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How many external monitors support by M1/M2 pro Macbook with the internal display off?
- Thread starter mushan
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Not as far as I know. I have a MBP14 and successfully connected 2 ASD while also using the laptop screen as a third (that makes sense since it is what Apple says works). I then connected another monitor (QHD - so less than 4K) via the HDMI port - it would not work regardless of whether the Mac was open or closed.
YMMV but I strongly believe you need a Max chip to support three external displays on a MBP. If read the tech specs carefully this is what Apple is saying. For the most part they read similarly for the M1P and M2P with the exception of the ability to handle 8K and higher refresh. But the number of displays remains the same.
YMMV but I strongly believe you need a Max chip to support three external displays on a MBP. If read the tech specs carefully this is what Apple is saying. For the most part they read similarly for the M1P and M2P with the exception of the ability to handle 8K and higher refresh. But the number of displays remains the same.
Thank you very much for your reply. I think I'll get an M2 Max, just in case Pro cannot work with 3 monitors.
I get it.
I'm considering getting a base configuration MBP14 Max for this reason as well. Would allow my to pass some of my current gear on to my kids/wife and still have the display support I like. But I'm holding out to see what the Dell 6K needs in terms of I/O before I make any big moves - I'm optimistic I will want that monitor but it's unclear to me what current Macs will be able to drive it.
And this is why the Max can and the pro cannot. Apple is "motivating" people to upgrade when perhaps the need isn't there for performance but wanting a feature like 3 monitors
There was a MacBook years ago - somewhere in the 2010 +/- 3 years or so range - that would support additional external only when the lid was closed. AFAIK that was a one-off, all other Macs support the same regardless of clamshell mode or not.
If you want a lot of external monitors, go with the Max.
My approach was to get the Studio and an M1 Pro MacBook Pro. You could get a Max and hook up 3 or 4 external monitors but who wants to do that every day or even a few times per day?
My approach was to get the Studio and an M1 Pro MacBook Pro. You could get a Max and hook up 3 or 4 external monitors but who wants to do that every day or even a few times per day?
The M1/M2 Max is significantly larger with many more transistors than the M1/M2 Pro. I think you can make the argument that the 1 external display on the M1/M2 MacBooks is market segmentation but it’s harder with the higher end SoCs.
I know people who literally are opting for M1 Pro instead of the MacBook Air M1 with 16GB RAM because of external display support.
It's completely 'retarded' the upselling they are doing with the Max on this feature. Heck, I have a colleague who rocks 3 4K monitors and an iPad via Sidecar.. He has a M1 Max and he never uses the GPU for anything specific he's a cloud guy like me, we offload everything we do to the cloud...
Totally agree with you. I just want to write code with multiple monitors when I am at home or office, I don't need a powerful GPU, and it will damage the battery life when traveling.
I hope things do change with the M3 lineup. As a M1 / M1 Pro user I find the M2 lack muster, I was hoping they would change the external display support as well, for me it's a simple stop-gap until the M3 line up comes out.
I'm one of those people - I run a Studio so I can have 3 ASD but I don't need the chip at all! (I do like the RAM!)