How to get two screens running on MBP 2016?

[Larvas]

Hey guys,

so the internet is killing me, I rarely ask questions because in most cases I can google/search the answer, but with this one, I'm quite stuck.

I found the buyers guide for adapters, for single monitors and all other sleeve crap, but I could not find a proper answer for a dual monitor setup.

Could you guys help me in answering if the 2016 MBP can drive two external monitors at 60hz or not? If no, ok, I made a stupid investment and I'll go for the 15", if yes, can you help me out with the right adapters and software which I need? Most of the docks are damn expensive and I don't want to buy something just for testing out... Thank you!

Owned machine:
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
2 GHz Intel Core i5
16 GB 1867 MHz LPDDR3
Intel Iris Graphics 540 1536 MB

 

[ZapNZs]

(Someone will correct me if I made an error here.) Your MacBook Pro can drive two 4k displays at 60hz - it may be somewhat noisy while doing this.

You would need either a USB-C dock like the Caldigit USB-C that supports one 4k@60hz and provides charging, where you would plug one monitor into the dock, the other directly into the MacBook Pro, and the hub provides you with power. Note that the USB ports and SD card reader on the dock would run at USB 2.0 speeds when running at 60hz.

Alternatively, you could purchase a Thunderbolt 3 dock that provides charging, high-speed data transfers, and support for two 4k/60 displays over a single cable. (The cost of a Thunderbolt dock usually negates the price-savings of the nTB over the TB if a single cable solution is not desired.)

Alternatively-alternatively, you could purchase a 4k display that provides power, and connect each of the displays directly to the MBP (one of which supplies power). IIRC, if running at 4k/60hz, monitors with built-in hubs will run at USB 2.0 speeds.

 

[macross87]

In my real-world case, yes the speeds did drop down to USB 2 as the monitors had built-in hubs (dells if I remember right). I only had two displays linked to a TB2 dock, which connected to the MBP with a TB3>TB2 dongle. Even though the TB3>TB2 will not pass video directly, it will pass video when used with a dock. I used the Elgato TB2 dock for my display and additional connections. 4k/60 all around.

It works great but you do have a max of two displays natively. This was not a problem for me as my work setup would only allow dual monitors, three max if you include the MBP screen.