markusfromsteinmaur
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: 2 x Dell 27" monitors not supported?

One Dell 27" monitor on Thunderbolt works. Two monitors are not supported, although my MacBookAir13" (2013) should be capable to do so. The monitor setup does not recognize the second monitor. On a daisy chain setup I can only achieve that the second Dell monitor mirrors the first one.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jan 4, 2016 2:30 AM

by Malcolm J. Rayfield,Solvedanswer
Malcolm J. Rayfield Malcolm J. Rayfield
Level 5 (7,945 points)
A:

Dell could make Thunderbolt displays if they wanted to, but the market is limited since there are few non-Apple Thunderbolt equipped computers.  Apple isn't stopping them.  Thunderbolt licensing is handled by Intel, not Apple.

 

Mini DisplayPort was originally single display.  By the time a daisy-chained version was available, Apple was already working on Thunderbolt, so never came out with any computers that supported more than one display per Mini DisplayPort.  Most newer Macs have more than one Thunderbolt port, so can run more than one Mini DisplayPort display.

 

There are ways to connect one Thunderbolt and one Mini DisplayPort display to one Thunderbolt port, but no one is selling an adapter to connect two Mini DisplayPort displays to one Thunderbolt port.  It may be possibly technically, but there is a limited market for such a device.

Posted on Jan 5, 2016 1:42 AM

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markusfromsteinmaur

Q: 2 x Dell 27" monitors not supported?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Malcolm J. Rayfield,Helpful

    Malcolm J. Rayfield Malcolm J. Rayfield Jan 4, 2016 11:22 PM in response to markusfromsteinmaur
    Level 5 (7,945 points)
    Jan 4, 2016 11:22 PM in response to markusfromsteinmaur

    The 2013 MacBook Air can support two Apple Thunderbolt displays, but not two Dell displays.

  • by markusfromsteinmaur,

    markusfromsteinmaur markusfromsteinmaur Jan 4, 2016 11:26 PM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 4, 2016 11:26 PM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

    Although the DELL displays have mDP (Thunderbolt) ports? I suspect that Apple does not want to provide drivers for products with equal quality but half the price of their own thunderbolt monitors.

  • by Malcolm J. Rayfield,

    Malcolm J. Rayfield Malcolm J. Rayfield Jan 5, 2016 12:04 AM in response to markusfromsteinmaur
    Level 5 (7,945 points)
    Jan 5, 2016 12:04 AM in response to markusfromsteinmaur

    Do you have a link to the specs of the Dell displays?  They are probably Mini DisplayPort, not Thunderbolt, although one can be plugged into a Thunderbolt port.  The MacBook air supports daisy-chaining Thunderbolt displays, not Mini DisplayPort.

  • by markusfromsteinmaur,

    markusfromsteinmaur markusfromsteinmaur Jan 5, 2016 12:21 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 5, 2016 12:21 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

    Yes, the DELL ports are mDP's. There is no way to distinguish mDP from a Thunderbolt connection. Particularly not, when a single Dell display is supported by a Thunderbolt link. I came to the conclusion that it is indeed an Apple problem. Apple wants to protect their Thunderbolt monitors which are twice as expensive than DELL monitors, without providing better quality.

    This is pretty sad.

  • by Malcolm J. Rayfield,Solvedanswer

    Malcolm J. Rayfield Malcolm J. Rayfield Jan 5, 2016 1:42 AM in response to markusfromsteinmaur
    Level 5 (7,945 points)
    Jan 5, 2016 1:42 AM in response to markusfromsteinmaur

    Dell could make Thunderbolt displays if they wanted to, but the market is limited since there are few non-Apple Thunderbolt equipped computers.  Apple isn't stopping them.  Thunderbolt licensing is handled by Intel, not Apple.

     

    Mini DisplayPort was originally single display.  By the time a daisy-chained version was available, Apple was already working on Thunderbolt, so never came out with any computers that supported more than one display per Mini DisplayPort.  Most newer Macs have more than one Thunderbolt port, so can run more than one Mini DisplayPort display.

     

    There are ways to connect one Thunderbolt and one Mini DisplayPort display to one Thunderbolt port, but no one is selling an adapter to connect two Mini DisplayPort displays to one Thunderbolt port.  It may be possibly technically, but there is a limited market for such a device.