA LCD's real cheap, I'm sure. Good luck with your efforts. :thumbup: MSI MAG Z790 Carbon, i9-13900k, NH-D15 cooler, 64 GB CL40 6000mhz RAM, MSI RTX4090, Yamaha 5.1 A/V Receiver, 4x 2TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe, 1x 2TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD, Win 11 Pro, TM Warthog, Virpil WarBRD, MFG Crosswinds, 43" Samsung 4K TV, 21.5 Acer VT touchscreen, TrackIR, Varjo Aero, Wheel Stand Pro Super Warthog, Phanteks Enthoo Pro2 Full Tower Case, Seasonic GX-1200 ATX3 PSU, PointCTRL, Buttkicker 2, K-51 Helicopter Collective Control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathInACan Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Thanks for the advice guys! That is heartbreaking since it would have been so perfect. Especially if the iPad mini displays could be adapted on their own. Ah well. I am trying to conserve space on my desk so I can still use it for non sim purposes which is why the small screen would have been nice. The cheap LCD route was my alternate plan, which I guess is my next step, since I don't really see the point in using the MFDs without a screen behind them. AMD 1090T X6 @4.01Ghz, XFX 6950 890/1375, 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600, WD Velociraptor 600GB, complete watercooling setup, Dell U2711 + Dell U2410, Thrustmaster Warthog, Saitek Combat Rudder, Track IR5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outlawal2 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Thanks for the advice guys! That is heartbreaking since it would have been so perfect. Especially if the iPad mini displays could be adapted on their own. Ah well. I am trying to conserve space on my desk so I can still use it for non sim purposes which is why the small screen would have been nice. The cheap LCD route was my alternate plan, which I guess is my next step, since I don't really see the point in using the MFDs without a screen behind them. One option that works well, although is not an inexpoensive option, is to pick up a touch screen monitor.. Then you can export the MFD's to the external monitor, place the Cougars so you still have that tactile feel and yet use all the other buttons / controls etc via the touch screen... (That is what I have done and it works very well) "Pride is a poor substitute for intelligence." RAMBO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathInACan Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 I have been mulling over the touchscreen idea for some time. I know a lot of guys use about a 24" 1080p touchscreen. Personally I would prefer more of a proper pit with appropriate switches and screens. The dilemma there for me is that I want to build an F-18 pit, but neither of the ones in development are ready yet. So I think I will get a cheap monitor for the short term, then build out an upper half of the A-10 pit. So just the MFDs, missiles launch/countermeasures status panel, and the CDU like input unit below the HUD (what is it called again, I always forget?). I would love to go all out - but I can just see myself flying hornet full time when it comes out. AMD 1090T X6 @4.01Ghz, XFX 6950 890/1375, 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600, WD Velociraptor 600GB, complete watercooling setup, Dell U2711 + Dell U2410, Thrustmaster Warthog, Saitek Combat Rudder, Track IR5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidfan Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 UFC ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1 :thumbup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Burns Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Ive flown with the MFDs blue tac'd to the main monitor, its no problem really as they only cover the on screen MFds anyway and a bit of the cockpit. On a 23" screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berndt Mangler Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 You might consider TrackIR, it changed every thing. it may buy you time to same more money for a really sick monitor.. the Lillyput monitors with TM MFD bezels where big help also. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] MoBo: SaberTooth P67 B3 CPU: i7 2600K OC'd 4.434 Cooling: H100, Nine Asorted Fans GPU: EVGA Drvr344.75 GTX 780 and 580 w/physX MEM: Patriot Viper Xtrm 16GB Power: Antec HGC-900 HRD: Samsung SSD 256GB, WD 2TB wPageFile OS: Win7pro 64b Display: AcerHN274H-nVidia3D 27", Qty2 BenQ GW2750HM 27", Asus VS208 24", Qty2 Lilliput U80/c Input: G13, G110, G700s, TM WortHog, Saitek Cmbt Rudder, TM MFCDs, TrackIR5 Sound: Z906, G930w/IR5/Pwr. Pack Chair: See Album Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser78 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Save up for the lillyput monitors. They are excellent. Be sure to check ebay and amazon quite often. Sometimes you can pick them up for $100 new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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