Macbook Pro 2019 and Mac Studio on three monitor setup

[KimSanka]

Hi there,

I own a Macbook Pro (2019) and I'm looking for ways to link it to my three monitor setup. The three monitors are HPs with HDMI, Display port and DVI.

It seems to me the i-tec USB 3.0 / USB-C / Thunderbolt, 3x 4K Docking Station should do the trick.

In time I would like to buy a Mac Studio and I was wondering if I would be able to use this same docking station to connect the Mac Studio to my monitor setup. So I wouldn't have to buy another solution.

Any ideas on this?

 

[xraydoc]

Hi there,

I own a Macbook Pro (2019) and I'm looking for ways to link it to my three monitor setup. The three monitors are HPs with HDMI, Display port and DVI.

It seems to me the i-tec USB 3.0 / USB-C / Thunderbolt, 3x 4K Docking Station should do the trick.

In time I would like to buy a Mac Studio and I was wondering if I would be able to use this same docking station to connect the Mac Studio to my monitor setup. So I wouldn't have to buy another solution.

Any ideas on this?

I’m not sure you want that. It uses DisplayLink (basically a USB video interface) to support the three displays. Performance of DisplayLink is not great. Ok if you have something like an M1 MacBook Air that only supports one external display natively, but otherwise you’ll probably want to avoid it.

For the Mac Studio, you can simply plug in each display to one of its Thunderbolt ports. Depending on your MacBook Pro model, it should support at least two external displays — you’ll want to double check its specs.

 

[KimSanka]

I’m not sure you want that. It uses DisplayLink (basically a USB video interface) to support the three displays. Performance of DisplayLink is not great. Ok if you have something like an M1 MacBook Air that only supports one external display natively, but otherwise you’ll probably want to avoid it.

For the Mac Studio, you can simply plug in each display to one of its Thunderbolt ports. Depending on your MacBook Pro model, it should support at least two external displays — you’ll want to double check its specs.

Thanks for your reply!

My Macbook Pro has an intel processor.

I realise what I want is quiet specific. There might be more then one option for my particular situation. I'll try an give a short summary.

I own a Mac Pro 2013. You know, the jet engine or garbage tin depending on how big of a fan you are ;-) I also own a Macbook Pro 2019 (from work). Since Covid I mostly work from home on my Mac Pro because I really like working on my three monitor setup.

I have come to a stage where my laptop is faster then my Mac pro. I would prefer to replace the Mac Pro with a Mac Studio but it's just not a good time for me now.

So I'm thinking of first replacing the Mac Pro with my laptop but I only want to do that if I can use the Macbook Pro on my three monitors.

The laptop has 4 Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connectors. I haven't tried to connect my monitors to those. I don't have the adaptors. I was assuming connecting my three monitors, just with HDMI to USB-C adpators would not work. I could be wrong. Am I?

In time I will get me a Mac Studio which I'm going to need to work with my monitor setup. It's going to cost me a lot of money so I'm basically trying to figure out if I'm going to have to invest extra money, specifically to get the Mac Studio working with my monitors. On the other hand it could be that the solution for my Laptop will become unneeded when I have the Mac Studio and might be to expencive to purchase for a limited time.

I'm unsure what the capabilities are when it comes to connecting three monitors to the Mac Studio. I managed to make it work with my old Mac Pro but only with a truckload of adaptors and it has always been a bit dodgy. I sometimes need to unplug and plugin a connection to get the signal go through. But knowing I only need adaptors to make it work on a Mac Studio is basically what I'm after.

 

[KimSanka]

Lol, now I see that you didn't say "I'm not sure what you want".

 

[xraydoc]

The laptop has 4 Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connectors. I haven't tried to connect my monitors to those. I don't have the adaptors. I was assuming connecting my three monitors, just with HDMI to USB-C adpators would not work. I could be wrong. Am I?

Yes, you are wrong. Connecting monitors to those ports on your laptop is exactly what you can do. You can also use a hub if you want to get additional ports, too, such as ethernet, USB-A, or additional USB-C ports.

According to this article https://support.apple.com/kb/SP809?locale=en_US you can connect up to 4 4K displays to your MBP if you have the 16" model, but you'll have to make sure yourself by checking the model against Apple's specs. It might be different for 13" models (maybe up to two; I'm not sure) or different graphics options.

Once you figure out how many displays your laptop will support, what I personally would suggest for you is something like this: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/docks/owc-thunderbolt-3-dock

Connect one display to the dock's mini-DisplayPort, one display to the dock using a USB-C to DisplayPort (or HDMI) adapter, and one display directly to one of the other Thunderbolt/USB-C ports on your laptop using another USB-C to DisplayPort (or HDMI) adapter. This hub will also give you some regular USB ports, an ethernet port, audio and SD card readers.

There's several other similar Thunderbolt docks, so this is only an example/suggestion.

 

[KimSanka]

Yes, you are wrong. Connecting monitors to those ports on your laptop is exactly what you can do. You can also use a hub if you want to get additional ports, too, such as ethernet, USB-A, or additional USB-C ports.

According to this article https://support.apple.com/kb/SP809?locale=en_US you can connect up to 4 4K displays to your MBP if you have the 16" model, but you'll have to make sure yourself by checking the model against Apple's specs. It might be different for 13" models (maybe up to two; I'm not sure) or different graphics options.

Once you figure out how many displays your laptop will support, what I personally would suggest for you is something like this: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/docks/owc-thunderbolt-3-dock

Connect one display to the dock's mini-DisplayPort, one display to the dock using a USB-C to DisplayPort (or HDMI) adapter, and one display directly to one of the other Thunderbolt/USB-C ports on your laptop using another USB-C to DisplayPort (or HDMI) adapter. This hub will also give you some regular USB ports, an ethernet port, audio and SD card readers.

There's several other similar Thunderbolt docks, so this is only an example/suggestion.

Ah nice. Thanks, clears things up.

I'll try the adaptor solution for my laptop first.

Isn't the dock you suggest similar to the one I suggested (i-tec) in my initial post? With a difference that the i-tec dock can handle three monitors.

 

[xraydoc]

Ah nice. Thanks, clears things up.

I'll try the adaptor solution for my laptop first.

Isn't the dock you suggest similar to the one I suggested (i-tec) in my initial post? With a difference that the i-tec dock can handle three monitors.

No. While similar, the one you posted appears to USB-C only, not Thunderbolt. And at least one of the displays attached to the one you linked will run through DisplayLink, a software-based driver with a little conventional USB-attached GPU. It’s completely different from the similar-sounding “DisplayPort” interface. It can add an external display in places where the hardware doesn’t normally support one, but it’s not a good solution when you have direct hardware at your disposal. Performance is slow, refresh rates are limited, rotation options may be non-existent, and you better hope there’s no software incompatibility and that drivers are updated for new versions of macOS.