What plug adapter do I use to connect the new Macbook USB-C port to a cinema display?

See this Link..http://store.apple.com/us/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter

You will need a USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter

Does it depend on what model Cinema Display? I asked apple support the same question about my 2008 24" ACD and was told that I needed the multiport adapter with VGA, not HDMI connector. Is that correct? When I look at the photo of the ports at the USB-C adapter page, they resemble the three headed HDMI connector plugs, not the VGA ports, so I'm wondering if the advice I received was incorrect. An article I just looked up says that my display has USB 2.0, MagSafe power and Mini DisplayPort connections, so do I need to buy yet another adapter from the MDP to the Multipart adapter?!

If you intend to connect your 2008 display to the new macbook then you will need a USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter ($79) as well as a mini display port to VGA port adapter ($29) and also a VGA-VGA Standard 15-Pin VGA Male to VGA Male Cable ($5).

..........

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MJ1L2AM/A/usb-c-vga-multiport-adapter

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB572Z/B/mini-displayport-to-vga-adapter

http://www.amazon.com/VGA-VGA-Standard-15-Pin-Male-Cable/dp/B0002AHT0M

The 2008 old cinema analogue Apple Cinema Displays were mostly pre-quipped with a mini display port rather than a VGA or HDMI port. So you will have to connect the mini display port to VGA port adapter to your 2008 ACDand the USB-C VGA Multiport Adapterto your new macbook and connect the two female VGA ports with a VGA-VGA Standard 15-Pin VGA Male to VGA Male Cable.

But I can't guarantee though that the above setup will work for your new macbook and your 2008 Apple Cinema Display. You should double check with Apple support regarding my suggestion. Just let me know.......

When the going gets tough, the tough get going...

Thanks, Grane, I really appreciate your thorough explanation. I did send a message to Apple Support, and a rep replied that the new MacBook does NOT support my 2008 ACD. I'm not sure whether to believe that, though, as the previous answer from Apple Support was incomplete at best.

However, I think I'm going to get one of the new MacBook Pros instead, which would save me $200 and get me a more powerful, if bulkier, laptop. I sent a message to support asking what adapted I needed to make one work with my ACD, and the reply was: the mini display port to DVI adapter. But I'm not even sure about that, as my own research indicates that the Pros have a mini display port/Thunderbolt port and therefore no adapter may be needed. I realize that's off topic here but if you know the answer, please do let me know. I'm not sure whether Apple Support is reliable these days, but maybe they did get it right. I'll ask when I go pick up the Pro at the Apple Store. Anyway, thanks again for the help!

The 2011 and older Macbook pros use to have a mini display port but the new Macbook pros are equipped with only thunderbolt 2 ports.

And for your Knowledge, mini display port and thunderbolt port although physically similar, they are technically completely different.

- You can connect a thunderbolt equipped macbook to a thunderbolt equipped thunderbolt Display.

- You can also connect mini Display port equipped Apple Cinema Display to a Thunderbolt - 2 equipped Macbook pro 2015 (Which is in your case)......Right....????

- But you just cannot connect a Thunderbolt equipped Thunderbolt display to an older Macbook pro (2011 and older) equipped with a mini display port.

Its technically not possible to connect a mini display port equipped Apple Cinema Display to a Thunderbolt eqipped macbook pro 2015 without any adapters. You will need some adapters like these...........http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB570LL/B/mini-displayport-to-dvi-adapter?mco= MTY3ODQ5OTY

OK, that's the same adapter Apple Support recommended, so I'm relieved to hear they know their stuff. BTW I checked with Monoprice to see if they made a cable that would connect the new Retina MacBook to the 2008 ACD, and they said they don't currently have a mini display port to USB-C cable but they might soon. Should believe apple support when they tell me that the new MacBook doesn't support my ACD? Or maybe that means if somebody makes the proper cable, it will eventually? I can afford to wait -- my current Mac is working fine, and they're not shipping new MacBooks for at least a month anyway.

Again, thanks for your help.

brett

Brett, you seem to be a kind man, that's the reason I would strongly suggest that stay away from the new macbook and get yourself a macbook pro. The new macbook simply doesn't sound practical. It will take couple of more years to get the USB-C standardize.

Check for yourself on the internet about the new macbook cons.

Thanks again, Grane. I did some research on the new MBPs and even though I'd love to have that slim and light new MacBook, and don't really need the power of the Pro for my uses (safari, email, writing), using the ACD is a major part of my work, so I'll take your advice and get the pro. It's really a much better value , let's me use my nice display, saves me a couple hundred bucks, and I can use my iPad mini when I need portability. Really appreciate your generous help!

brett

Sounds like a plan. Good luck my friend.....

Just to finish this saga, wanted to let you know that I took advantage of Best Buy's $200 off sale (plus another $50 education discount) this week to score a brand new 2015 MacBook Pro, thanks to your good advice. At that price, even if the new MacBook had worked with my display, I'd have still gone Pro -- bigger screen, more power for $200 less. Haven't yet hooked it up to the ACD yet as I need to get the adapter tomorrow, but I'm definitely appreciating the speed and Retina display. I also realized that my external display's three-headed connector's MagSafe adapter is the older model, so it doesn't work with my new Pro. I'm assuming that I can just power the Pro with its own power cable while also attaching the other two connectors: USB and Mini display port, the latter to the DVI adapter you recommended, or perhaps a similar one at Best Buy that costs half as much as Apple's.

To anyone wondering whether the Pro is too bulky, I'd say not, at least not for me. I hadn't realized how much weight Apple had trimmed when they redesigned it a few years ago. Definitely notice the weight difference between it and the new MacBook, but it really feels no heavier than my old Air, even though I know it is. Again, thanks again for the help! Really nice to know this community is so supportive.

One further update: I decided to try plugging the ACD's mini display port connector directly into one of the new MacBook Pro's Thunderbolt ports. And so far, everything seems to be working fine -- no adapter needed. Will let you know if it explodes or something.