Daisy chainable monitors for 16" Macbook

[mike817]

I'm ready to upgrade my current 24" monitors and I'm looking for some recommendations on what to buy. I code so sharp text is a must, but I'd also like to be able to hook both of them up via a single cable.

Anything to check out?

 

[joevt]

A Thunderbolt display or dock (with two Thunderbolt 3 ports) or adapter (with two DisplayPort outputs) will allow connecting two 4K displays to the same Thunderbolt port. Since the MacBook Pro 16 inch has AMD Navi graphics (5300M or 5500M) then you can probably connect two 6K displays.

 

[mike817]

A Thunderbolt display or dock (with two Thunderbolt 3 ports) or adapter (with two DisplayPort outputs) will allow connecting two 4K displays to the same Thunderbolt port. Since the MacBook Pro 16 inch has AMD Navi graphics (5300M or 5500M) then you can probably connect two 6K displays.

I just recently purchased a HP G2 dock and hooked my dual Dell U2415 monitors up to it, but they only displayed in mirror mode instead of expanded. At this point I just want to get what will work.

 

[deeddawg]

I just recently purchased a HP G2 dock and hooked my dual Dell U2415 monitors up to it, but they only displayed in mirror mode instead of expanded. At this point I just want to get what will work.

I run dual monitors from my Caldigit TS3 dock and my 2018 MBP15. One is 1080p the other is 1440p though.

Too bad macOS doesn't support MST -- it'd be a lot easier to daisy chain displayport monitors.

 

[mike817]

I run dual monitors from my Caldigit TS3 dock and my 2018 MBP15. One is 1080p the other is 1440p though.

Too bad macOS doesn't support MST -- it'd be a lot easier to daisy chain displayport monitors.

I’ve been fighting this for a few years now. Since I’m ready for a monitor upgrade anyway I figured I’d check to see it there was something that actually worked with a one cable solution.

 

[joevt]

I just recently purchased a HP G2 dock and hooked my dual Dell U2415 monitors up to it, but they only displayed in mirror mode instead of expanded. At this point I just want to get what will work.

The HP Thunderbolt Dock G2 has an internal 3 port DisplayPort 1.4 MST hub used by the USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode and the two DisplayPort ports (the VGA port takes over DisplayPort output from the USB-C port when used). macOS doesn't support MST for multiple displays, therefore you can only connect two displays, and one of them must be connected to the downstream Thunderbolt 3 port just like any other Thunderbolt 3 dock.

 

[mike817]

The HP Thunderbolt Dock G2 has an internal 3 port DisplayPort 1.4 MST hub used by the USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode and the two DisplayPort ports (the VGA port takes over DisplayPort output from the USB-C port when used). macOS doesn't support MST for multiple displays, therefore you can only connect two displays, and one of them must be connected to the downstream Thunderbolt 3 port just like any other Thunderbolt 3 dock.

From what I understand, daisy chaining does work via thunderbolt. Not sure if that’s limited to apple’s displays though.

 

[joevt]

From what I understand, daisy chaining does work via thunderbolt. Not sure if that’s limited to apple’s displays though.

There's nothing special about Apple displays. Like any Thunderbolt display, they'll use one DisplayPort signal from Thunderbolt for the display and allow a second DisplayPort signal to be sent to a downstream Thunderbolt device. Thunderbolt 3 allows DisplayPort directly from the downstream Thunderbolt port. A Thunderbolt 2 display or dock can output one DisplayPort signal and a second DisplayPort signal must be output by a different Thunderbolt device later in the chain.

The LG UltraFine 5K uses two DisplayPort signals, so it does not have a downstream Thunderbolt port. It's similar to a Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapter where the downstream Thunderbolt port is used for DisplayPort so the adapter does not have a downstream Thunderbolt port.

OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dual DisplayPort Adapter for Mac and PC

Connect up to two 4K displays or one 5K display without draining resources or degrading performance. Bus powered and includes a Thunderbolt 3 cable.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[mike817]

It looks like the LG 24MD4KL-B has an actual thunderbolt out port, but I’m not seeing too many other options out there. Price is a little up there as well.

 

[deeddawg]

I’ve been fighting this for a few years now. Since I’m ready for a monitor upgrade anyway I figured I’d check to see it there was something that actually worked with a one cable solution.

Yup, that's why I sucked it up and bought the TS3+ - though I saved a little buying a refurb from Caldigit.

I put my MBP15 in a TwelveSouth BookArc and plug in the single cable from the TS3+ and work in clamshell mode using Apple Magic Keyboard and Trackpad.