Just a quick question. Is it possible to use the Studio Display with 2012 Mac Mini using a Thunderbolt Displayport to USB C cable?
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Studio Display with old Macs
- Thread starter bingeciren
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Not according to the compatibility specs : https://www.apple.com/studio-display/specs/
I suspect the limiting factor is Thunderbolt 3.
I suspect the limiting factor is Thunderbolt 3.
Unless the display is designed for Thunderbolt 3 but also backwardly compatible. Usually devices having higher specs can accept lesser signals but the opposite is not true of course.
I can probably use an HDMI to Thunderbolt adapter but ideally would like to use the DisplayPort output of the Mini.
Is the Apple TB3 to TB2 adapter that supposed to work both ways.
So in theory TB cable to adaptor from the mini, and plug the adapter into the studio display.
There's more about compatibility than just ports:
So, even with a patched install for Monterey on your 2012 mini, there's no support for Thunderbolt 3, so no Studio Display...
"Can Monterey be patched to support devices that require native Thunderbolt 3 connection?"
(I don't know the answer to that question, but if the support is a hardware one (chipset), then I suspect that patching the software won't provide that support. Perhaps I am wrong on that, and maybe someone has already tried that - and will post an answer... )
Studio Display - Technical Specifications
View all technical specifications for the 27-inch 5k Retina Studio Display.
www.apple.com
And, the oldest compatible models in the list of models has Thunderbolt 3 built-in, so would expect no backwards compatibility on older chipsets.
So, even with a patched install for Monterey on your 2012 mini, there's no support for Thunderbolt 3, so no Studio Display...
"Can Monterey be patched to support devices that require native Thunderbolt 3 connection?"
(I don't know the answer to that question, but if the support is a hardware one (chipset), then I suspect that patching the software won't provide that support. Perhaps I am wrong on that, and maybe someone has already tried that - and will post an answer... )
the short answer is probably.
the video card supposedly can support:
controls for center stage and the speakers probably won't work (that requires monterey)
you will need a TB2 to TB3 adapter.
the video card supposedly can support:
Video Support
so, the display will probably drop into a lower than 4K compatibility mode.
controls for center stage and the speakers probably won't work (that requires monterey)
you will need a TB2 to TB3 adapter.
TB2 definitely doesn’t have enough bandwidth for 5 K. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that it doesn’t work at all on the Studio Display.
Thanks for the feedback. Seems like a dodgy situation. I'm very happy with my 2012 Monterey patched Mac mini otherwise.
And... the 2012 mini is not TB2 -- it is Thunderbolt 1, so an SD is even less likely to work.
Patches provide a method to get older hardware to work, but that doesn't necessarily give you full usability.
from my experience with multiple legacy devices and the ASD, the ASD falls back to a compatibility mode when presented with a non-5K signal.
this includes multiple PC laptops and iPads which are theoretically non-compatible.
i don't have the apple TB2 to TB3 adapter handy otherwise i'd check my 2011 MBP8,1 to check
found this over at stack exchange:
I can confirm 100% that you CAN in fact get 3840x2160 @30Hz 4K from a Late 2012 mini running 10.10.5 using only one MDP to DP cable.
so, the answer stands at 'Probably'
you should really ask this in the Mac Accessories Forum.
there's a couple of dedicated ASD threads there
this includes multiple PC laptops and iPads which are theoretically non-compatible.
i don't have the apple TB2 to TB3 adapter handy otherwise i'd check my 2011 MBP8,1 to check
found this over at stack exchange:
I can confirm 100% that you CAN in fact get 3840x2160 @30Hz 4K from a Late 2012 mini running 10.10.5 using only one MDP to DP cable.
so, the answer stands at 'Probably'
you should really ask this in the Mac Accessories Forum.
there's a couple of dedicated ASD threads there
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I can try later this week, as I have the Studio Display and a Late 2015 13" MacBook Pro en route. I do have the TB2->TB3 adapter.
Technically I also have a Late 2014 mini with TB2, but ug it would be a pain to move it into the same room as the Studio Display
Technically I also have a Late 2014 mini with TB2, but ug it would be a pain to move it into the same room as the Studio Display
this thread mentions compatibility between the older LG 5K 27" and the 2012 mini:
I can confirm the Studio Display works great at 4K with my 2015 13" Retina MacBook Pro. I'm using the Apple TB2-TB3 adapter and a Belkin TB2 cable.
Woah... so to confirm, the Studio Display WILL work with my mid-2015 Macbook Pro?
I just assumed it wouldn't. Awesome news.
As long as you use the Apple Thunderbolt adapter, and correct cable to the display, yes.
Looks like it'll run as a 4K monitor and not 5K according to BeatCrazy's screenshot.
5K would require a custom timing, which you can create using SwitchResX. The refresh rate needs to be 47Hz or less for a DisplayPort 1.2 connection. But some older Macs can't do width > 4096 properly without strange artifacts.
5K60 requires a GPU that supports DisplayPort 1.4 and DSC, or a Thunderbolt 3 connection with two DisplayPort 1.2 connections (such as can be created using a Thunderbolt 3 add-in card), or a switch from 10bpc to 6bpc (which you can do in Windows but not easily in macOS), or a conversion from 4:2:0 to RGB (since Apple Studio Display only supports RGB) but I don't know of an adapter that can do that.
One solution is an eGPU.
Thank you so much for this. However, I wonder if you you know if ther are any minimum systems requirements for the display? Because I cant get it to work even though I have done as above. (I have a very old Mac OS installed because I don't want to be forced into the subcriptions of eg Adobe CS and Microsoft Office..) /Maria
What are the specs of your mac?
I now have the studio display and it works with my mid-2015 Macbook Pro (using the thunderbolt adapter) but not my old 2012 Mac mini.
Macbook Pro specs:
2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB
What version of macOS do you have?
Support for Apple Studio Display was not added until macOS 12 Monterey.
Maybe it's possible to copy the display override files for the Apple Studio Display to older versions of macOS?
The files have product IDs ae3a, ae3b, ae3e, ae3f.
You have to be running Monterey or later for the display to work.
Off topic, but if you're really still hanging onto CS6 (which is over a decade old); then you ought to move it into a VM, rather than staying on Mojave for the rest of time. Or migrate over to Affinity. You can buy "perpetual licences" for Office 2021, too.
Thanks! I am
Thanks, mine is Mac Book Pro early 2015, 2.9 GHz, intel core i5, 8 GB etc, still running smoothly on El Capitan! I think its the operating system that's not updated enough. PS. I do have another newer Mac, which runs perfectly with my new screen... but for differens reasons I still want to be able to use the old one.
Thank you for this advice. Running on El Capitan still!! Works just fine...apart from the screen compatibility...
Thank you! Then I know. Yes still hanging on to CS6, and El Capitan 0.0.
.. works fine for some of my purposes. Good to know there are perpetual licenses for Office 2021 though, did not know that...(PS. I do have the latest CS suite and a newer mac aswell, which obviously works well with the new display, but for different reasons I would have wanted to make it work with my old mac too...