27" iMac and two external displays -- using both TB ports best?

Greetings to all.
Currently I have a 2011 Mac Mini to which is connected a 30" Dell display via a Dual Link DVI adapter, and another Dell 21" display via HDMI. I'm planning on getting the 27" iMac and want to check the best way to connect these two displays. While the 30" will still use the Dual Link DVI adapter, should I connect the 21" display via the iMac's second TB port, or via HDMI?

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
The iMac hasn't got a HDMI port, so you will have to connect your second monitor to your Thunderbolt port, using a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter in order to be able to connect it to the computer

Similar Messages

I would like to AirPlay mirror my iMac and be able to use both my magic mouse and wireless keyboard, but the bluetooth range won't let me. Is there a way to extended its range?

I am buying an iMac to AirPlay mirror on my big screen TV with AppleTV (2nd generation). But my TV is located far away from my iMac and I won't be able to use my magic mouse or wireless keyboard via bluetooth connection. I know I can use an app to simulate both mouse and keyboard, but I really need to use the actual devices.
I wish there was a way to pair them to my iPad or iPhone, via bluetooth, and control my iMac via network. It is a cheap solution, as I wouldn't need to buy any other device. I believe all these devices, without modifications, have enough technology to be able to work as I've imagined. The only need was to adapt the software.
Is there a solution simple as this one, or do I have to buy a Bluetooth extender in order to use my magic mouse and wireless keyboard? If so, which BT extender do you suggest and what is its range?
Thank you!

If you are still under warranty, contact Apple to get it serviced. You can also visit an Apple Store or Authorized Apple Service Provider to get it looked at.
iPhone - Contact Support - Apple Support

Tecra A9 - Connecting two external displays using Express Port Replicator

Hi,
I have a Tecra A9 and Express Port Replicator.
I'm trying to connect 2 external displays, one connected on the notebook output and the other connected on the docking station (notebook lid closed, not using the notebook display).
I can only get one to work, does anyone know if this is possible?

Hi
I think you want to connect one monitor to VGA and the other to DVI port.
Is it right?
Well, I found this doc:
http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/TSB7B0201000CR01.htm
It depends on the used Tecra A9, if you can get a picture on the DVI out port on the Express Port Replicator (PA3508E-1PRP) or not.
The DVI port on the on the Express Port Replicator is only supported on machines with ATI or nVidia graphic card.
If you have a INTEL graphic card the DVI port on the on the Express Port Replicator is NOT supported.

HT3913 Can I connect a Sony TV 32 inch to my late 2009 iMac as an external display using Mini DisplayPort to HDMI?

Seems doable--can I?

Hello, All-
I too am very interested in the answer to this query. Same set up, same fail w/the Thunderbolt cable. The Genius Bar at the Apple Store was no help & recommended I bring my 27" iMac into the store...seriously? Their ultimate answer was that I needed a plain old male-male mini display port cable....that the Thunderbolt cable was the problem. Bloody unlikely, I say. Another guy in the store agreed with me this morning, so swapped out the cable. I was hoping upon hope it was a bad cable, but no such luck—still nothing. Next I tried a mini-display-port-to-DVI adapter—DVI cable—mini-display-port-to-DVI adapter. This also did not work. Is there a chance that the iMac running Snow Leopard and the MacBook running Mountain Lion is the problem???

Two External Displays and Internal Display Over Different Connections

Hi there.
I'm going to be purchasing a rMBP in the very, very near future. However, I am unclear about how external displays work with this. My current display setup at work is two basic 1080p monitors that can be run over DVI, VGA or HDMI. I'd like to keep using these when I start using the rMBP but also gain the advantage of a third screen by using the internal display at the same time (so much space for activities!).
One of the thunderbolt ports will need to be used for an Ethernet connection (there is no wireless here), so this leaves the setup needing to be one monitor run via Thunderbolt -> DVI and the other monitor run via HDMI.
The internet in general isn't being entirely helpful with this. I'm looking for a clear answer of whether the rMBP will run the internal display and the two external displays using this setup under OS X. Some seem to believe that it won't work using different connection types, for example.
Thanks for any help.

Hello dljfield,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
If you'd like to use multiple external displays with a MacBook Pro with Retina display, then please take a look at the information outlined below. A 15" MacBook Pro mid-2014 can support up to two external displays using different outputs.
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) - Technical Specifications
OS X Yosemite: Connect multiple displays to your Mac
Take care,
Alex H.

