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Mr.PS

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 8, 2008
528
9
Is it possible? The output specs for the thunderbolt Macbook Air and Macbook Pro seem to be identical.
 
So could I run two 27" Cinema's without running the display on the actual notebook?
 
So could I run two 27" Cinema's without running the display on the actual notebook?

There isn't really a way to disable the internal one. I don't think this can be done but of course, we don't know for sure until someone tries. Feel to be our guinea pig? :p The second display can be returned if this doesn't work for no additional costs.
 
There isn't really a way to disable the internal one. I don't think this can be done but of course, we don't know for sure until someone tries. Feel to be our guinea pig? :p The second display can be returned if this doesn't work for no additional costs.

I may be totally wrong, but isnt there a 'clamshell' mode where the air acts as a pc and only uses external display? Im 90% sure this is what you can do on a MBP, but i dont know about the air....
 
I may be totally wrong, but isnt there a 'clamshell' mode where the air acts as a pc and only uses external display? Im 90% sure this is what you can do on a MBP, but i dont know about the air....

Yeh I am wondering this as well and couldn't you dualchain the two displays e.g. one is connected to the Air directly while the other one is connected to the First one via its other thunderbolt connection?

I.e. Air>(direct connected display)>second connected to first display?
 
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I asked the same question in another post. I'm fairly certain that TB has the bandwidth to daisychain 2 displays. The possible weak point is the integrated GPU in the MBA. Remember with the 27" ACD we are not simply talking about driving two external displays we are talking about driving two dual link displays.
 
There isn't really a way to disable the internal one. I don't think this can be done but of course, we don't know for sure until someone tries. Feel to be our guinea pig? :p The second display can be returned if this doesn't work for no additional costs.

I may be totally wrong, but isnt there a 'clamshell' mode where the air acts as a pc and only uses external display? Im 90% sure this is what you can do on a MBP, but i dont know about the air....

There is, if you have an external keyboard (BT or wired) you can put the MBA to sleep then hit a key on the keyboard to wake it. As long as it is attached to a display.

I'm not sure about two ACD's though...I saw a picture of a MacBook Pro running two, but Im not sure if the air supports it.
 
Just got my new Air and I love it; however, I'm still uncertain of the dual 27" display's. Has anyone tried yet, or does anyone know if it's possible?
 
According to AnandTech, the Air is using a smaller, less powerful version of the Thunderbolt controller that has only 2 channels, rather than the 4 that the iMac has. I think in addition to the HD 3000 issue, there might also be bandwidth issues driving two displays, even if the internal display were disabled.
 
According to Apple's website, only the 15" and 17" MBP will work with two external displays. This implies to me 1 external display on the 13" MBP and on either MBA. Even with the clamshell closed and the internal display off, I suspect the Intel HD3000 can't push enough pixels to run two displays.

From the webpage http://www.apple.com/displays/:
Connect two Thunderbolt Displays to a 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro or to an iMac and put an extra 7 million pixels to work. To make a desktop workstation out of your MacBook Pro, just daisy-chain additional Thunderbolt devices, including high-performance storage and video and audio capture devices, through the display.
 
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