Splitter / hub for dual display on two macs

[pr0tik]

Hi guys,

Currently have following devices:

- 2 x Dell U2711 monitors (one DVI-D and DisplayPort available on each)
- Mac Mini (late 2012)
- Macbook Pro (late 2013)

Which spliters / hubs do I need to purchase to be able to set up the two monitors with the macs to obtain dual display with max 2560 x 1440 resolution? I am thinking I would need one hub / splitter for the connecting two DVI-D ports to Mac Mini thunderbolt port and another for connecting the two DisplayPorts to MBP. Price is less of a concern as opposed to obtaining max resolution reliably.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Boyd01]

I don't think a "splitter" will let you connect two displays to one thunderbolt port if that's what you want. That would require a thunderbolt dock but the ones I've seen cannot drive two independent displays, just mirrors. What you (evidently) can do is plug one screen into the dock, then plug another thunderbolt device like a disk drive into the other port. The second display can then be daisy-chained off the disk drive.

But with an old machine like the 2012 Mini, not sure if that even works with the HD4000 chip. You could plug one screen into the thunderbolt port and the other into the HDMI port with simple inexpensive adaptors. But I think the max resolution you get from HDMI is only 1200x1920. I have a 2012 quad server and use an old Apple Cinema Display at that resolution. Looked into this, and that is the most it will drive over HDMI. I need the thunderbolt port for a Blackmagic Ultrastudio device, so that's not available. From what I've read, the best the Mini can do is 1600x2560 on one screen and 1200x1920 on another.