Using two external displays that are NOT mirrored

i have a MBP early 2008, meaning the external display port is a dual DVI-I port. I have have two external displays, both samsung syncmaster xl2370 with native resolution 1920x1080. i have a dual dvi-i to vga splitter. when i connect both displays, they mirror one another, which is not what i want. rather, i want to have my MBP display, and two external displays that are not mirror images of one another. according to apple, if i buy a dual dvi-i to dvi splitter, i get the same effect. i've read on various forums about hardware alternatives, like buying a usb to dvi or usb to vga adapter, with some reasonable results (except a bit of sluggishness). the best one seems to be the diamond: http://www.diamondmm.com/BVU195.php
it mostly gets good reviews, but is sluggish. does any know of any better options?
many thanks, jovo

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
USB is slow partly because it is processor and driver dependent. Best to go with a straight video solution, such as Matroxes products like this one: http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/

Two external display with internal diplay on E531

Hi,
I have a ThinkPad E531 laptop, and that includes are VGA and HDMI plug. The video card is Intel HD. Can I use 2 external monitor (over VGA and HDMI) with the internal display? (So I want to use 3 displays).
Thanks!
Regards,
Tamás

Hello dljfield,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
If you'd like to use multiple external displays with a MacBook Pro with Retina display, then please take a look at the information outlined below. A 15" MacBook Pro mid-2014 can support up to two external displays using different outputs.
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) - Technical Specifications
OS X Yosemite: Connect multiple displays to your Mac
Take care,
Alex H.

I have an IMAC and I'm running OSX 10.9.2. I'd like to store my Aperture /IMovie Libraries to an external hard drive. In addition, I'd like to partition the external hard drive so that Time Machine can use it to both back up my IMac and the externa

I have an IMAC and I'm running OSX 10.9.2. I'd like to store my Aperture /IMovie Libraries on an external hard drive. In addition, I'd like to partition the external hard drive so that Time Machine can use it to both back up my IMac and the external library drives. Is this possible? Can I set up a RAID 5 format for redundancy?

I'd like to store my Aperture /IMovie Libraries on an external hard drive.
That is fine and recommended.. use the fastest disk you can afford.. ie Thunderbolt>USB3>FW800>USB2.
In addition, I'd like to partition the external hard drive so that Time Machine can use it to both back up my IMac and the external library drives.
Let me be clear.. you want to partition the one disk.. use it for TM and move your files to the external disk.. and then backup to the same disk.. You can do it.. but that is not a backup.. that is an experiment in how long you can get away with running files and backups on the same disk before you lose everything.. like Russian Roulette.. pull the trigger enough times and laws of probability will do you in.
You must have backups on a different disk .. otherwise it is pointless.
Can I set up a RAID 5 format for redundancy?
No.. you can buy special USB and Thunderbolt external drives that support RAID..
BUT that is still not a backup.. let me show why.. you make a silly move and corrupt your file in aperture.. it is not that rare.
Raid will corrupt all copies of the files.. it is replicated across all disks.
Delete a photo it is deleted across all disks.. you have no recovery.
Alway, always consider RAID system one disk.. backup onto another disk.. and if the photos or movies are at all important to you.. ie your family .. make another copy and store in a relatives house.. There is no such thing as too much redundancy.

How do I use my 2011 27" iMac as an external display for a pc?

I just bought a 27" imac for my home, and was also planning on using it as an external display for my work Dell Laptop running Windows 7.
The Dell laptop has a displayport output, so I was planning on getting a displayport <-> minidisplayport cable, and using the iMac in target display mode.
I would simply plug the minidisplay end of the cable into one of the iMac's 2 Thunderbolt ports. Seemed fairly simple.
Except now it seems from what I have been reading that 2011 iMacs DO NOT WORK in target display mode unless they are connected to another Thunderbolt source. This leads to me two questions.
1. Can anyone confirm or deny this? If this is true, does that mean I cannot plug my Dell's displayport into the iMac's Thunderbolt port as I described above?
2. If #1 is true, is there any other option? Are there any adapters that I can use to turn my Dell into a Thunderbolt source for display purposes?
If I can't resolve this I will have to return the iMac
Thanks very much.
David

David,
Sorry you can't use the 2011 iMac as an external display to your PC. The feature you are referring to is called Target Display Mode and works on 2009 & 2010 27" iMacs. The 2011 machines use Thunderbolt as you know however they do support external displays that are not Thunderbolt displays. So for example if you wanted 2 displays on the iMac you can easily do that with either Mini Display port to DVI or MDP to VGA or even HDMI. MDP is the same size as Thunderbolt and this will work fine to drive a display, TV or even a projector.
I'd recommend reading Apple's explanations at Target Display Mode 2009 & 2010 iMacs & Target Display Mode Mid 2011 iMacs.
Using a Mac as an external display for a Windows machine to me seems like a horrible waste of a Mac. Why not enjoy the iMac and if anything run Windows on it and get rid of the PC?

