iMac mid 2011: Second monitor through USB, FW800 or Ethernet ?

[ricardoriquier]

Hi there !

I'm currently using my sole thunderbolt port with my UAD APollo Twin on my mid-2011 iMac.
I don't really wanna spend almost 300€ on a Thunderbolt 2 Dock.
Are there any adaptors to connect a second display by either USB, Firewire 800 or Ethernet ? I need to have a second display as an extension, not a mirrored image of the main iMac screen.

Cheers !

 

[mikehalloran]

Is it a 21.5" With one TB port, I'm assuming it is.

What OS? This is important. Until I know, the answer is Maybe.

 

[ricardoriquier]

Is it a 21.5" With one TB port, I'm assuming it is.

What OS? This is important. Until I know, the answer is Maybe.

Hey! Yeah, 21.5, one port.
Currently on High Sierra

 

[Plan-B]

Are you currently using your TB2 port? I had a 27" 2011 with two TB2 ports up until recently. At least on the 27", the TB2 port doubled as a mini-DisplayPort. So all I plugged in was a mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapter and I drove a 27" Dell monitor in portrait mode. I was doing this all the way back to the cat OS versions. Not sure if the 21.5" also lets you use the TB2 in this manner, but maybe look into the specs to see if that's an option?

 

[mikehalloran]

Hey! Yeah, 21.5, one port.
Currently on High Sierra

I'm going to assume 10.13.4-6, right? If so, this is a little complicated. If 10.13.1–3, very easy and you don't want to go to 10.13.4.

In either case, you want a DisplayLink USB–HDMI box. These are sold by many vendors under many names. It does not matter the brand—what you want to look for is "uses the free DisplayLink drivers" (or something similar) and you're good. Here's one on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-External-Monitor-Graphics-Adapter/dp/B00O6G5ZGI/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1547151966&sr=1-7&keywords=Displaylink+drivers&th=1

As mentioned, there's an issue caused by Apple for 10.13.4-10.13.6 that will never be fixed. However, there's a workaround involving AirPlay. Here's the page and Mac drivers.

https://www.displaylink.com/downloads/macos

If you don't know enough about AirPlay, Apple has support pages.

I have been using a DisplayLink box on my 2010 27" iMac for years and it works great. Unfortunately for me, the 2011 iMac was the first to support AirPlay so that workaround is unavailable to me and I'm stuck at OS 10.13.3 (I use two external monitors in my work).

A DisplayLink box works great over Mojave—unfortunately, a 2011 iMac does not.

It would have been nice if Apple had one more release of HS to restore what they took away but they didn't and won't.

I just noticed that various DisplayLink boxes are stating that resolution is limited to 800 x 600 over USB 2. That is very old news. Mine are at 1920 x 1080. The drivers are much improved over the 6 years I have had mine.

There are some cheapo boxes running mystery drivers. If it doesn't run the DisplayLink drivers, you don't want it.
[doublepost=1547154323][/doublepost]

Are you currently using your TB2 port? I had a 27" 2011 with two TB2 ports up until recently...

The 21.5" has only one TB port.

 

[snakesm]

I know it's a super old thread but I was recently looking for this info and this is the only thread pop up in the search.

So in case, anyone else will be looking for an option:
I did figure out that instead of using a super expensive TB dock station, USB (even 2.0) DisplayLink adapter works the same good.
I've bout "HP USB Dual Output USB Graphics Adapter" (in UK) for just 10$ and it works brilliantly in both MAC OS & Windows

 

[mikehalloran]

I know it's a super old thread but I was recently looking for this info and this is the only thread pop up in the search.

So in case, anyone else will be looking for an option:
I did figure out that instead of using a super expensive TB dock station, USB (even 2.0) DisplayLink adapter works the same good.
I've bout "HP USB Dual Output USB Graphics Adapter" (in UK) for just 10$ and it works brilliantly in both MAC OS & Windows

What MacOS? I don't know any solution for OS 13.4–6 when Apple crippled eGPU except over TB3 including DisplayLink. Apple reinstated that functionality with Mojave.

 

[snakesm]

I do run Big Sur, but if O have time I'll try to test with 13.6 over the weekend

 

[Amethyst1]

Thunderbolt 1 or 2 docks can be had pretty cheaply these days, I got mine - a Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD - for less than 50 bucks off eBay. This will allow you to run an external monitor using the dock's HDMI 1.4 port (up to 2560×1440 60Hz) as well as daisy-chain your Thunderbolt audio interface to the dock.

