Mac Studio and Displays (Cinema vs. Thunderbolt vs. Studio)

Jack_Hardman wrote:

Option 1:

I've seen recently somebody using 3 x Apple Cinema 30"s (old, but have a very similar aesthetic to the Mac Studio). Given my desk size, I was thinking of getting 2 x Apple Cinema 23", or a 30" Apple Cinema Display, using 1/2 adapters (I've seen a Club3D CAC-1510-A USB Type C to Dual Link DVI-D Cable Adapter). Would having two of the 23" Cinema Display work?

Should work – with the right adapter.

Would I be able to plug my work laptop (MacBook Air, M2 2022) in to these monitors too?

If they work with your Mac Studio, you should be able to use one of them, at a time, with your M2 MacBook Air. Simply move the USB-C end of the adapter cable from the Mac Studio to the M2 MacBook Air.

(The M2 MacBook Air, unlike the Mac Studio, supports only a single external monitor.)

Would the display be good enough quality given the age? As I said, I don't need for any editing work but would like the screen to be "modern" enough to use.

These are non-Retina displays, and modern versions of macOS have gotten rid of some of the "tricks" (like sub-pixel anti-aliasing) that older versions of Mac OS X / macOS used to make fonts look better on pre-Retina / non-Retina displays.

I remember that a lot of photographers used to like the 30" Cinema Displays, so if you found one of those whose backlight had held up over the years, the color accuracy probably wouldn't be too bad.

Option 2:

The 27" Thunderbolt Displays. I'm considering getting two of these, and using USB-C to Mini DisplayPort Adapters, would this work? Again would I be able to use my work MacBook with these screens on occasion? Would I also be able to use a MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter to charge my laptop either when using the screen for my MacBook, or for the Mac Studio?

USB-C to Mini DisplayPort adapters won't work for the Thunderbolt Display (model A1407). That display needs Thunderbolt input, so you'll need Apple Thunderbolt 3-to-2 adapters.

(Conversely, the Apple Thunderbolt 3-to-2 adapter only translates Thunderbolt, so it wouldn't work for any Mini DisplayPort display or adapter plugged into its Thunderbolt 2 side. If you had a 27" LED Cinema Display (model A1316), you would want a USB-C to Mini DisplayPort adapter.)

I don't know of any converters that go from MagSafe or MagSafe 2 to MagSafe 3, so you wouldn't be able to use any of these old displays to charge your M2 MacBook Air. (The Studio needs wall power and would not have any use for charging power from a display.)

Option 3:

I'm assuming I would be able to buy to plug and go with two Studio Displays? I understand these will most likely have the best screen quality/resolution, however given the price point of these and what I would use these for I think this would be my last option. Any of the options above would cost less than one of these screens, and whilst price isn't a dealbreaker I'm trying to be somewhat sensible!

Option 4:

Buy two 27" 4K monitors that have good specifications (e.g., IPS panels, near-100% coverage of sRGB) and run them in a Retina scaling mode, like you would with a 5K monitor.

There are some 27" 4K monitors out there that are basic, but with decent specifications, that cost only $300 to $400. You might have to buy separate speakers and/or a separate Webcam, but still, your bottom line would be much, much less than if you bought $1599+ Apple 5K Studio monitors.

You might give up a little quality this way (compared to using a 5K monitor), but this is what I'm doing – and what many others are doing given the relative prices of 4K and 5K monitors.

Also, for all options would I need an adapter to do use the multiple screens or could they plug directly in to the Mac Studio/MacBook?

For the Studio, you'd just need adapters from USB-C to Mini DIsplayPort, or from Thunderbolt 3 to 2. You could plug them directly into two of the Studio's four back-panel USB-C (USB, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt) ports.

For the M2 MacBook Air, it would not be possible to attach two Mini DisplayPort or HDMI monitors without using workaround devices that create second-class display outputs. It wouldn't be possible to attach two Thunderbolt Displays at all, as the only way to get video signals for those is from a Mac's supported hardware video outputs.