two monitors with one 2012 mac mini

[barryhill]

Hi

I am scratching my head a bit here. I have a 2012 mac mini and am using the hdmi slot for one monitor. The single lightning port is being used to drive an external lightning hard drive.

I would like to have a second monitor. Is there any way I can use the firewire or USB3 ports to drive an extra display monitor?

Ive' search online a bit, and there are plenty of usb2 or usb3 adaptors to VGA, but they are all windows. The only MAC ones I am finding are actual extension boxes with wireless boosters etc. which cost a lot of dosh.

Do usb3 to VGA adaptors exist? Any recommendations where/make?

Is there a firewire to VGA adaptor?

There are also lightning docks which provide extra ports, but unsure if a single lightning port can actually drive two monitors?

Any suggetions/thoughts would be welcome


Barry

 

[Celerondon]

Do usb3 to VGA adaptors exist? Any recommendations where/make?

Yes they do exist but your Thunderbolt (TB) port might be a better option.

There are also lightning docks which provide extra ports, but unsure if a single lightning port can actually drive two monitors?

Yes a TB port can drive two monitors. Check this link for some limitations and requirements for this feature. Mac mini with two monitors

I am confused about something in your question. Why would that TB port have to drive two monitors? If your HDMI port drives one display why would you need two on the Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort connector?


Oops!

I see that you have been multi-posting. You should simply follow the Fishrrman's advice for a sensible solution to your problem.

 

[barryhill]

Yes they do exist but your Thunderbolt (TB) port might be a better option.

Yes a TB port can drive two monitors. Check this link for some limitations and requirements for this feature. Mac mini with two monitors

I am confused about something in your question. Why would that TB port have to drive two monitors? If your HDMI port drives one display why would you need two on the Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort connector?

 

[barryhill]

Sorry, I maybe wasn't clear... I need to keep my thunderbolt external hard drive plugged into my thunderbolt port, so all I have left is the HDMI which is used for one monitor. I then have USB3s or Firewire. Its a 2012 MM.

So the question is, any recommendations/sources for using USB adaptors, any recommended makes, or whether the Firewire port could be used as a monitor port. Sorry if that is a daft question, I am still an egg when it comes to M Mini's, just learning.

barry

 

[Celerondon]

Sorry, I maybe wasn't clear... I need to keep my thunderbolt external hard drive plugged into my thunderbolt port, so all I have left is the HDMI which is used for one monitor. I then have USB3s or Firewire. Its a 2012 MM.

So the question is, any recommendations/sources for using USB adaptors, any recommended makes, or whether the Firewire port could be used as a monitor port. Sorry if that is a daft question, I am still an egg when it comes to M Mini's, just learning.

barry

No your question is not daft. I just think that you might be drowning in information at this point. Your two threads on this one topic are a little confusing. USB & Firewire are not as good as the HDMI and TB/MDP options for modern display connections. Fishrrman provided a great solution several days ago in this answer: running monitors/thunderbolt off mac mini 2012

Do you understand his reasoning? Tying up your Thunderbolt interface with a drive that holds music is a waste of bandwidth. USB3 is fair for video but great for music.

 

[barryhill]

Yes, good thinking, and my apologies for double posting, I tagged on the same question at the end of my 'ghosting' thread and should have closed that one first.

I will pursue this idea, should work and thanks for your help.


Barry

No your question is not daft. I just think that you might be drowning in information at this point. Your two threads on this one topic are a little confusing. USB & Firewire are not as good as the HDMI and TB/MDP options for modern display connections. Fishrrman provided a great solution several days ago in this answer: running monitors/thunderbolt off mac mini 2012

Do you understand his reasoning? Tying up your Thunderbolt interface with a drive that holds music is a waste of bandwidth. USB3 is fair for video but great for music.