No need to bother with DisplayLink's... idiosyncracies... then.

 

[snakesm]

Thunderbolt 1 or 2 docks can be had pretty cheaply these days, I got mine - a Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD - for less than 50 bucks off eBay. This will allow you to run an external monitor using the dock's HDMI 1.4 port (up to 2560×1440 60Hz) as well as daisy-chain your Thunderbolt audio interface to the dock.

No need to bother with DisplayLink's... idiosyncracies... then.

Maybe in US you can buy it for $50 but same mentioned doc in the UK cost from £100 which is $130, so when the choice is between $130 and $10 my opinion is pretty obvious

 

[mikehalloran]

Thunderbolt 1 or 2 docks can be had pretty cheaply these days, I got mine - a Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD - for less than 50 bucks off eBay. This will allow you to run an external monitor using the dock's HDMI 1.4 port (up to 2560×1440 60Hz) as well as daisy-chain your Thunderbolt audio interface to the dock.

No need to bother with DisplayLink's... idiosyncracies... then.

The issue is eGPU. Like DisplayLink, video TB 1/2 is crippled in OS 10.13.4–6. Since the iMac 2011 cannot run Mojave and later without a hardware hack, it is important to know if this will work. OS 10.13.3 and earlier do not have this problem.

 

[Amethyst1]

Maybe in US you can buy it for $50 but same mentioned doc in the UK cost from £100 which is $130, so when the choice is between $130 and $10 my opinion is pretty obvious

I'm in Europe and got mine for 50 euros. Try watching eBay for bargains. They can be had occasionally. Maybe this (assuming you're in the UK): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324817079036

video TB 1/2 is crippled in OS 10.13.4–6.

I’m talking about the native DisplayPort output from the internal GPU, which is encapsulated in a Thunderbolt stream and going into the Thunderbolt dock.
This has nothing to do with an eGPU or DisplayLink.
I have a 2011 MacBook Pro which is also limited to High Sierra 10.13.6, and video from the Thunderbolt dock works great.
I have even driven two monitors from two daisy-chained Thunderbolt docks from that 2011 MacBook Pro.

 

[mikehalloran]

I’m talking about the native DisplayPort output from the internal GPU, which is encapsulated in a Thunderbolt stream and going into the Thunderbolt dock

I know that you think this but I don't believe that you are correct. Only testing will tell. I will be interested in the outcome.

 

[Amethyst1]

I know that you think this but I don't believe that you are correct.

There you are.

 

[snakesm]

There you are.

Thanks for the link, was interesting to read the thread, however, I spot one confusing part:
"It's worth noting that since the HD 3000 only has two outputs, this configuration makes the MacBook Pro's internal LCD go blank, as shown in the first picture."- so how this topic realistically relate to the current thread where being discussed how to achieve 3 displays in total (1 iMac + 2 external), am I missing something?

 

[Amethyst1]

so how this topic realistically relate to the current thread where being discussed how to achieve 3 displays in total (1 iMac + 2 external), am I missing something?

It’s not about two external displays from the iMac. Just one. The iMac has an AMD GPU that isn’t subject to the two-output limitation of the HD 3000 anyway. The point of this is - hooking up a display via a Thunderbolt dock works fine in High Sierra (unlike DisplayLink or eGPUs). It doesn't matter whether it's on an iMac or MacBook Pro.

 

[Amethyst1]

I know that you think this but I don't believe that you are correct.

Let's see, then.

2011 MacBook Pro running High Sierra v10.13.6 -> Thunderbolt 1 -> Dock -> HDMI -> Monitor.

There's only a Thunderbolt cable connected to the MacBook Pro. The monitor's HDMI cable is connected to the dock.

The monitor is driven from the dock's HDMI output. In other words, from the MacBook Pro‘s internal GPU, as confirmed by System Profiler.

 

[snakesm]

The issue is eGPU. Like DisplayLink, video TB 1/2 is crippled in OS 10.13.4–6. Since the iMac 2011 cannot run Mojave and later without a hardware hack, it is important to know if this will work. OS 10.13.3 and earlier do not have this problem.

Meanwhile, I did check Mac OS 10.13.6 and I can confirm that it looks and works completely fine.
The only 1 challenge I have so far is: due to the fact in 10.13.6 DisplayLink driver use a workaround as pretending to be an AirPlay display, I didn't find a way how to rotate the output on the 2nd screen (but if you don't need portate mode you can use it)