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    Connecting MBA 2012 to three External Displays

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by bverma, Jul 8, 2012.

  1. bverma

    bverma Newbie

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    I am looking to purchase a 2012 MBA, contingent upon connecting to three external displays. As the MBA 2012 has a USB3.0 and a Thunderbolt port, I plan to use -
    - A Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 adapter to convert the USB3.0 to a HDMI/DVI input on a 21 monitor (For text only)
    - Use a DualHead2Go Digital SE to connect it from the Thunderbolt port to the HDMI/DVI inputs of the two external monitors (run two different applications and not a stretched image)
    I am wondering if this would work (albeit with minimal lag) or if are there any other alternatives to hooking it up to three external monitors. Thanks
     
    bverma, Jul 8, 2012
    #1
  2. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Are you running Windows?
     
    Thors.Hammer, Jul 8, 2012
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  3. bverma

    bverma Newbie

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    No, will be running Mac OS ..
     
    bverma, Jul 8, 2012
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  4. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Does Matrox have DualHead2Go drivers for OS X?
     
    Thors.Hammer, Jul 8, 2012
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  5. virtualjock

    virtualjock Notebook Enthusiast

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    Somebody posted on 9to5mac an air powering two 27" cinema display via thunderbolt chaining. You will need thunderbolt displays to do that.

    With USB, you can get a 3rd monitor using display link up to 1080p.
     
    virtualjock, Jul 8, 2012
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  6. bverma

    bverma Newbie

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    yes Matrox has the drivers fo OS X..

    I am looking to do it without the daisy chain of TB
     
    bverma, Jul 8, 2012
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  7. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok, good luck. The last time I tried their solution the performance was quite laggy. I'd probably try chaining or a TB dock.
     
    Thors.Hammer, Jul 8, 2012
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  8. wditters

    wditters Notebook Consultant

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    With the Dualhead2go DP edition, it will be one desktop @3840x1080 spread over two screens, with the capability of maximizing applications to one of the two screens (I am currently doing that @3840x1200). Sort of pseudo dual-screen layout.

    I have been doing that with the 2011 MBA and now with the 2012 MBA. The latter is notably faster, but the image quality is still lacking compared to a true dual-screen setup. Currently the only way to do true dual-screen is to use the Thunderbolt daisy-chaining offered by the current 27" Apple displays. TB docks will not appear for another 3-4 months.
     
    wditters, Jul 9, 2012
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  9. bverma

    bverma Newbie

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    Could you let me know, how would the TB docks work? Thanks
     
    bverma, Jul 9, 2012
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  10. AppleUsr

    AppleUsr Notebook Deity

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    the 2012 mac air supports 2 thunderbolt displays now instead of one. the ideal setup would be to daisy chain the two thunderbolts for 2 main displays and a third usb monitor for just text on the third. pretty expensive setup though
     
    AppleUsr, Jul 9, 2012
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  11. kornchild2002

    kornchild2002 Notebook Deity

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    Right. Thunderbolt docks are coming out and they offer thunderbolt daisy chaining as well as HDMI/mini-DP out. That means you would daisy chain two docks together using both of their video output options. They would be an extremely expensive solution though and they won't be available until September. Belkin has two docks coming out: one has built-in HDMI but only legacy ports (USB2.0, FireWire 800, Ethernet, and maybe eSATA) that has an MSRP of $299 (I think that's about right); their other dock offers USB 3.0, ethernet, eSATA, FireWire 800, and mini-DP output (along with an HDMI adapter) but I believe the MSRP is $399.

    Neither come with a thunderbolt cable either, that's going to be an extra $50 for each dock to buy the cable. Unfortunately, if you wanted to go with Belkin's options (which are pretty much it for right now), you would need to buy both docks. The mini-DP out on the more expensive dock is actually a thunderbolt port. That means it would have to be the last device in a daisy chain and the dock with HDMI output would need to be the first. Either way, that's $800 you're looking at spending just to get this feature not including any USB display adapters along with any additional cables that you may need (mini-DP to HDMI, mini-DP to VGA, mini-DP to mini-DP, etc.).

    Add $800 to the cost of the MBA and you might as well get a new retina MBP which features two thunderbolt ports already. You would just need to buy a USB to display adapter and two appropriate mini-DP cables. That assumes your are looking at the baseline MBA too. The $1500 one with the $800 thunderbolt docks and two thunderbolt cables actually costs more than the baseline RMBP.
     
    kornchild2002, Jul 9, 2012
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  12. bverma

    bverma Newbie

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    That would certainly put it out of the price range, like you said I am better off with the new Retina Display model..Thanks
     
    bverma, Jul 10, 2012
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  13. wditters

    wditters Notebook Consultant

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    Just a FYI. I started using the Matrox DualHead2Go DP edition on my Air i7 2012 today and it proved to be a lot better and a lot more fluent than on my i7 2011.

    No need for TB displays at my end anymore :)

    With 1x 1440x900 + 2x 1920x1200 I am completely statisfied ....

    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
     
    wditters, Jul 12, 2012
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  14. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Cool. No lag moving stuff around on the external monitors? What was the process like? Just install the software on OS X and connect?
     
    Thors.Hammer, Jul 12, 2012
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  15. wditters

    wditters Notebook Consultant

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    Yes, easy peasy lemon squeezy, just install and define shortcut keys to maximize an application to one of the screens


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
     
    wditters, Jul 12, 2012
    #15