2019 MBP16 - 2x5k plus 2xWQHD Possible?

[hamza-m]

I have a 2019 16” MBP with AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB specced. It’s currently driving two ancient Thunderbolt Displays and two WQHD (3440x1440) displays.

This is all hooked up as follows:

MBP -> Caldigit Thunderbolt 3 Hub -> Apple Thunderbolt 3 to 2 Adapter -> Thunderbolt Display 1 -> Thunderbolt Display 2
MBP -> Startech Thunderbolt to dual DisplayPort adapter -> WQHD 1 & 2 using DisplayPort cable

This works great. However the two Thunderbolt Display’s are past their best and getting a bit temperamental so I’m looking to replace them.

So the question is, in the above setup, can I swap out the Thunderbolt Displays for two Studio Displays?

The tech specs for the MBP say it can drive four 4k screens or two 6k screens. In terms of the total number of pixels, the above configuration would be somewhere between the two but I don’t know if it will actually work?

If it can work, I know I can’t daisy chain the Studio Display, but will I still be able to use the TB3 -> Dual DisplayPort adapter or will I have to try and balance the two WQHD displays on each side of the MBP? For that matter can you plug both Studio Displays into the same side of the MBP (this becomes important for cable management to make things work and given the max length of a TB cable at 2m that might not be easy/possible).

Are there any TB Docks/Hubs that I could plug both Studio Displays into rather them taking up two thunderbolt ports on the MBP?

Thanks!

 

[hamza-m]

To answer my own question, this does work, with one caveat.

You must connect one studio display and one 3440x1440 screen to each side of the Mac. Using the Star Tech thunderbolt to dual DisplayPort adapter in the mix doesn’t work.

So Studio Display and USB-C to USB-C or DisplayPort (didn’t try HDMI) on each side of the MBP and it works fine.