Connecting 2012 Mac mini to 30" Cinema Display

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I’m running a MBP mid 2012 13” and going to connect 2 x 30” ACD through a TB3 Dock, as suggested by @Amethyst1 above.

 

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I didn’t realise there were two different adapters. How do i know if i’ve got the USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter or the Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 adapter? I bought it secondhand.

 

[headlessmike]

I’m running a MBP mid 2012 13” and going to connect 2 x 30” ACD through a TB3 Dock, as suggested by @Amethyst1 above.

In that case you'll need to set things up similarly to what @Amethyst1 did in this thread, essentially requiring two separate Thunderbolt docks and two Apple miniDisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapters. If you have two Thunderbolt 3 docks, then you'll only need one Apple Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 adapter and a Thunderbolt 1 or 2 cable to connect the laptop to the first dock, and then directly daisy chain the second dock into the downstream port of the first dock. You would only need a second adapter if one of the docks used the older Thunderbolt 1 or 2 standard.

The above is only accurate if you have a Thunderbolt 1 or 2 dock, not Thunderbolt 3, sorry for any confusion.

I didn’t realise there were two different adapters. How do i know if i’ve got the USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter or the Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 adapter? I bought it secondhand.

If the adapter is from Apple and has a lightning bolt on it, then it's definitely a Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 adapter. I don't believe Apple ever made a USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter (only third parties). The Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 will be needed to connect the dock to your Mac, and a USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter would be needed to connect a Apple miniDisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapter to a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port.

 

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Yes my adapter has a lightning bolt on it.

 

[1 Ⲭ𑀩ꓭꓞꓵꓠऽ]

In that case you'll need to set things up similarly to what @Amethyst1 did in this thread, essentially requiring two separate Thunderbolt docks and two Apple miniDisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapters. If you have two Thunderbolt 3 docks, then you'll only need one Apple Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 adapter and a Thunderbolt 1 or 2 cable to connect the laptop to the first dock, and then directly daisy chain the second dock into the downstream port of the first dock. You would only need a second adapter if one of the docks used the older Thunderbolt 1 or 2 standard.

The above is only accurate if you have a Thunderbolt 1 or 2 dock, not Thunderbolt 3, sorry for any confusion.


If the adapter is from Apple and has a lightning bolt on it, then it's definitely a Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 adapter. I don't believe Apple ever made a USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter (only third parties). The Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 will be needed to connect the dock to your Mac, and a USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter would be needed to connect a Apple miniDisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapter to a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port.

thanks for clearing that up 🙌

 

[Amethyst1]

So i’ll need a second Apple Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 adapter to plug into the dock's second (downstream) Thunderbolt 3 port for the second ACD?

This adapter won’t work for connecting a DP adapter/display to a TB output. Thus:

The Thunderbolt2-to-Thunderbolt3 will be needed to connect the dock to your Mac, and a USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter would be needed to connect a Apple miniDisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapter to a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port.