Question about Macbook Air 2013 and monitors

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Hi guys,

I have no experience with Macs but a friend has a Macbook Air 2013 and for the first time is considering getting 2 monitors for work and asked if it was feasible and I honestly do not know. What do you guys recommend? He's looking for 2 24inch monitors.

Thanks
 

Slydude

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M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
According to the specs that Mac can handle a variety of monitors with the right adapter. It should work with most monitors currently on the market so the question is what features do you need in a monitor and what's the budget?

  • 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 audio and video output using third-party Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter (sold separately)
Are you going to try to connect two monitors simultaneously or use the two monitors in two different locations? That will impact how things are connected.
 

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I'm not familiar with the quality of that dock so I can't answer about that. According to the description on that page and some of the answered questions to monitors can be connected simultaneously by doing either of the following:

1. Daisy-chaining two thunderbolt monitors together.
2. Connect one monitor to the thunderbolt port using whatever adapter is needed. Connect the second monitor to a usb port via something like this.

If you go the second route I suggest doing some homework first. I used an earlier version of a similar device and it did not work if you tried to put certain software on the monitor connected the usb video adapter.

BTW OWC MacSales has a thunderbolt dock with two thunderbolt ports. It's not available yet but it should be possible to connect two monitors to that dock. This review of docks might be helpful to you.
 
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I'm not familiar with the quality of that dock so I can't answer about that. According to the description on that page and some of the answered questions to monitors can be connected simultaneously by doing either of the following:

1. Daisy-chaining two thunderbolt monitors together.
2. Connect one monitor to the thunderbolt port using whatever adapter is needed. Connect the second monitor to a usb port via something like this.

If you go the second route I suggest doing some homework first. I used an earlier version of a similar device and it did not work if you tried to put certain software on the monitor connected the usb video adapter.

BTW OWC MacSales has a thunderbolt dock with two thunderbolt ports. It's not available yet but it should be possible to connect two monitors to that dock. This review of docks might be helpful to you.

Thank you very much for the information!
 

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You're welcome. Hope you find the information useful.

If you decide to go forward with this post back and let us know how it goes and which method you choose. I'm sure there are others who would like to know the outcome.
 
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You're welcome. Hope you find the information useful.

If you decide to go forward with this post back and let us know how it goes and which method you choose. I'm sure there are others who would like to know the outcome.

I'm steering him towards the CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 2 recommended in your link. If anything its cheaper in the long run because you dont need a usb 3.0 to hdmi for a second monitor since this has one thunderbolt and one hdmi already so there are his two monitor setup ports.
 

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I just read the review on that one. It looks interesting. Am I reading correctly that it has 2 thunderbolt ports and HDMI? If I'm right about that one could use one monitor via HDMI and one monitor through the thunderbolt port (with appropriate adapter of course). That leaves the second port for other gizmos such as hard drives.
 
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I just read the review on that one. It looks interesting. Am I reading correctly that it has 2 thunderbolt ports and HDMI? If I'm right about that one could use one monitor via HDMI and one monitor through the thunderbolt port (with appropriate adapter of course). That leaves the second port for other gizmos such as hard drives.

I think (and that's always dangerous) that one thunderbolt is for the connection to the laptop and there is only one open one. I thought about using an HDMI adapter for that one and using the native HDMI on the unit for the second monitor.

If you do it this way can you leave the laptop closed?
 

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I hadn't thought of one port being used to connect to the computer. i think you are right about that.

I would think that you could connect that way and leave the laptop closed. It is commonly referred to as "clamshell mode". It works that way on many other Mac notebooks so it should work for you unless there is something specific to that model that I don't remember but I don't think so.
 
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I hadn't thought of one port being used to connect to the computer. i think you are right about that.

I would think that you could connect that way and leave the laptop closed. It is commonly referred to as "clamshell mode". It works that way on many other Mac notebooks so it should work for you unless there is something specific to that model that I don't remember but I don't think so.

I really appreciate the info. One friend who is also a mac freak was concerned about using an adapter for thunderbolt and using the hdmi port for the second monitor. He was sure you could daisy chain thunderbolt monitors through a thunderbolt 1 port but wasn't sure about using one thunderbolt for hdmi and using the hdmi port on the CalDigit
 

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I think that will work but I'm not 100% dead certain sure. If I were your friend I would do one or both of the following:
1. Contact the support team for the makers of that dock and ask them if this configuration will work. If they can't won't answer the question that might bother me a bit. It's a question they should be able to answer.
2. Purchase the dock from a vendor that has a good return policy. If it doesn't work/meet your needs then you can return it for a refund.
 
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I think that will work but I'm not 100% dead certain sure. If I were your friend I would do one or both of the following:
1. Contact the support team for the makers of that dock and ask them if this configuration will work. If they can't won't answer the question that might bother me a bit. It's a question they should be able to answer.
2. Purchase the dock from a vendor that has a good return policy. If it doesn't work/meet your needs then you can return it for a refund.

Great ideas thanks :)
 
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