Cable Question

[CChevW]

Hi everyone. I'm very new to the whole idea of hooking up a monitor to my MacBook Pro (late 2013, retina). I know I need a mini displayport cable to plug in the MacBook. But what do I need to plug in the monitor. I'm under the impression that HDMI and full displayport are the best options.

What's the best option and what would the differences between the output be between the two cables?

Many thanks

 

[maflynn]

I'm not sure I understand your question.
If you're looking to use an external monitor, get one that has a minidisplay port. Short of that, get an adapter that converts DVI (or even VGA) to mini display port.

 

[CChevW]

Thanks for your response. Sorry if I didn't explain well. New to it as I said.

The monitor I have has three ports: HDMI, DVI and VGA. What would be the best input?

I assume the only way to output from MacBook is through mini displayport?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I use HDMI

I use HDMI to output to a 32 inch TV and it works great, you can even just use an HDMI cable as your mac has an HDMI output.

 

[CChevW]

Oh dear. I never even realised my Mac had a HDMI port. That would be good as the the monitor came with a HDMi to HDMI cable.

Would using the HMDI or mini displayport be better or does it not make a difference?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Depends on the resolution of the monitor

If your monitor is 1080p it'll make no difference, with a 1440p monitor any difference will be negligable, any higher (ie 1600p) and the display port will probably be the way to go.