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I have dual thunderbolt displays. One of them is breaking down. Since apple discontinued the thunderbolt display, are there other companies that can support daisy chaining a non apple monitor to an apple monitor.
Here, here, and here all say no, but that was before the july 2016 discontinuation. Other forums say you can do this with DP 1.2, but the OS is incompatible. Again, these are old forums and I wanted to know if there is an update.
I have a 2014 retina macbook pro for reference
The short and simple answer is:
This is coming off of Apple's Support page as of the time of this answer:
- Can I connect my Mini DisplayPort monitor or monitor using a Mini DisplayPort adapter to my Apple Thunderbolt Display? Mini DisplayPort Monitors or Monitors connecting with Mini DisplayPort adapters will not function when connected through a Thunderbolt Display. They must be connected directly to the Thunderbolt port on the computer or to a non-display device as indicated above.
(Emphasis mine)
The LG Thunderbolt display recommended in one answer is supported only for a specific range of Apple computers at restricted resolutions for many of them-check out compatibility of your Apple for the advertised LG above before you purchase.
Specifically addressing the question asked, Apple guidance for adding a monitor to a Thunderbolt Display chain off of 1 Thunderbolt port on the Mac (otherwise chain likely unnecessary) now says:
Connect [your display] to a port on a Thunderbolt peripheral that's connected to your Mac … Connect your [Thunderbolt] display only at the end of the Thunderbolt chain. You can use only one Mini DisplayPort device in the Thunderbolt chain."
If Thunderbolt Display must come last the guidance implies that a 2 monitor chain could work: Apple computer w/Thunderbolt port ↔ Mini DisplayPort Display ↔ Thunderbolt Display. But I'm told by a PC technician that on the PC side daisy-chain adaptability has been dropped as a feature from monitors themselves as GPU and port options increase--so the chain could fail at the monitor regardless.
Test before purchase: buying a Mac with more than 1 thunderbolt port is probably your best bet.
http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-34UM95-P-ultrawide-monitor
I use it with an MBP, also. Never tried daisy-chaining. It's got DP, too, and USB 3.0. Also has a KVM switch and can handle multiple inputs concurrently (not ideal). It's almost too much monitor. I honestly feel like I need two chairs to use it because of the amount of real-estate & resolution. Easily replaces dual monitors of a decent size. It's VESA mountable & very light. Any old/cheap wall-mount will work. I've used one that looks like it's meant to hold up a light-bulb.
Thunderbolt This monitor's Thunderbolt input/output port allows you to connect up to six compatible devices, moving data between them with incredible speed. The two channels of 10-gigabits-per-second throughput in both directions are up to 20X faster than USB 2.0. Thunderbolt is an exciting innovation for both expansion and premium video display. Note: When connecting both Thunderbolt™ ports to two separate computers, the monitor will only recognize the computer that is connected first. The second Thunderbolt™ port can be used as a daisy-chain for external storage devices or additional monitors.
Don't pay retail! I picked one up when it first came out a year or two ago, and I got it for 10% off from Beach Audio in NY. And a friend of mine has sent me some links to advertisements when he's seen it selling significantly cheaper. You can probably find it for almost half the price, especially if you're patient (holiday season coming up = sales).
Hope this helps.
