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New 15" Macbook Pro - Mini Display Port Adapter?

R

Ryan0751

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 4, 2013
187
168
So I just received my brand new 15" late-2016 Macbook Pro and I want to use this with my Dell UP3216Q 4K 32" display.

I had purchased ahead of time the Apple USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adapter. Annoyingly, it doesn't work with the mini-displayport cable I have connected to the monitor. I've since read that this adapter doesn't work with mini-displayport. Fine, but it's pretty annoying that the packaging for the adapter has this vague picture showing a monitor connected to it (apparently it only works with the ancient TB displays)... In any case, it's fine, I have a bunch of TB2 drives and still need the adapter.

I also have the Apple AV Multi Adapter. This has HDMI, so I'm able to use my monitor in 4K, but only at 30Hz (which is pretty annoying).

So I need some solution to connect up the monitor (displayport, or mini-displayport) to this laptop. Anyone have any recommendations?

I have a pre-order in for the OWC USB-C dock (which has a mini-displayport), but it won't be available until February. There seems to be bunch of generic adapters and docks on Amazon, but I really don't to risk buying something that won't work flawlessly.
 
I've got both of the USB-C to displayport adapters from monoprice (the adapter and the usbc-to-DP cable). They both work fine with the 4k display (although it takes ~10 seconds for the monitor to be detected and turn on sometimes). Right now my setup is this: http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13234 ... with a displayport-to-minidisplayport cable connecting to the monitor itself. (The direct cable is this one - http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=12908 but beware the cable is very short.)

The monoprice HDMI adapter only works at 30hz in 4k. I recommend going down the DP route.

Oh, and this is connected to a 13" tbMBP
 
Ryan0751 said:
So I just received my brand new 15" late-2016 Macbook Pro and I want to use this with my Dell UP3216Q 4K 32" display.

I had purchased ahead of time the Apple USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adapter. Annoyingly, it doesn't work with the mini-displayport cable I have connected to the monitor. [...] In any case, it's fine, I have a bunch of TB2 drives and still need the adapter.
Click to expand...

Do any of those drives have a Thunderbolt daisy chain output? If so, the TB controller in the drive should be able to extract a Displayport signal from the TB stream and send it out the downstream port as a DP signal.

Edit: Just noticed you have a 4K display. The above might not work, or the display may be limited to lower resolutions.
 
Hmm, interesting. After exhaustive searching I'm trying out the "Cable Matters" USB-C to DisplayPort adapter, and then a DisplayPort cable.

My 4K display is on a HumanScale monitor arm, and I also have my new macbook on a stand attached to another arm. A 6 foot cable (and definitely not a 3 foot cable) isn't going to be long enough for me to snake it down through the cable management on one arm, and back up through the other arm.

I really need 10 feet, and it seems like the only option right now is to go with an adapter and DP cable.
 
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