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Monitors and Dock for Macbook Pro 2016

C

CTYankee

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 18, 2002
419
20
I'm upgrading my workstation top to bottom:
-2016 Macbook Pro 13" with Touchbar
-dual 4K displays
-Thunderbolt 3 Dock

Monitor Requirements:
-at least 4K
-must work well with Macbook Pro
-23" or 24" preferred (I find my current Apple 27" is too big, a lot of dead space given how I use it.)
-HDMI input or other input that works with TB3 dock
-black bezel is preferred
-height adjustable (I'm tall and most are way too short...VESA mount is an option if the good monitors are not adjustable)

The dock should have:
-dual 4K video out
-one cable for data and charging to go to the Macbook Pro
-Ethernet
-USB 3 A
-USB 3 C
-Headphone jack
-USB ports for charging iPhone and iPad
-eSATA would be nice but not necessary


Any suggestions, particularly on the monitors?
 
There aren't any TB3 docks yet, except for CalDigit's TS3 lite, but it can't power the computer. I have the TS3 on preorder and it's supposed to ship next month. It has two esata ports (and all of the above).

I have a dell P2415Q that I use with my 2016 MBP. Works great and looks gorgeous in 1080p HiDPI mode. I had some bad luck, though--had to go through a few models until I got one that was flawless. Dell's support is pretty good, though, and they made it painless.
 
thanks, I am about to unpack two Dell P2415Q monitors.

As for TB3 docks...waiting for those to hit the market. The one that seems to meet my needs best is the Lenovo. It has the most video outputs (two Display Port), but only supports a 13" MBP for charging. The others from OWC, CalDigit, El Gato, and Belkin only have one video output port. I'd have to use a TB3 port and $20+ adapter. I'd prefer not to use up a TB3 port just for video. Are there others with two dedicated video outputs?
 
CTYankee said:
thanks, I am about to unpack two Dell P2415Q monitors.

As for TB3 docks...waiting for those to hit the market. The one that seems to meet my needs best is the Lenovo. It has the most video outputs (two Display Port), but only supports a 13" MBP for charging. The others from OWC, CalDigit, El Gato, and Belkin only have one video output port. I'd have to use a TB3 port and $20+ adapter. I'd prefer not to use up a TB3 port just for video. Are there others with two dedicated video outputs?
Click to expand...
Most of those, including the OWC support a second display using the secondary USB-C connector. Plug one display into the Display Port, plug a second in a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter...
 
OWC is only 60W power. It'll do you on a 13", but 15" users are stuffed.
 
danielwsmithee said:
You can run the 15" off of the 60W power delivery of any of these just fine. It just takes longer to recharge your battery.
Click to expand...
In most use cases, sure. But in others, the opposite is true - as @jimthing states, you'll see drain if using a 60W charger during intensive tasks (indeed the 87W charger is barely enough to break even if you're gaming or something). Yet in terms of recharging the battery when the MacBook is at idle, the 60W is no slower than an 87W charger because the fastest the battery can take on charge is under 60W anyway.
 
I just got a Dell P2415Q to use with my 2016 MacBook Pro 15". I'm connecting it via a new Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 dock and a DisplayPort cable.

So far the experience with this setup has only one major flaw: I have to power cycle the monitor 1-5 times any time I connect my MBP to the dock before the monitor will sync correctly with the computer. I don't really know whether to blame the monitor or the dock, since I don't have a Thunderbolt 3 -> DisplayPort adapter to try connecting to the monitor without the dock.

I have also tried connecting a second monitor, a 1080p display, to the dock using the HDMI port on the second display out connection (while also using the built-in display.) Trying to do that causes all of my screens to try and fail to sync indefinitely. To be fair, I'm unsure if a 15" MBP is supposed to be able to drive three screens at the same time (two external + the built-in display.)

The 65 watts of power delivery has not been an issue for me at all. I have not noticed any drain at all, through my daily usage, which is admittedly moderate, from a power perspective. Mostly office tasks, and the occasional Java compilation. I'm not playing back hi-res video or gaming or anything, so I can't speak to that.
 
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