Very basic question

[jpohio]

Sorry to ask such a basic question, but I am considering a M2 Mac mini paired with Studio Display. It appears the Mac mini has thunderbolt 4 port, the Studio display has thunderbolt 3. I am assuming you connect the Studio Display using one of the thunderbolt ports? Is there a compatibility issue with these two given one is thunderbolt 3 versus the other thunderbolt 4?

thank you.

 

[bogdanw]

No "About the Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro Cable" https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210997

 

[jpohio]

thank you.

 

[tstafford]

FWIW - The ASD ships with a TB3 cable as that is all that is needed. It's also very, very short. So you may end up buying a different one - just get a TB3 don't overpay for a TB4. Just my two cents (and I have three ASD all hooked up using TB3 cables).

 

[theluggage]

FWIW - The ASD ships with a TB3 cable as that is all that is needed. It's also very, very short. So you may end up buying a different one - just get a TB3 don't overpay for a TB4.

...not 100% sure, because this is made as clear as mud, but I think you may need an active TB3 cable for Thunderbolt 3 over more than 0.5m. One of the (few) differences between Thunderbolt 3 and 4 is the maximum passive cable length for full (40Gbps) bandwidth increases from 0.5m to 2.0m, while Thunderbolt 3 was limited to 20Gbps for passive cables longer than 0.5m.

Reading between the lines on the dumbed-down description I'm guessing that Apple's "1.8m Thunderbolt 4 pro cables" are "active" which would be needed to support 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 on a 1.8m cable. Also, at that price, presumably hand-woven under a full moon by 200 year old monks on the slopes of mount Fuji.

Don't you just love how simple Thunderbolt 3/4 and USB-C has made things? /s

 

[tstafford]

...not 100% sure, because this is made as clear as mud, but I think you may need an active TB3 cable for Thunderbolt 3 over more than 0.5m. One of the (few) differences between Thunderbolt 3 and 4 is the maximum passive cable length for full (40Gbps) bandwidth increases from 0.5m to 2.0m, while Thunderbolt 3 was limited to 20Gbps for passive cables longer than 0.5m.

Reading between the lines on the dumbed-down description I'm guessing that Apple's "1.8m Thunderbolt 4 pro cables" are "active" which would be needed to support 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 on a 1.8m cable. Also, at that price, presumably hand-woven under a full moon by 200 year old monks on the slopes of mount Fuji.

Don't you just love how simple Thunderbolt 3/4 and USB-C has made things? /s

I'm 100% sure that this cable works!

Cable Matters [Intel Certified] 20Gbps Thunderbolt 3 Cable - 6.6 Feet, USB-C Thunderbolt Cable, Supports 100W Charging, 4K Video, and Data Transfer, Black

Thunderbolt 3 dating usb-c The Cable Matters 1m Thunderbolt 3 cable connects to any Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C port on a computer, dock, or monitor. This certified cable carries twice the bandwidth of a USB-C cable using the same reversible connector. Thunderbolt, USB and DisplayPort compatible. Co...

www.amazon.com

I have three ASD connected to my Studio. Two use that cable and the middle one (close to the Studio) uses the short TB3 cable that comes with the ASD. See attached screen shot showing all three displays getting 5K resolution.

 

[Fishrrman]

My advice (quite opinionated).

Don't bother with the Studio Display, unless you have specific reasons for wanting it.

There are many 3rd-party displays out there that work fine with Macs, without the exorbitant prices and quirks that Apple displays have (like the too-short connecting cable).

 

[StoneJack]

Just buy a Dell display and connect through HDMI.
Problem solved and money saved.