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rMBP 3 thunderbolt displays?

J

JesperA

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Hi!

Sorry for my ignorance, this has probably been asked before but i am rubbish at searching so i didnt find anything about his.

Some people claim that the rMBP can be used with 3 external monitors, 2 TB and 1 HDMI port, on Apples website it says "up to 2 external monitors", but anyway, have anyone tried 3 external monitors with the rMBP?

For instance, since the rMBP can drive atleast 2 TB Displays at 2560x1440px + its internal monitor at the same time, using the rMBP in clamshell and using 3 TB Displays at 2560x1440 would actually mean less pixels than the first example so surely the horsepower is there.

I was thinking 2 TB displays via the built in TB ports on the rMBP and then the third TB display connecting to one of the first 2 displays, sure, TB can be daisy chained but i am not sure if that is only for the data units like external harddrives or monitors too?

Can you guys clear this up for me 😛
 
You can't daisy chain TB monitors. Two TB ports on the rMBP means you can use only two TB monitors. You definitely can do the 2 TB/HDMI option even if Apple doesn't officially support it.
 
rrm998 said:
You can't daisy chain TB monitors. Two TB ports on the rMBP means you can use only two TB monitors. You definitely can do the 2 TB/HDMI option even if Apple doesn't officially support it.
Click to expand...

But I'm fairly certain you have to close the lid, correct? Or can you leave it open with nothing displayed?
 
rrm998 said:
You can't daisy chain TB monitors. Two TB ports on the rMBP means you can use only two TB monitors. You definitely can do the 2 TB/HDMI option even if Apple doesn't officially support it.
Click to expand...

Well you could on the old 2011 MBP so I don't see why not on the rMBP.

Connect two Thunderbolt Displays to a 15-inch MacBook Pro or to an iMac and put an extra 7 million pixels to work. To make a desktop workstation out of your MacBook Pro, just daisy-chain additional Thunderbolt devices, including high-performance storage and video and audio capture devices, through the display.
 
I doubt it'll work, but it's worth a shot. I know the HDMI port supports 2560x1440, but OSX artificially limits it. In Windows it works great though
 
It'll only work with 2 Thunderbolt displays. Seriously if you need that many displays consider an iMac or perhaps the Mac Pro.

That said, you can actually use up to 5 displays: 2x Thunderbolt, 1x HDMI, Built-in, and one via AirDisplay.
 
Yes, you can certainly do it. 2 simultaneous TB displays, and an HDMI display, and the integral screen as well (four in total, 14-odd megapixels).
 
If that works on the rMBP, you could theoretically have six displays. The rMBP has two TB ports, remember, so you can do four displays (including the inbuilt screen) without any daisychaining, provided one is HDMI. If you could daisychain each of the TB's to run two displays, that would be bonkers. Anyone here have four Thunderbolt displays and two Promise raid arrays? Don't all put your hand up at once...
 
rrm998 said:
You can't daisy chain TB monitors. Two TB ports on the rMBP means you can use only two TB monitors. You definitely can do the 2 TB/HDMI option even if Apple doesn't officially support it.
Click to expand...

Yes you definitely can daisy chain TB displays, Apple even shows it on its site:

thunderbolt_displays_macbook_pro.jpg


The question however is what the maximum number of Displayport over Thunderbolt connections is, and I believe I read it was 2.
 
skitzogreg said:
But I'm fairly certain you have to close the lid, correct? Or can you leave it open with nothing displayed?
Click to expand...

I've seen a picture posted with three monitors and the internal LCD all working at the same time.
 
Last edited:
tillsbury said:
If that works on the rMBP, you could theoretically have six displays. The rMBP has two TB ports, remember, so you can do four displays (including the inbuilt screen) without any daisychaining, provided one is HDMI. If you could daisychain each of the TB's to run two displays, that would be bonkers. Anyone here have four Thunderbolt displays and two Promise raid arrays? Don't all put your hand up at once...
Click to expand...

Poor Intel HD 4000 🙁
 
I can try this with 4 or more thunderbolt displays, but im kind of lazy and dont want to lift so many displays together. Going to look for help.
 
toret said:
I can try this with 4 or more thunderbolt displays, but im kind of lazy and dont want to lift so many displays together. Going to look for help.
Click to expand...

The internet would certainly appreciate if you would try daisy chaining 3 TB displays (and more, if you're able). I've done a good amount of searching and cannot find one actual report of someone trying this. Lots of guesses and hoping but no one that I can find has actually been able to try it to determine if it's possible or not.

I would like to upgrade to a rMBP + 3 daisy-chained TB displays or (in the very least) 2 daisy-chained TB displays + 1 TB display in the 2nd TB port.

Thanks!
 
I tried this the other day at work and it doesn't work. I tried two daisy-chained with one in the other port, three daisy-chained, and every possible other combination. I also tried all these with the laptop screen closed and an external mouse/kb.

Two TB displays max, no matter what way you look at it. Only way I could possibly think of would be if you got some HDMI » Thunderbolt adapter and plugged a third display in through there.

As you probably already know, two displays and an HDTV works perfectly alongside the built-in display.
 
dav said:
I tried this the other day at work and it doesn't work. I tried two daisy-chained with one in the other port, three daisy-chained, and every possible other combination. I also tried all these with the laptop screen closed and an external mouse/kb.

Two TB displays max, no matter what way you look at it. Only way I could possibly think of would be if you got some HDMI » Thunderbolt adapter and plugged a third display in through there.

As you probably already know, two displays and an HDTV works perfectly alongside the built-in display.
Click to expand...

Thanks for trying this! I guess we'll have to wait and see if the new rMBP's can handle 3...
 
I plan to pick up one of the new 15" rMBPs soon so I will give this a try on one of them and report back. If anyone tries it before me, let us know! Thanks 🙂
 
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