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Doc69

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 21, 2005
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Does anyone know the best way to connect a 2018 Mac Mini to a old 23" Apple Cinema Display (DVI)? Should I connect to HDMI or Thunderbolt 3? My first thought was to buy Apple's HDMI to DVI adapter, but then I read that people were having problems with Catalina and HDMI. So perhaps a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to DVI is better? A link to a working adapter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
Great! Looking at the connector of my 23" ACD, it looks like it's actually DVI-D (although the connector on my old ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card in my Mac Pro looks like it's DVD-I). I'll try your cable if no one else says anything different. Thanks!
 
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I still use my ancient 23" Cinema Display HD on my 2012 quad Mini with the HDMI adapter that came with the Mini. I think it is DVI-D, I recall that it didn't work when I tried it on a machine with analog long ago.

Anyway, be sure to let us know what you find out with the new Mini, I was also wondering if mine would work if I decide to upgrade. :)
 
I still use my ancient 23" Cinema Display HD on my 2012 quad Mini with the HDMI adapter that came with the Mini. I think it is DVI-D, I recall that it didn't work when I tried it on a machine with analog long ago.

Anyway, be sure to let us know what you find out with the new Mini, I was also wondering if mine would work if I decide to upgrade. :)
I bought this adapter after a recommendation in another thread as well as after reading the reviews. I'll report back here once I get it. But it should work fine.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0768RFQ83/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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Hi, How did it work out?
It works fine. However, once or twice a day, the Apple Cinema Display flickers for a second. Not a big deal but a bit annoying.

I also bought the HDMI to DVI cable below, but it did not work at all. The image was completely washed out and ghosty, which is a pity since I would have preferred to connect via HDMI in order to not have to waste one of the Thunderbolt 3 port for video.

If anyone has found a HDMI to DVI adapter/cable that works, please let me know.
 
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It works fine. However, once or twice a day, the Apple Cinema Display flickers for a second. Not a big deal but a bit annoying.

I also bought the HDMI to DVI cable below, but it did not work at all. The image was completely washed out and ghosty, which is a pity since I would have preferred to connect via HDMI in order to not have to waste one of the Thunderbolt 3 port for video.

If anyone has found a HDMI to DVI adapter/cable that works, please let me know.

Thanks. I’m going to try this with my ACD 30 inch once my 2020 mbp arrives.

Club 3D CAC-1510 USB Type C to... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QKM856C?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
 
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Did this adapter work for you?
I am having heavy flickering on my hd cinema display 23” with The club 3d usb-c to dvi-d single link, on mac mini 2018. Also slight problems with the hdmi To dvi-d adapter .
Hi, I didn't follow thru with an intel 2020 MBP so I never got to try it!

I did buy another adapter from learning from

I think I recall seeing some review comments @amazon and in another thread that some have had similar issues with some of their adapters, and they tried another one to find that it worked ok.

I also went with the following adapter mentioned in this thread, for my ACD 30", anticipating that it will work for my (eventual) M1 MBA since I need a dual-link DVI:

 
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