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I have an M2 Pro Mac Mini. Can I connect one thunderbolt cable from my Mac to an OWC thunderbolt dock, then from there, output to two 4K displays using USB-C cables? Seeing a lot of mixed information online.
Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023)
Wanted to reply back and say that I bought a Caldigit Element thunderbolt hub and it works great. From the Mac Mini, I’m running a thunderbolt cable to the hub, then two USB-C cables out, one to each 4K monitor.
Wanted to reply back and say that I bought a Caldigit Element thunderbolt hub and it works great. From the Mac Mini, I’m running a thunderbolt cable to the hub, then two USB-C cables out, one to each 4K monitor.
You do not need to use a dock. The M2 Pro Mac mini supports three displays, one from the HDMI port and two displays from the Thunderbolt ports.
see > Connect a display to Mac mini - Apple Support
If you only have an M2 Mac mini, then it only supports two displays, one on the HDMI port and one on a Thunderbolt port.
Servant of Cats wrote:
The regular M2 Mac Mini only supports two displays. But it's more flexible than the M1 Mac Mini about how you attach them.
If you like, you can attach both displays via USB-C (DisplayPort) or Thunderbolt. (Leaving the HDMI port open.) I believe this is why the M2 Mini has Thunderbolt 4, where the M1 Mini has Thunderbolt 3.
That is correct, I was thinking of the M1 Mac mini. Thank you!
den.thed wrote:
If you only have an M2 Mac mini, then it only supports two displays, one on the HDMI port and one on a Thunderbolt port.
The regular M2 Mac Mini only supports two displays. But it's more flexible than the M1 Mac Mini about how you attach them.
If you like, you can attach both displays via USB-C (DisplayPort) or Thunderbolt. (Leaving the HDMI port open.) I believe this is why the M2 Mini has Thunderbolt 4, where the M1 Mini has Thunderbolt 3.
Thanks. Yes I’ve read that I can use two cables, one for each display, but I’m hoping I can do it with one, as I have to switch back and forth between the Mac and my pc laptop. Unplugging one cable from the dock and plugging another one in will be easier than unplugging two cables. Then on top of that, I’ll gain a few extra ports from the dock. So does anyone know if one thunderbolt cable coming from the M2 pro will support two displays?
You might be able to daisy-chain two Thunderbolt displays with resolutions of 4K or less. But NOT two USB-C( DisplayPort) or DP ones, which is what I believe you are asking about.
You may want to look into the OWC Thunderbolt Hub that splits one Thunderbolt chain into three. I think it would let you hang two USB-C (DisplayPort) displays off two of its three downstream Thunderbolt ports, leaving one downstream Thunderbolt port and one downstream USB-A port for other stuff. OWC also has some fancier docks with the 3xThunderbolr port feature.
Check with them to see which, if any, of these might offer a good one-cable solution for you.
Thanks. Yes that is my plan. To try to use the two downstream thunderbolt ports to connect to the displays via USB-C. I have seen at least one other post where someone said it did work, but when you look at OWC’s website, and even Cal digit, they make it sound like it’s not possible with one thunderbolt port. So it is very confusing. Maybe they are talking about the M2 and not the M2 Pro. I’ll contact OWC and go from there.
M2 Pro Mac Mini dual displays
