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I bought a new latest Mac book pro Retina. I see in my mac book, there are two ports: one for thunderbolt and one for HDMI (or HDMI, I don't know).

I want to output to monitor with VGA display, so I need a converter. As I know, there are two type of converters as I research: HDMI to VGA and Mini DisplayPort to VGA. So I have many questions because I don't sure about those port:

  1. Does my mac have Mini DisplayPort ? I see in this link: Apple Support says that Mini DisplayPort and thunderbolt is comparable, right? So I can use Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter for thunderbolt port ?
  2. Which adapter should I use for output to monitor. HDMI to VGA or Mini DisplayPort to VGA. If I can use both, which is better ?
  3. Macbook pro ships with HDMI or mini HDMI. I guess HDMI but I'm not sure.

I'm sorry for those questions because my lack of hardware knowledge. Thanks :)

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  1. You can connect the Thunderbolt port to a VGA adapter for your VGA monitor.
  2. I'm pretty sure it does not matter. I'm not sure if a simple HDMI-to-VGA adapter even exists.
  3. The Macbook Retina that I have has 2 thunderbolt ports and one normal-size HDMI port.

This MacRumors topic contains some useful info as well: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1426993

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  • thanks for your link. that's help me. about (2), i'm pretty sure that HDMI-to-VGA exist, you can google it. after researching, I understand that thunderbolt can be used to transfer data/audio/video ... and connect to screen too. So, now, I don't know, which is better to use. Do you know ? Thanks :)
    – hqt
    Aug 9, 2014 at 15:11
  • Your Macbook Pro Retina has 2 thunderbolt ports, so you can use 1 for your monitor and the other for possible data transfer using a thunderbolt connector cable. About the adapter you're right: they are simple and cheap. :) Speaking of cheap, and please excuse me if I've misread the situation, you are getting a Macbook Retina and still use a VGA monitor? Maybe you should consider getting a newer monitor with DVI to take advantage of your macbook's digital signal instead of converting it to analog VGA. Good luck!
    – Sephie
    Aug 9, 2014 at 16:36
  • @Sephia thanks for helping me. now i understand all now. about VGA Monitor, just because I bought it last 2 years and it shipped with my PC. Before that, I have never though about vga/dvi/thunderbolt ... just now. i need to transfer to lcd for easier to work. so maybe as you said, if image quanlity is slow. maybe i will change to more suitable monitor :D
    – hqt
    Aug 9, 2014 at 17:34

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