Does the 2011 Mac Mini with an ATI Graphics card support 3 apple displays?

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Does the 2011 Mac Mini with an ATI Graphics card support 3 apple displays?

So I have a Mac Mini Mid-2011 with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 CPU, an AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256MB graphics card, and user upgraded 16GB of RAM. I would really like to have 3 27-inch apple displays, as I use photoshop all the time, and think that this would be very useful. here is my theory: I can buy two thunderbolt displays, hook the first thunderbolt display up to the built in thunderbolt port on the mac mini, and hook the second thunderbolt display up to the thunderbolt port on the first thunderbolt display. so thats two. for the third apple display, I would get a Cinema (non-thunderbolt) apple 27 inch display. i am given to believe that it has an output of DVI. if i am not mistaken, a DVI to HDMI adapter ships in the box with a mac mini, and i think i still have it. so would i be able to hook that third cinema display up to that adapter, and plug it into the HDMI port built into the mac mini; thus successfully having a 3 apple 27 inch display setup running off of one Mac? Thanks in advance. -Alex Noyle

Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3), Mid-2011 Model

Posted on Mar 31, 2013 8:14 PM

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Answer 1

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Malcolm J. Rayfield

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Mar 31, 2013 11:28 PM in response to alexnoyle

<http://support.apple.com/kb/SP632>

"Support for dual display and video mirroring"

"HDMI port with support for up to 1920-by-1200 resolution"

but

<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5219>

"Mac mini with AMD graphics can support an HDMI compatible device on its HDMI port when using two Thunderbolt displays."

So since you have the AMD grapcics you can have three displays, but the third will have a maximum of 1920 x 1200 resolution.

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Answer 2

alexnoyle Author

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Apr 1, 2013 6:00 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

Isn't 1920 x 1200 the maximum resolution for an apple 27 inch display anyway? if not, what is?

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Answer 3

Apr 1, 2013 7:06 PM in response to alexnoyle

<http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC007LL/A/apple-led-cinema-display-(27%22-flat -panel)>

"2560-by-1440"

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Answer 4

alexnoyle Author

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Apr 1, 2013 7:30 PM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

Thanks! one more thing. I am given to understand that the ATI graphics card in the 2011 mac mini is what makes it capable of running three displays at once. so how is it that the new iMac can run two thunderbolt displays in addition to the built in 27 inch display without the ATI GPU? afterall, the display technolagies are basicly the same, right?

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Answer 5

Apr 1, 2013 7:40 PM in response to alexnoyle

The graphics chip may be able to handle three 2560x1440 displays but the HDMI gets in the way. HDMI video is the same as single-link DVI, which is limited to 1920x1200.

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Answer 6

alexnoyle Author

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Apr 1, 2013 7:45 PM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

i see. thanks so much for all your help. ill probably get 2 thunderbolt displays, one cinema display, and just run them all at 1920x1200.

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Answer 7

Apr 1, 2013 8:52 PM in response to alexnoyle

Not a good idea. They won't run at 1920x1200 (wrong shape for the screen). They might work at 1920x1080 (probably not over HDMI) but the picture will be a bit blurred since the pixels will not be all the same size. 1280x720 will give evenly spaced pixels but will not look very good close-up on a big screen.

Do all three screens have to be the same? You could use two 27" Thunderbolt displays to show the images you are working on, and a 1820x1200 display on the HDMI port for everything else (pallets, control windows, eic.).

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