Cipriano Teibao

Q: Can my Macbook Air from mid 2013 run 2 monitors in daisy chain like a Surface Pro 2 can?

Hi,

 

Can my Macbook air from mid 2013 run 2 monitors in daisy chain like a Surface Pro 2 can?

It seems that both devices have Mini Display Port 1.2 and both devices have Intel HD Graphics 5000.

 

Have a look at this video to see what I wish to do with the Mac: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLG2uzTZWNw

 

Regards,

Cipriano

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4), 2013 model

Posted on Jan 25, 2015 5:35 AM

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Q: Can my Macbook Air from mid 2013 run 2 monitors in daisy chain like a Surface Pro 2 can?

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  • by sterling r,

    sterling r sterling r Jan 26, 2015 1:44 PM in response to Cipriano Teibao
    Community Specialists
    Jan 26, 2015 1:44 PM in response to Cipriano Teibao

    Hi there Cipriano Teibao,

     

    According to the following article it looks like your MacBook Air does support up to 2 external Thunderbolt displays:

     

    Thunderbolt ports and displays: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

     

         
    Thunderbolt-capable Macs that can support up to two connected Apple Thunderbolt Displays.
    • MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012) and later4
    • MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) and later 4
    • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
    • MacBook Pro (15-inch and 17-inch, Early 2011) and later
    • MacBook Air (Mid 2012) and later
    • iMac (Late 2012) 2
    • iMac (Mid 2011) 2
    • iMac (Late 2013) 2
    • iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) 2
    • Mac Mini (Late 2012) 4 
    • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) 2, 5
    • Mac mini (Late 2014) 4
    • Mac Mini (Mid 2011), 2.5 GHz 3
    Two Thunderbolt displays

     

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

    Regards,

    Sterling

  • by mikeisaacs,

    mikeisaacs mikeisaacs Feb 3, 2015 10:47 PM in response to sterling r
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 3, 2015 10:47 PM in response to sterling r

    Sterling,

    He's asking if any monitor supporting the 'DisplayPort 1.2' standard, not just Thunderbolt displays... I can't get it to work off my MBA->Dell->NEC.

     

    So, Apple does NOT implement the DisplayPort 1.2 specification on it's machines, correct?

    Thanks,

    Michael

  • by EBFIXIT,

    EBFIXIT EBFIXIT Feb 4, 2015 5:38 AM in response to Cipriano Teibao
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 4, 2015 5:38 AM in response to Cipriano Teibao

    There are many different ways to hook up two monitors. One monitor hooked up to a USB device and the other to a DisplayPort 1.2. Some people have ran into problems with the USB device but it depends on which one you pick up. Also, the easiest way to do this while having more ports than you can dream of is to use a docking station. Here is one that is very nice but no where close to being cheap. ' http://targus.com/us/universal-usb-3_0-dv-docking-station-acp70usz ' This is just one out of many to choose from.

  • by mikeisaacs,

    mikeisaacs mikeisaacs Feb 4, 2015 10:55 AM in response to EBFIXIT
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 4, 2015 10:55 AM in response to EBFIXIT

    Thanks for your response. I've been looking at alternatives.

     

    1. From MBA ThunderboltPort:

    a. Matrox DualHead2Go(1DP i/p -> 2X DVI-D o/p) or TripleHead2Go can output to multiple monitors. $150 -> $300

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4jfJ7bL61Y

    b.Thunderbolt Docks: Caldigit, Elgato and Belkin's Thunderbolt 2 docks seem to allow multiple monitors only if one of them is a Thunderbolt Display (& the other monitor takes HDMI). $200->$300

     

    2. USB ->Display + Thunderbolt->Display: The USB component would be

    a. Targus Docking Station ($150) unit you mentioned, there are also

    b. USB2.0->DVI/HDMI at Monoprice $35 -> $55

    c. 3.0/2.0 -> DVI/HDMI/DP/VGA from Startech($50->90), 3.0-> HDMI/DVI from Diamond Multimedia($45). 'Plugable' and 'Cable Matters' have a few similar options

    Differing(but generally positive) levels of customer satisfaction. Double-check supported resolutions and refresh rate before purchase.

  • by bsjbsj,

    bsjbsj bsjbsj May 21, 2015 7:37 AM in response to Cipriano Teibao
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 21, 2015 7:37 AM in response to Cipriano Teibao

    I've tried hooking up two monitors to my Macbook Air mid 2013 using a mini displayport to displayport to my Acer monitor and from my Acer monitor diplayport out to an Asus monitor.  The second monitor does not display.

     

    I found 2 conflicting points on the apple website.  One posted above showing the macbook airs mid 2012 and later should support 2 external monitors and another on the technical description page for the macbook air mid 2013 (MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013) - Technical Specifications) that seems to state that it only supports the monitor of the laptop and 1 external monitor.  Can anyone explain this seeming contradiction?  The above stated support for 2 external monitors specifically mentions thunderbolt monitors.  Is this different from displayport monitors?

    Thanks for any help.