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

Oct 31, 2013 12:17 PM in response to ke715

Just out of curisoity, has anyone see/tried this to setup a dual display (independent setup)

http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F4U055/

I am looking to setup a workstation at home with dual display (mimic my office setup fo when I work at home) on my mbp early, 2011

Oct 31, 2013 12:25 PM in response to Cheeesseee

Too many negative reviews on Amazon for that product. A few were from those with 2011 macbooks. It seems the best option is Matrox. Most of the other products are sketchty and have issues, at least from my research.

Chevex

Level 1

4 points

Dec 12, 2013 2:27 PM in response to shechang

I can confirm that retina macbook pro has two mini display ports 😀

I can easily run three monitors (two external and the built-in display). All monitors have their own desktop space rather than some big shared space as some here have complained about 🙂

nmage

Level 1

0 points

Dec 12, 2013 6:18 PM in response to Chevex

Cool, which model? This post began before the 2013 models came out. I was elated to learn they added the true dual capabilities in the 2013 models.

Chevex

Level 1

4 points

Dec 12, 2013 6:19 PM in response to nmage

Ah I did not know that. I just got it at the beginning of November.

nmage

Level 1

0 points

Dec 12, 2013 6:22 PM in response to Chevex

"Lucky" Napoleon Dynamite voice...

Chevex

Level 1

4 points

Dec 12, 2013 6:39 PM in response to nmage

Lmao. I took it off some sweet jumps too.

Jan 22, 2014 12:29 PM in response to Chevex

Just to clarify, it appears only the 15" Retina MBP comes with two mini display ports... not the 13".

Mar 1, 2014 8:42 AM in response to ke715

I have a late 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina. It has 2 thunderbolt ports and 1 HDMI port. The OS is PS X 10.9.1, Mavericks.

Theoretically, I should be able to run 3 external monitors along with the laptop display.

Of course you need the thunderbolt display adapters. I think minidisplay port adapters should also work.

Well I will be testing out some of this soon, and report back on the results.

Apple itself is proud to show how easy it is to run 1 external monitor, but not more unless you go for expensive, new thunderbolt options such as daisy chaining, etc.

poor99

Level 1

0 points

Mar 1, 2014 9:58 AM in response to StevenDeskin

NNo it does not support three monitors. I have tried this myself. Only two external monitors and the internal one can be active at the same time. The third one will not have any signal. For a 15" inch mbpr all three will be working.

Mar 2, 2014 5:18 AM in response to StevenDeskin

Should clarify: I am using a late 2013 13-inch MacBook Pro. So Far: 2 external displays work fully along with the laptop's display and can be arranged by the Display control panel. Hope to give 3 a try later, may today.

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Two monitors with Macbook Pro