Level 1

15 points

Two monitors with Macbook Pro

I'd like to setup 2 Asus 25.5 external monitors with my Early 2011 17" Macbook Pro on Mountain Lion (10.8.2) with AMD Radeon HD 6750M / Intel HD Graphics 3000, 8GB Memory. I've been reading that I might be able to use the Diamond USB Display Adapter or a Matrox product.

It appears the Matrox is preferred over the adapter but it's also more expensive and I'm not sure which one to get. When I go through the configuration (macbook Pro, early 2011, 2 displays), it gives 4 solutions (Dualhead2go digital ME, DP edition, triplehead Digital SE and DP edition).

Is there a less expensive option that works for connecting 2 external monitors? And/or does anyone have any feedback on the above 2 solutions?

Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Dec 25, 2012 5:13 PM

56 replies

Jan 21, 2013 9:27 AM in response to Kelly Crossley

On another note, the Matrox DualHead2Go Digirtal ME has rendered my Spyder3 Elite color calibrator useless, which is yet another issue.

If I had unlimited funds I'd simply purchase (2) Apple Thunderbolt Displays and daisy chain them together, but at $829 each that's a lot of dough. 😟

ke715 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jan 21, 2013 9:47 AM in response to Kelly Crossley

Yes me too. I would love to have 2 Apple Displays.

When you said your HD5770 upgrade kit worked with your old MacPro, how was that configured? I have a 2011 MacBook Pro using two Asus 25" monitors with a HD 6750M graphics card. Do you think there is another setup I could try (without buying one of the adapters we each listed earlier)?

Jan 21, 2013 9:53 AM in response to ke715

Unfortunately, I don't think there is another viable solution for MacBook Pro owners. The funny thing is if you look at this Matrox product page and click on the PowerDesk tab, then click the Desktop Divider illustration, that shows exactly what we're both trying to achieve.

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/digital_me/

I wonder if we just haven't figured this product out yet. 🙂

ke715 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jan 21, 2013 9:58 AM in response to Kelly Crossley

Yes, I saw that too and pointed that out in my email to their support. It would be nice if we just haven't figured it out. 🙂 My guess is that it just won't do what we want. We only have 14 days to return it. I'm struggling over that one.

Jan 21, 2013 10:02 AM in response to ke715

I hear ya. I'll probably keep mine because there really is no other solution, at this point, that I've found. 😟

BTW, one huge benefit of the Matrox solution is that they're using the Thunderbolt port and vided acceleration. According to OWC, the Newer device doesn't do that.

ke715 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jan 22, 2013 9:47 AM in response to ke715

Kelly,

Here's the response I received today from tech support at Matrox.

To change the position of the dock, you need to do the following:

1. Click on the “M” icon near the clock and then click on “Desktop Management Preferences”;
2. On the bottom you’ll see an option that says Dock Position. You should select “Start” so it can go to the left screen, and then you can resize it to fit accordingly.

Now, on Mac we can’t control where the applications will open or where the warning and error boxes will appear. But, for most applications, they should remember the last position they were in and reopen at the same place. What we can do to help is use a shortcut to move and maximize an application on one of the screens. To do it:

1. Click on the “M” icon near the clock and then click on “Desktop Management Preferences”;
2. Once open, you should see the shortcut option on the top left. Check the box to enable the feature, and select the shortcut you want to use. The default is Command + Option + Number 1-3. Each number represents a screen.
3. Select an application like Safari and try to press on the keyboard Command + Option + Number 1 and then Command + Option + Number 2.

Jan 22, 2013 2:20 PM in response to ke715

Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately, apps like Adobe Creative Suite have a variety of windows as part of their interface. This means the last one selected will move back and forth, but not all of them. Very frustrating. 😟

Jan 22, 2013 9:35 PM in response to Kelly Crossley

This transition from a Mac Pro to a MacBook Pro is not going very well. Today, I found out that I can't use my color calibration device (a Spyder3Elite) with the Matrox adapter. 😟

ke715 Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 4, 2013 2:57 PM in response to Kelly Crossley

Kelly,

I hope it's working out better for you. I found I open too many programs during the day that it is too annoying for them to all open in the middle. I loved your idea of the seamless monitor! Until then, I'm returning.

Kim

Feb 4, 2013 3:00 PM in response to ke715

No, it's a real PITA, but there doesn't appear to be any other viable solutions, short of two Apple Thunderbolt Displays. FWIW, I found another DualHead2Go user. Here's the thread and a few tips: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3896984?answerId=21140302022#21140302022

ke715 Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 4, 2013 3:13 PM in response to Kelly Crossley

Thanks. I would try the tips, but I just finally initiated my return, so it's going back. I decided on one thunderbolt display (for now), with hopes to add another in the future.

I noticed on the other thread you also had fan problems. I only had that once and hard to tell if this is what caused it, but my monitors both have issues coming out of sleep. They go all gray / Ghostbuster looking after sleep. Like there isn't quiet enough power. But a quick turn off and on of the monitor fixes it.

Besides most programs opening in the middle, I also never resolved Preview opening across both monitors. I could not figure out a way to have it open minimized or on one or the other. Always opened across both. Then finally another annoying program was Outlook for Mac. Inbox would be on one monitor, emails would open in a 2nd and replies would open back in the one with the inbox. The purpose of 2 monitors is to become more efficient, not less jumping back and forth trying to find your stuff.

Good luck with your issues.

Kim

nareitz

Level 1

8 points

Apr 23, 2013 10:22 PM in response to ke715

I have been trying to find a way to get dual monitors for all of the developers on my team. It is frustrating that Apple wants more corporate users, but refuses to release hardware that corporate users demand. Anyway, I have found another product that may work for you; ViDock by Village Instruments. It uses the ExpressCard slot and allows you to add any PCI Express video card. It's spendy, but looks to be the best option for my corporate environment, and possibly for you.

nmage

Level 1

0 points

Apr 26, 2013 2:44 PM in response to nareitz

Me too. I have yet to see a product or solution hit the market for MacBook Pro's (or Intel's) thunderbolt connection to utilize EXISTING monitors for dual displays.

No video over USB and no tricking the video card to think it has one huge monitor across two displays (matrox).

Apr 26, 2013 3:18 PM in response to nmage

Now that I've had some time with the Matrox DualHead2Go ME, I'm happy to report that I'm pretty happy with it. Sure, the Apple dialogs in the middle of my two displays is a royal PITA, but according to Matrox Apple restricts access to those dialogs, which is why they can't do anything about it.

I will have to say that the folks at Matrox have been very helpful so I would rate their tech support a 10. Until somebody comes up with a better solution I'm fine with the DualHead2Go ME and I recommend it to anyone considering a MacBook Pro / Dual Display setup.

jsml

Level 1

20 points

Jun 9, 2013 7:38 PM in response to ke715

What about the Diamond USB Display Adapter Pro?

In this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIVZI1cFiAw, his menu bar and thus application dock is on only ONE of his screens, and not centered on two of them.

It's much cheaper than the Matrox products.

I have the Diamond USB Display Adapter Pro, but have never even tried it. (My purpose was to use it with dual projectors in a theatre setting. I will test it later with using a thunderbolt for one dislpay and the Diamond USB Adapter Pro for another.)

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Two monitors with Macbook Pro