Connecting 2nd Monitor to 2018 Mac Mini Intel i7

[JCWarrior]

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping you can help me figure out how to connect a 2nd monitor to my Mac mini.
I'm currently using an AOC CU34G2X and I have an older acer monitor that has DVI and VGI inputs.

I tried connecting it to the AOC via a Display to DVI adapter but I think my ignorance on the subject didn't take into account that the Display ports on the AOC are probably inputs.

Anyway, all of the ports are being used on my Mac Mini so I'm not sure what I would need to do to add the acer or if it would even work.

Any help you can offer would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[joevt]

macOS doesn't support DisplayPort chaining (MST) for multiple displays.

You can chain a display to a Thunderbolt display if the Thunderbolt display has a second Thunderbolt port.

A Thunderbolt 3 dock or Thunderbolt 4 dock or Thunderbolt 4 hub will let you connect two displays to the same Thunderbolt port if the Mac mini.

There also exist Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapters.

 

[JCWarrior]

macOS doesn't support DisplayPort chaining (MST) for multiple displays.

You can chain a display to a Thunderbolt display if the Thunderbolt display has a second Thunderbolt port.

A Thunderbolt 3 dock or Thunderbolt 4 dock or Thunderbolt 4 hub will let you connect two displays to the same Thunderbolt port if the Mac mini.

There also exist Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapters.

Thank you for the response, Joe.
So correct me if I am wrong....

If I used this Thunderbolt 4 hub and connected it to one of the Thunderbolt 3 hubs on my Mac Mini, I could then use a Thunderbolt to DVI cable and connect the second monitor. I could then use the remaining ports of the hub to reconnect what I unplugged to accommodate the new hub.

Then connect the AOC monitor to the HDMI of the Mac Mini (which is what I am doing now).

 

[joevt]

If I used this Thunderbolt 4 hub and connected it to one of the Thunderbolt 3 hubs on my Mac Mini, I could then use a Thunderbolt to DVI cable and connect the second monitor. I could then use the remaining ports of the hub to reconnect what I unplugged to accommodate the new hub.

Then connect the AOC monitor to the HDMI of the Mac Mini (which is what I am doing now).

You mean connect a Thunderbolt 4 hub to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac mini. Yes, that should work.

The Thunderbolt to DVI cable is actually not Thunderbolt. It's USB-C and uses USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode to take a DisplayPort signal. It contains a converter chip to convert DisplayPort to DVI.

Thunderbolt 3 ports of a Mac can output Thunderbolt, USB, and DisplayPort. A Thunderbolt signal can tunnel DisplayPort (up to two signals) and PCIe. PCIe is used to communicate with the USB controller contained in the Thunderbolt controller of a Thunderbolt device.

 

[JCWarrior]

You mean connect a Thunderbolt 4 hub to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac mini. Yes, that should work.

The Thunderbolt to DVI cable is actually not Thunderbolt. It's USB-C and uses USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode to take a DisplayPort signal. It contains a converter chip to convert DisplayPort to DVI.

Thunderbolt 3 ports of a Mac can output Thunderbolt, USB, and DisplayPort. A Thunderbolt signal can tunnel DisplayPort (up to two signals) and PCIe. PCIe is used to communicate with the USB controller contained in the Thunderbolt controller of a Thunderbolt device.

Thanks for correcting me and for the information. I appreciate it!