MB Air 2020 Accessories

[jhawkin1]

I will be receiving the new MacBook Air 2020 in exchange for my older MacBook Air 2018. If money was no object what would be some great accessories to purchase to help with functionality and for travel?

Thank you!

 

[jdb8167]

I bought the Caldigit SOHO USB-C dock. OWC also has a compatible Thunderbolt 4 dock that I’ve been looking at. Right now though, the SOHO dock is good enough for my desktop.

 

[jhawkin1]

I bought the Caldigit SOHO USB-C dock. OWC also has a compatible Thunderbolt 4 dock that I’ve been looking at. Right now though, the SOHO dock is good enough for my desktop.

Is there something similar I could purchase that is compatible/compares and get it for under $250?

 

[jdb8167]

The SOHO dock cost me about $100. There are a huge number of choices in the $250 range. The Caldigit TS3+ is very popular at around $250.

 

[jhawkin1]

The SOHO dock cost me about $100. There are a huge number of choices in the $250 range. The Caldigit TS3+ is very popular at around $250.

Thanks for the reply! If I hook up dual monitors to it from my MB Air 2020 16 gb memory (RAM), 8-core would it slow down functionality of the computer? I am currently teaching from home via Zoom.

 

[smal]

Thanks for the reply! If I hook up dual monitors to it from my MB Air 2020 16 gb memory (RAM), 8-core would it slow down functionality of the computer? I am currently teaching from home via Zoom.

While it will probably work the intel version will become hot and loud with monitors and zoom. Like it will stay at 100C(cpu) the entire time and it wont be quiet.

 

[jhawkin1]

While it will probably work the intel version will become hot and loud with monitors and zoom. Like it will stay at 100C(cpu) the entire time and it wont be quiet.

Even with the upgrade in RAM and it being M1?

 

[smal]

Even with the upgrade in RAM and it being M1?

Sorry my bad when you said dual monitor I was thinking it was intel as M1 does not support dual monitor natively. Do you plan to use Displaylink? Also no the M1 does not get hot or loud at all. You can expect temps of about 65-70C while using zoom safari and a monitor. I dont know how much displaylink adds to the tempreture as I have never used it.

 

[jhawkin1]

Sorry my bad when you said dual monitor I was thinking it was intel as M1 does not support dual monitor natively. Do you plan to use Displaylink? Also no the M1 does not get hot or loud at all. You can expect temps of about 65-70C while using zoom safari and a monitor. I dont know how much displaylink adds to the tempreture as I have never used it.

I have two HP 23es Displays- do I need a big dock or can I use a smaller one like this one: Adapter

 

[smal]

The problem is not actually the displays(unless one of them is over 6k so like basically none). Basically you will get the comptuer and plug in the adapter and only one display will work at a time. To get around this limitation some people have used this(below)

DisplayLink GPU Agnostic Display Solutions

Synaptics’ DisplayLink uses software and a device decoder to act as a virtual graphics card, enhancing display capabilities, productivity, and sustainability with adaptive compression technology.

www.displaylink.com

 

[jhawkin1]

The problem is not actually the displays(unless one of them is over 6k so like basically none). Basically you will get the comptuer and plug in the adapter and only one display will work at a time. To get around this limitation some people have used this(below)

DisplayLink GPU Agnostic Display Solutions

Synaptics’ DisplayLink uses software and a device decoder to act as a virtual graphics card, enhancing display capabilities, productivity, and sustainability with adaptive compression technology.

www.displaylink.com

I was just reading up on this. So if I download this software and follow all prompts allowing DisplayLink during screen sharing in privacy I can use the adapter listed below that I purchased from amazon?

Adapter

Both screens are powered by HDMI cords.

 

[smal]

Oh I looked at the wrong link I was looking at the SOHO adapter but that one says it supports displaylink.

 

[jhawkin1]

Oh I looked at the wrong link I was looking at the SOHO adapter but that one says it supports displaylink.

Perfect. I will try it out when I receive it from Amazon. In the meantime, I will download DisplayLink Software. Essentially, do I need a docking station in order to power multiple devices for Zoom and displays or you think this adapter is powerful enough to do all-in-one? I am also using it for ethernet connection for faster video speeds.

 

[jhawkin1]

It looks like the DisplayLink cannot locate the monitor(s). I am able to connect both monitors from Adapter to my MacBook Air 2020 M1, but the two large hp 23es mirror just the 2nd screen.

I do like the adapter because I can hook up my Ethernet as well as 3 USB connections and two HDMI slots. Is there another solution I may be missing?

If not, I can hand my 2nd screen being my laptop computer screen.


Thanks everyone!

 

[smal]

If you go down to the reviews it seems they falsely advertise displaylink without being certified.

 

[jhawkin1]

Perfect. Thanks for this.