Hello. I've got a Thunderbolt 3 hub connected to my Thunderbolt 4 port on the new MBP 2021. This hub can connect an external display via:
Mini DisplayPort,
DisplayPort,
USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, or
HDMI.
Which is the most energy efficient (or otherwise best)?
Thanks.
Anything OTHER THAN HDMI.
HDMI uses the highest power levels and has the lowest supported resolutions of those you mentioned.
The others are actually minor variations or encapsulations of the same DisplayPort family. ThunderBolt may use slightly more power than the others based on DisplayPort, because it has more capabilities, and can run more than one display on its more complex cables.
Hi,
It depends on which display port your external monitor has.
If it's a Pro Display XDR or the displays which have SUB-C port, connect the display via USB-C is the best.
HDMI is very common, if I were you, get external display which has HDMI port and connect via HDMI, though.
The power expended by the processor is what you could measure with TOP command. All DisplayPort family use exactly the same processor power.
Fetching screen data is done by rasterizer/display-generator Hardware in the graphics subsystem. Once set up, data are fetched at that same interval again and again without processor additional intervention. The entire screen data MUST be completed within each screen refresh interval (often 1/60th second) or the screen will go partially or completely blank without the late or missing data. In addition, each one-pixel-tall Row must be fetched on a much tighter schedule within one row-time, or part of the row will be blank.
Hi and thanks.
My external display, an LG 27UK850-W 27" 4K UHD, has inputs for all three—DisplayPort, USB-C, and HDMI.
So USB-C will use the least power? BTW, I noticed that when using USB-Cm, the LG always stays on. And while using DisplayPort, when the Mac sleeps, the monitor goes off and stays off until a push its sole button.
OK, thanks. I suppose I should compare DisplayPort vs USB-C by running top or Activity Monitor. Which processes should I track? Or I have iStat Menu, which draws power usage graphs that I could compare. At least I know not to use HDMI. Had no idea.
Technically speaking, USB-C is ONLY the name of the connector, and nothing more The correct names are slight variations of USB-3 something something that actually SHOULD be used for precise description of these protocols.
I have been "fast and loose" with the terminology around USB-C, but I think you get the idea.
Incredible! I had no idea that Thunderbolt > USB-C > DP. Thank you so much for your amazingly detailed and helpful explanations.
DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort connections will provide the display protocol, and will provide Picture and possibly Sound on the external display.
If the display has additional USB-based support, such as USB ports for a keyboard, mouse, card reader, or drive, you will need something that contains DisplayPort in a slightly larger envelope. That would be USB-C connection, a superset of DisplayPort.
If your display supported additional more complex higher speed devices, such as ThunderBolt drives or additional displays, you would use genuine ThunderBolt cabling, which has more data pathways in it and provides an even larger superset of DisplayPort capabilities (a much bigger envelope). ThunderBolt cabling may generate slightly more heat, but not a measurable amount of additional processor overhead.
Which external display cable is best for MBP 2021?
