I am 100% sure my 2014 mac mini doesn't have it. The cable doesn't fit (as you'd expect) and I had a chat with apple.com and they linked me a diagram of the 2014 mac mini with the port labeled. Then I asked them if the 2012 mac mini had it and they linked me a similar diagram with the optical port. So I could see they were different and it was removed. I just looked on apple site for the diagrams but couldn't find them.
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No optical out and Triple Monitor confirmed NOT working
- Thread starter Ridley
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I am 100% sure my 2014 mac mini doesn't have it. The cable doesn't fit (as you'd expect) and I had a chat with apple.com and they linked me a diagram of the 2014 mac mini with the port labeled. Then I asked them if the 2012 mac mini had it and they linked me a similar diagram with the optical port. So I could see they were different and it was removed. I just looked on apple site for the diagrams but couldn't find them.
Please read my post more carefully... I just said that the 2 explanations given (which I restated) were NOT correct (thus my use of NEITHER and NOR) and I copied/pasted your exact point in my post direct from the Intel website. My point being that nobody has given a correct reason why 3 monitors cannot be connected to the mac mini.
reding is phun and gud four ewe.
I have a 2014 Mid Tier Mac Mini (2.6ghz i5). My TOSLINK optical cable is working fine to output audio to a receiver.
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You may be confused by the fact that TOSLINK has more than one type of connector on the end. Google this to find the cable that I'm using to connect my 2014 mac mini via optical TOSLINK cable to an audio receiver: TOS5-MINI-6 6 ft. OD 5.0mm Molded Type Optical 3.5mm Mini to Toslink Cable
You must be referring to the MacBook Pro Retina 15" with Iris Pro 5200 which can power 3 simultaneous displays not the 13" with Iris "non-Pro" 5100, which is the same as the 2014 Mini and which can only power 2 simultaneous displays.
Also, Intel's site has an asterisk stating the 5100 can only power 3 displays if the computer system supports it. It's not an absolute, universal capability for all systems.
In addition, Apple's website says directly in tech specs that the 2014 Mini only supports 2 simultaneous displays.
Given all this info why would you have assumed the 2014 Mini supports 3 simultaneous displays? Intel is not building the Mini, Apple is. Follow their tech guidance not the suppliers.
In order to use digital audio you need to have a 3.5mm adapter head on and insert it in the the 3.5mm jack hole. Apple has been doing it that way for many yrs. The 2012 model is the same way as are all iMacs, MacBook pros
Triple monitor gambit
I have a Dell Lattitude E7440 that contains an Intel Hasewell processor with HD 4400 graphics processor. This is lower than the HD 5000 in the 2014 Mac Mini.
Right now I'm driving it with the following LCDs:
Internal: 1920x1080
HDMI: 1600x1200
Display Port: 1920x1200
So what I want to know is the justification for not allowing 3x displays on the 2014 Mini. It doesn't make sense to me given this Dell laptop.
I have a Dell Lattitude E7440 that contains an Intel Hasewell processor with HD 4400 graphics processor. This is lower than the HD 5000 in the 2014 Mac Mini.
Right now I'm driving it with the following LCDs:
Internal: 1920x1080
HDMI: 1600x1200
Display Port: 1920x1200
So what I want to know is the justification for not allowing 3x displays on the 2014 Mini. It doesn't make sense to me given this Dell laptop.
FYI,
Display Support: Dual Displays Resolution Support: 2560x1600*
2nd Display Support: Dual/Mirroring* 2nd Max. Resolution: 2560x1600*
Details: *This model supports "up to two displays" at 2560x1600.
Most likely for 3 monitors support you need all monitors with max resolution of 1920x1200 x 3.
Well, that's pretty definitive.
It depends on semantics. Is 3.5mm Mini-TOSLINK a "type of" TOSLINK, or a separate connector that is not TOSLINK? I lean toward the latter (same thing for miniDP vs. DisplayPort) but I can see either way.
From what I gather its a hardware limitation. The 2 port TB controllers (3x in Mac Pro, 1x in rMBP and Mini) can only support 2 video streams each. Hence 2 out of 3 HDMI/DP/DP being usable concurrently. The third display you guys are referencing is internal, which is running off eDP in the notebooks so it falls outside of the TB controller's limitations.
3 displays is the product stratification which separates iMacs, Mac Pros and Macbook Pro with discreet graphics, from the rest of the product range.
There's no other explanation necessary. The fact that a component used could in theory provide some feature or capacity is meaningless - triple display is a pro/workstation feature in Apple's worldview.
The question as far as I'm concerned now turns to whether thunderbolt 2 makes an eGPU better (enough) to make an eGPU equipped 2014 mini better than an eGPU equipped 2012 model.
If you're willing to buy an Apple TV it can give you a third monitor that would be connected by HDMI and it is treated as a third desktop display. Works on my 2011 Mini. Responsiveness of the ATV monitor will be slower than the conventionally connected 2 monitors. Also the overscan/underscan and color calibration of the ATV monitor cannot be adjusted by OS X System Preferences.