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Best way to run 2 DVI monitors on new Mac Mini?

kirkbross

kirkbross

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 6, 2007
666
22
Los Angeles
I'm getting a new Mac Mini and have two Dell LCDs with DVI.

What's the smartest config to connect two DVI monitors to the new Mac Mini?

Use two TB3 ports or 1 TB and the HDMI port... or?
 
Do any of those monitors have an HDMI port?

I have two monitors and both have DVI (one also has HDMI), and what I'm planing to do, is to connect the monitor that has HDMI with an HDMI cable, and the other one with a USB-C to DVI adapter (which I already bought and it works on a MBP 13. Now I just need to test it on the upcoming Mac Mini, next week, when it hopefully arrives).
 
Using a HDMI to DVI dongle keeps the TB3/USB-C ports free for other purposes.
 
kirkbross said:
Can a single HDMI cable drive two monitors?

My monitors are pre-HDMI, but I could get a dongle.
Click to expand...

I don’t believe so, unless they were just mirrored displays. I tried a HDMI to DVI cable for my set up but it didn’t work (I have a separate thread on this). My guess is that it actually needs to convert the signal and most cables on the market do not do this or are one way only. I had no problems with using a USB-C to DisplayPort cable, maybe USB-C to DVI is the way to go?
 
Moolani said:
I don’t believe so, unless they were just mirrored displays. I tried a HDMI to DVI cable for my set up but it didn’t work (I have a separate thread on this). My guess is that it actually needs to convert the signal and most cables on the market do not do this or are one way only. I had no problems with using a USB-C to DisplayPort cable, maybe USB-C to DVI is the way to go?
Click to expand...
I am using an HDMI to DisplayPort cable for one monitor and USB-c to DisplayPort cable for my second monitor. The monitor with the usb-c to DP cable is not receiving signal, any suggestions?
 
jev425 said:
I am using an HDMI to DisplayPort cable for one monitor and USB-c to DisplayPort cable for my second monitor. The monitor with the usb-c to DP cable is not receiving signal, any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I have the reverse problem. USB-C to DP cable works, HDMI to DP does not. Have you tried switching the cables (if the monitors have the same inputs) to see if it is the ports on the monitors, or even the cable itself? That is the frustrating part about trouble shooting these display problems - you need to try a lot of different things to eliminate the variables.
 
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I didn't think you could go from an HDMI output port on the mini to a DP input on a monitor? DP is a more complex protocol and adapters let you go down but not up.
Found there are higher end converters that will go from HDMI to DP.
 
Last edited:
Moolani said:
I have the reverse problem. USB-C to DP cable works, HDMI to DP does not. Have you tried switching the cables (if the monitors have the same inputs) to see if it is the ports on the monitors, or even the cable itself? That is the frustrating part about trouble shooting these display problems - you need to try a lot of different things to eliminate the variables.
Click to expand...
Hdmi and dvi uses simple plain old stream of bits. Dp uses micro packets. You need active transcoding chip to get from one to the other. Confusing thing is, that many dp ports in computers can also send hdmi/dvi signal through a dp port.

Another thing when using hdmi output from a mac to dvi monitor is, that there's no way to see what mac is doing with hdcp. Mac could use hdcp only when "secure content" is sent through hdmi, but instead hdcp is always on on a mac.
If you connect a mac's hdmi straight to the dvi monitor that doesn't have hdcp, it will work.
But if you put any kind of device between a mac and dvi monitor, that has hdcp, like switcher, splitter or converter, then a mac needs to have hdcp handshake done with a monitor, which is not hdcp aware and then the screen goes blank. Even when there's nothing else than a desktop in the picture and nothing "secure" or "encrypted" sent to a monitor.
 
kirkbross said:
I'm getting a new Mac Mini and have two Dell LCDs with DVI.

What's the smartest config to connect two DVI monitors to the new Mac Mini?

Use two TB3 ports or 1 TB and the HDMI port... or?
Click to expand...

What model Dell monitors are they? Single-link adapters for resolutions less than 2560x1600 are easier to find and use than the dual-link adapters needed back in the day.
 
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