How tow connect two external displays that are not mirrored and turn of the retina display

Hello,
I have two questions:
1. Is it possible to use two external displays either mirrored or not and turn off the retina display, and if so how it is done?
2. Is it possible to close the MBP and use an external keyboard while using two external displays?
I am using a music production DAW Persons Studio One-2 Pro and it would be great to be able to have this type of a setup.
Thank You,
Breezinabout
Macbook Pro 15" Retina display I7 2,3mz 500gb SSD late 2013 OSX Yosemite 10.10.1

Hi Breezinabout,
The MacBook Pro Late 2013 retina display model will support two external displays. See this specifications page for reference -
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) - Technical Specifications
Specifically -
Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on up to two external displays, both at millions of colors
And -
Thunderbolt digital video output
Native Mini DisplayPort output
DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (sold separately)
VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter (sold separately)
Dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (sold separately)
HDMI video output
Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz
Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz
Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz
You would, if you wish, turn off the internal display by closing the MacBook Pro, which is called "closed-clamshell" mode. It requires you to have an external keyboard and mouse. See this article for further information -
How to use your Mac notebook computer in closed-clamshell (display closed) mode with an external display - Apple Support
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

Two External Displays for iMac

Is it possible to run two external displays off of an iMac? I have a small display running and just was giving an old second display so I was wondering if I could run both at the same time?

It's a real low-down shame that the HD5750-equipped 27-inch iMac cannot support triple displays.
All of the HD5750 video cards available for Windows PCs support triple displays (two DVI and one DisplayPort) with the Eyefinity technology that was built into the HD5750's GPU.
Having one iMac 27-inch flanked by two additional 2560x1440 monitors would be so SWEET.

27 inch iMac (April 2011) - Two external displays - how?

I've just got a new 27" iMac and have connected two external displays via the mini display port. I can only get one to work, what am I doing wrong?

Sorry that was a dumb typo on my behalf. Here is the setup:
Apple 27inch iMac only bought today, so it's the newest version with the two Thunderbolt ports.
Two seperate external monitors each connected to a seperate port via a DVI cable and Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter.
So that's:
iMac x 1.
Thunderbolt port x 2.
External Monitor x 2.
Mini DisplayPort Adapter x 2.
3 displays in total. But when I turn on both displays only one will show up.

Using a 27-inch iMac as an external display for my macbook air

I would like Using a 27-inch iMac as an external display for my mac book air.
i bought a Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable, it's the Belkin Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable on apple store.
I connect my imac and mac book air with this cable but the screen of my mac book air don't appear on imac screen.
where is my error ?

Morning seal, my experience suggests the latter of your two posts is the correct one. I have a 27" iMac with a mini display port (a 2-year old one, not the newer one with thunderbolt); and a brand new Mac book air with thunderbolt. I connected the two with a Belkin male-male mini display port to mini display port cable, and it works fine - press command f2, and the iMac acts as display for the MBA.
The irony here is that the folks at the apple store in Paris assured me that this would NOT work, and that I needed to buy a €999 thunderbolt display to connect to my MBA. I thought I'd try anyway, since I had the cable to connect a MacBook pro to the iMac anyway... Glad I did.
Bottom line: yes, despite all the confusion, the new MacBook air will connect to the minidisplay port of an older iMac 27"; and the cable it needs to do that is the older minidisplay port cable, not the thunderbolt one.

Upgraded to Yosemite and Windows 8.1 Pro in Bootcamp, can no longer drive retina display and two external monitors simultaneously?

Greetings
I just upgraded from Mountain Lion and Windows 7 Ultimate (Bootcamp) to Yosemite and Windows 8.1 Pro on a late 2012 MBP 13" Retina. Prior to the upgrades, I was able to drive the retina panel and two external monitors simultaneously when operating directly in Bootcamp. Now, I can only drive 2 of the 3 simultaneously though all three are recognized under Graphic Properties. I simply cannot find any option or profile under Graphics Properties or Options or Personalization to run all three screens.
My hardware hasn't changed and this worked prior to the updates. I have no issue on the Mac OSX can run all three. I also have no issue doing it in Windows under Parallels Desktop 10. It is just when I boot directly into Bootcamp that this happens. What am I missing?
Thanks,
G.

Great point, Loner T. It was late when I was working and I thought about this afterwards also.
The issue was that in Windows=>Control Panel=>Display, under "Change Display Settings", the three screens showed but "Extend Display" was not selected for one of the screens. It was simply off. I can't believe I danced around this w/o picking it up sooner. In fact, it has happened in the past that for some reason a display loses this setting.
As an aside, thanks again for all of your help and terrific input to upgrade both the Mac and Windows operating systems. As I was going from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 8.1 Pro, one thing I did come across that made life much easier was to upgrade first to Windows 8 so I could keep my apps. The jump from 7 to 8.1 would otherwise migrate my personal files, but not programs and require a lot of time to reinstall all. This was completely avoided by going to Windows 8 first.
Thanks, again, and very much appreciate the work that you do here.
Best,
G.

Using imac as an external display. is it possible?

hi. i just bought an macbook. i would like to use my iMac as an external display for my macbook. is this possible?

ok, its not posibble but let me know if there is a way i could get around it.
ex. using some wireless software. a way to virtually connect both displays ... i don't know i have seen many different setups. i just don't know how to do them.

27" iMac and two external displays -- using both TB ports best?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for