2013 MBA+ Apple TBD - Add second monitor

You can't connect a Mini Displayport to video adapter directly to the back of the TBD because of a limitation with Thunderbolt. You would have to connect another Thunderbolt device in between the TBD and your other monitor, like a hard drive.

The only way to do that which comes to my mind:

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/de/products/gxm/dh2go/digital_me/

In addition you'd need an MDP to (whatever your Dell monitor provides) adapter.

Cheers

nightmars said:

The only way to do that which comes to my mind:

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/de/products/gxm/dh2go/digital_me/

Click to expand...

That doesn't really work how most people think. Matrox is tricking the DisplayPort interface into thinking two monitors are really one extremely wide monitor. So he's have to have two extra monitors to attach to this, and be okay with them being side by side.

----------

oester said:

Then perhaps a USB display adapter on the back of the TBD?

Click to expand...

You could try it, but reviews on that are mixed. A lot of people complain that the display is slow and laggy coming from USB.

Stetrain's advice will give you the best performance. At higher resolutions, there are still a lot of reports that USB video adapters are slow and laggy.

Buy the "cheapest"/most useful device with thunderbolt pass-through and stick it in between the TBD and the Dell.

So:

MBA <-TBD <- Random TB device <- Dell

Something like this will work, although you still need a TB cable: http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10574

would a USB monitor work like this for the third display? not as nice as a full HD monitor but reviews on this monitor seem decent

http://www.amazon.com/computers-accessories/dp/B005SEZR0G

oester said:

So - any suggestion on what that might be?

Bob

Click to expand...

First off, a disclaimer. I have not used any of these devices nor tested any configurations that I list. I'm simply going off of what I've read.

The lacie eSATA hub is pretty cheap (for a TB accessory) at only $199 + cable. But it's really only useful for adding the second monitor and if you have eSATA hard drives.

The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock is $299+ cable and adds additional GigE, FW800, USB 3.0 and Audio in/out ports to your setup. It supports TB passthrough, and can be found here: http://www.belkin.com/us/F4U055/p/P-F4U055

Setup for the belkin would again be:

MBA <- TBD <-Belkin <- Dell

If you want just a hard drive, there's the Seagate Thunderbot GoFlex Hard Drive for $300. Amazon Link. Seagate actually includes a TB cable so that saves you $30-50. It's a 3TB drive with a TB Dock.

Finally, if you are patient, there's the CalDigit Thunderbolt Station, which, although not currently shipping, is supposed to be $199 + cable. It has almost the same ports as the belkin, but drops FW800 in favor of HDMI. Personally, if this one works, I'll likely pick one up when it starts shipping.

No problem. I completely understand where you're coming from. With thunderbolt, at some point it just becomes easier to simply buy a second TBD, as it's not that much more money.


Oh. I just thought of a better solution, actually. Apple TV + Mavericks. Don't know why I didn't think of that before. In 10.9 you can set up an AirPlay monitor as a second screen, not just a mirrored screen. Of course, that doesn't solve an immediate problem, but once 10.9 is released, it might actually be the best/ cheapest solution.