Return to Question

added 115 characters in body

Source Link

edited Nov 24, 2019 at 15:10

Tobi

The devices would be e.g. Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock and WAVLINK USB C Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort

Will one of the above work? Any other Ideas (e.g. a dock with 3 Displayport outputs that actually work with OSX)?

The devices would be e.g. Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock and WAVLINK USB C Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort

Will one of the above work? Any other Ideas (e.g. a dock with 3 Displayport outputs that actually work with OSX)?

Source Link

asked Nov 24, 2019 at 14:45

Tobi

Using 3 Monitor DP/HDMI Setup + Charging new Macbook Pro 16'' over max. 2 Cables

I want to finally switch back to a Macbook Pro after some years of using a PC. However, I do not want to give up on my setup using 3 to 4 screens.

My plan is on using the MacBook Pro 16 Inch i9 model. My screens support HDMI and Displayport 1.2 with MST/Daisy Chain. I also need Gigabit Ethernet, a USB-C Connection for an external SSD and some USB Ports for my Soundcard, Midi Piano and so on and also want to charge the laptop. I want to use for this a maximum of 2 Thunderbolt or USB-C Connectors (Which I can glue together so that I only need to plug one thing to connect or disconnect)

TL:DR -- my goal is (in short):

Connect min. 3 external HDMI or Displayport Monitors (Which Support Daisy Chaining)
Charge the Macbook Pro
Have Gigabit Ethernet and USB A Ports
Maximum of 2 Connectors
Should have good performance (so no airplay)

Idea 1: The usualy way - DisplayPort Daisy Chain/MST

Macbook => Dock => Display => Display => Display
                => USB Devices + Ethernet
        => Charger

Usually I would "just" daisy chain my DP Screens, however I've read that MacOS does not support DisplayPort MST? So it probably will not work.

Idea 2: Using 2 Thunderbolt Docks on 2 Ports

Macbook => Thunderbolt Dock => Display (via DP)
                            => Display (via Thunderbolt Adapter)
                            => USB Devices + Ethernet
        => Thunderbolt Dock => Display (via DP)
                            => Display (via Thunderbolt Adapter)
                            => Charger

the next Idea would be to use 2 Thunderbolt Docks on 2 different Ports and to connect 2 displays on each (Per dock one via DP and one via Thunderbolt adapter). However, as I want to also charge the Macbook, one of these docks must support power delivery - I havn't yet found one that supports the 100W that the new macbook pro needs. I also don't know if that would work.

Idea 3: Using 2 Thunderbolt Docks Daisy Chained

Macbook => Thunderbolt Dock => Thunderbolt Dock => Display (via tb adapter)
                                                => Display (via DP/HDMI)
                            => Display (via DP/HDMI)
                            => USB-Devices/ Ethernet
        => Charging

The most elegant solution seems to be using two thunderbolt docks in series. and then connect one display via DP on the first dock and one via DP + one via Thunderbolt on the second dock. So I can use the other Thunderbolt connector on the mac for charging.

Will one of the above work? Any other Ideas (e.g. a dock with 3 Displayport outputs that actually work with OSX)?

thunderbolt displayport