Macbook pro addtional screen

Lavdogg

Hi Guys,

I am starting a new role shortly and have received a macbook pro, i'm looking to connect 1 or 2 addtional monitors, can anyone advise if there is a particular type of monitor i need or will anyone do aslong as it has a htmi connection?

Thanks in advance!

Gregor Samsa

Your MBP will come with just Thunderbolt 3 ports (which look identical to, and can also act as, USB-C ports).

If you just want to plug a monitor straight in, the monitor will need to have a Thunderbolt 3 connection. Some do, many don't. TB3 can be daisy chained, so if you had two TB3 monitors, you could connect one to your MPB, and the second to the first monitor.

How many monitors you can connect to your MPB depends on your specific model of MPB, and the resolution of the monitor.

The new M1 MBPs support "One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz" - so if you have one of those, you'll only be able to connect one external monitor.

The 13" MBP with the Intel chip supports "One external 6K display with 6016x3384 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colours, or One external 5K display with 5120x2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colours, or Up to two external 4K displays with 4096x2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colours". If you have one of those, you'll be able to connect either one or two external monitors, depending on the resolution of the monitors.

One alternative to native TB3 monitors is to use a USB-C to DisplayPort cable (with a DP monitor obviously) or to HDMI (with HDMI monitor).

https://ie.rs-online.com/web/p/displayport-cables/1924681/

https://ie.rs-online.com/web/p/usb-cables/1924696

There's also adapters for both available.

Another alternative is to get a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 hub. This gives you a load of different connections for your Mac, not just for connecting a monitor.

An example of a USB-C hub would be this (I have this one myself)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07MKC5Z1D

It'll give you a HDMI port (and a VGA one, but you're unlikely to want to use that).

Apple do this dongle with a HDMI port (but it's more expensive)

https://www.apple.com/ie/shop/product/MUF82ZM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter

An example of a Thunderbolt 3 dock is this (TB3 has more bandwidth than USB-C (USB 3.1) so the docks tend to allow for more monitor connections or more device connections in general) :

https://www.apple.com/ie/shop/product/HMX02ZM/A/caldigit-thunderbolt-3-mini-dock

This one gives 2 HDMI ports.

Some TB3 docks give you DisplayPort instead of HDMI

https://www.apple.com/ie/shop/product/HMX12Z/A/caldigit-ts3-plus-dock

But you can get cables or adapters that switch between HDMI and DisplayPort.

BTW, there's a specific Mac forum here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=108

Lavdogg

Thanks million, much appreciated!!