What am I in for? (Converting my three-screen desktop setup for the 16")

[mightyjabba]

I decided to finally bite the bullet and upgrade from my 2014 MBP when Apple released the 16-inch, because it finally seemed like a big enough upgrade to me (and the keyboard finally seems decent). But I am a little concerned about how I will fit it in to my current setup. I have a very wide desk with a 34" ultrawide LG screen in the center, flanked by two 27" Dell monitors. None of them are 4K or anything, but they are the same height as the LG screen, so when I put them all together it is like one gigantic 6-foot wide screen. I also have a couple of large USB hubs with a variety of peripherals and hard disks attached, and a KVM switch so I can switch the center LG screen between my Mac and PC. This is a fairly involved setup, and I'm a little concerned about how I can get it to work with the new computer.

At the moment I have the LG and one of the Dells attached via Mini Displayport and the other Dell attached via HDMI. What adapters/cables would I need to replicate this on the 16" MBP? I assume some kind of Thunderbolt 3 hub would be in order, but does anyone have any advice about how best to accomplish all of this?

Also, I have been running the 2014 MBP in clamshell mode underneath the LG monitor, but I wonder if that is a good idea. The new machine may get hotter, and of course I wouldn't be able to use the nice new screen (and to a lesser extent, the touchbar) if I have the screen closed. But there isn't enough room on the desk to have all 3 screens and an open MacBook Pro without it obscuring one of the screens. Hmm... I'd be interested to hear from people who have multi-screen setups with the newer MBPs.

 

[Stephen.R]

I’m not sure if any of the available hubs will handle three (even non 4K) displays and USB/whatever data well. Personally I’d probably go TB3 > dual DP for the two side displays (I use https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3ADP2DP/) and then get some form of TB3 or USB-c to video+USB+power dock/adapter for the centre display, running USB stuff, powering the laptop. That’s still just two ports used, so not a huge hassle to unplug if you need to do it often.

 

[StellarVixen]

You are in for disappointment if you expect laptop to fully replace your desktop, that's what you're in for.

 

[mightyjabba]

You are in for disappointment if you expect laptop to fully replace your desktop, that's what you're in for.

I'm already using a MacBook Pro...
[automerge]1574108299[/automerge]

I’m not sure if any of the available hubs will handle three (even non 4K) displays and USB/whatever data well. Personally I’d probably go TB3 > dual DP for the two side displays (I use https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3ADP2DP/) and then get some form of TB3 or USB-c to video+USB+power dock/adapter for the centre display, running USB stuff, powering the laptop. That’s still just two ports used, so not a huge hassle to unplug if you need to do it often.

Thanks for the link to the adapter. It looks promising. Over the long term I would eventually like to upgrade to 4K or higher displays, so it would be nice to have something that I could keep using in that case.

 

[Stephen.R]

I'm already using a MacBook Pro...
[automerge]1574108299[/automerge]

Thanks for the link to the adapter. It looks promising. Over the long term I would eventually like to upgrade to 4K or higher displays, so it would be nice to have something that I could keep using in that case.

The other thing which I’ve come across recently (trying to make better use of my 2018 MBP15 besides being a “spare”) - a lot of “dock” type devices don’t provide anywhere close to the power a full size MBP can draw - there are obviously some, but a lot are 60w, and some even less. A recent OWC release (dual sata bays, Ethernet, usb3, DisplayPort) provides just 27W!

Of course you can just use one of the other two ports to charge - but it’s another cable to un/plug each time.

 

[Thysanoptera]

Get eGPU with 100W power delivery, even RX580 would drive those monitors without any problem, 6ft active TB3 cable to have some flexibility.

 

[Stephen.R]

Get eGPU with 100W power delivery, even RX580 would drive those monitors without any problem, 6ft active TB3 cable to have some flexibility.

If his 2014 MBP already runs them, I’m pretty sure a 2019 will run them fine without an egpu.

 

[Thysanoptera]

If his 2014 MBP already runs them, I’m pretty sure a 2019 will run them fine without an egpu.

I’m not worried about MBP, I’m worried about the TB3 dock. The DP hubs in them like to overheat in multimonitor setups and then you treated to monitor on/off cycles. I always had issues with docks, none with eGPU. Plus it unloads the internal Radeon chip leaving more room for CPU.

 

[bsbeamer]

Sonnet eGFX 650 OC (GPU-650OC-TB3) or Razer Core X with any compatible GPU should be more than sufficient. Both of these can deliver 100W power, so won't even need a secondary PSU. (Note the OC not WOC for Sonnet. This one is 100W, other is 87W PD.)

Sonnet compatibility list:

https://www.sonnettech.com/support/downloads/manuals/Compatibility_Graphics_Cards.pdf

Brand new Sapphire Pulse RX 580's can be found under $200 these days.

 

[Glockworkorange]

The other thing which I’ve come across recently (trying to make better use of my 2018 MBP15 besides being a “spare”) - a lot of “dock” type devices don’t provide anywhere close to the power a full size MBP can draw - there are obviously some, but a lot are 60w, and some even less. A recent OWC release (dual sata bays, Ethernet, usb3, DisplayPort) provides just 27W!

Of course you can just use one of the other two ports to charge - but it’s another cable to un/plug each time.

That's a good point---going to be a lot of power draw from the 16 inch.