Can the M3 Max run three Studio Displays in clamshell mode without stuttering? I currently have two—one vertical and one horizontal—and I’m considering adding a third in vertical orientation for editing in Final Cut and Capture One. Will the M3 Max handle this workload without system slowdown?
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3 studio displays on M3 Max with 128gb ram?
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I had a base model M4 mini and ran 2X studio displays and an LG ultra fine 5k display without any lag issues. Your M3 max should be smooth as butter.
Are you using an arm for the vertical Studio Display or a vesa stand? My wife's M1 Max Mac Studio has a studio display and 2 Dell 27" usb c monitors, but the vertical one disconnects and has to be connected with a dock to get it to work, and it still loses connection sometimes, so considering a 2nd studio display in portrait, but her desk has a lip that won't allow for an arm, I think, so just wondering what you are using. I also was looking for something to match the aesthetic of the studio display, as well, but may not be possible. Thanks for the response.
I’m using an Ergotron VESA mount for my vertical Studio Display. Initially, I bought the first Studio Display with the regular stand and later added a height extension mount from Amazon. I love the Ergotron—it’s rock solid, and adjusting the height or switching between horizontal and vertical is effortless. I know there are cheaper alternatives on Amazon, but this one is worth it.
Thanks! I’m still amazed that these laptops can handle two monitors, let alone three. I used PCs from 1986 to 2010, and the last decade of that was pure Dell Hell. Now, 15 years into using Apple, they still manage to surprise me every year.
It's also amazing how much better Mx Macs handle external displays than Intel Macs! With the Mx Macs plugging + unplugging displays or resolution changes are instantaneous! No more flashing black screens!
A large part of that is how the GPU and CPU are both integrated on the M-series SOC, and how Mx handles memory management/sharing compared to either integrated GPUs or standalone GPUs on x86 machines.
And this is one of those things that's difficult to capture on benchmarks, but ends up having a huge impact on the end user.
while m3/m4 max is fast does the performance suffer with 3 monitors attached? what is the speed penalty? 10-20%. i can't imagine the unit doesn't heat up more or slow down when throttled.