Late 2011 Macbook Pro dual monitor question / info

[CUsurfer]

So being interested in a dual monitor setup for my Macbook Pro I went off and did some research. To my dismay, it appears as if running a non-ACD dual monitor setup with a MBP is quite the chore and requires some klugey hardware like the Matrox DualHead2Go or the other Diamond/DisplayLink USB->VGA adapter. Horrible. Guess that's my fault for not realizing the mini DP and thunderbolt were the only outs.

My question is, are you able to run one Apple Cinema display from the thunderbolt port and another third-party monitor using the mini display port?

Similarly...in the future, when non-Apple monitors come out that are equipped with thunderbolt, I should be able to run dual monitors using one monitor hooked up with the mini DP and one with the thunderbolt, correct?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Just so you know, you only have one Thunderbolt port and NO dedicated Mini DisplayPort, the MDP is inside the Thunderbolt port, thus you can only run external monitor via the solution you described, unless you have the Thunderbolt Display, which would allow you to connect another display to it.

To learn more about Thunderbolt (TB) and its compatibility with Mini DisplayPort (MDP):

​

And because Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, the video standard for high-resolution displays, any Mini DisplayPort display plugs right into the Thunderbolt port. To connect a DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA display, just use an existing adapter.

 

[CUsurfer]

Just so you know, you only have one Thunderbolt port and NO dedicated Mini DisplayPort, the MDP is inside the Thunderbolt port, thus you can only run external monitor via the solution you described, unless you have the Thunderbolt Display, which would allow you to connect another display to it.

To learn more about Thunderbolt (TB) and its compatibility with Mini DisplayPort (MDP):

[url=http://images.apple.com/thunderbolt/images/title.png]Image[/URL]​

Woops, had a total blonde moment there. I totally forgot that it was one port . Man, total bummer...guess I'll just have to wait for thunderbolt monitors to come out or pony up for a ACD...

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Woops, had a total blonde moment there. I totally forgot that it was one port . Man, total bummer...guess I'll just have to wait for thunderbolt monitors to come out or pony up for a ACD...

The ACD will work, but you will only be able to connect one to your Mac. The Apple Thunderbolt Display is currently the only one with Thunderbolt capability and allowing you to connect another display to it.