You don't need a TB monitor. Apple discontinued theirs a few months ago and no longer offers one.

TB ports accept an inexpensive Mini Display Port adapter to HDMI — any modern backlit LCD monitor will work very well with it. BTW, Apple doesn't sell this adapter either (no idea why). Best Buy, Fry's etc. all have this or something like it.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Mini-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Adapter/dp/B00NH13K8S

According to Apple, you can hook up to two 30" monitors through the two TB ports. You would need two of those adapters, of course.

The newest monitors look good and use so little juice that they are cool to the touch—you will like that on your electric bill. I would avoid last year's discontinued model no matter what the sale price. I bought an LG but there were others that would work just as well.

My 2010 iMac has two external monitors. I don't have Thunderbolt so one is through the MDP port and the other is through USB. It works quite well but yours should work better.

I have heard of scaling issues with the 4K monitors. Besides being very expensive, not all applications work as expected with these.

I have two 24" monitors connected with DVI to TB and they work great. My main monitor is a 30" Apple Cinema Display connected via the Apple $99 thing (USB and DVI, I think). All three are arranged to be one large screen. Pretty awesome.

If you want to get really esoteric (and adventurous) and you have an iPad, you could also connect your iPad (or iPhone) as a second or tertiary (quaternary???) display. http://www.duetdisplay.com/ Also http://getidisplay.com/ 

Duetdisplay touts itself as 'lag free' but does not support wifi and will work with iOS devices only but will run on Windows. iDisplay works with WiFi and will connect to Android devices, but will only run on a Mac.

Cheers...

I have an MAcBook Pro (15 inch, 2012) without Retina display. Can I connect (and use) a 4K display? What I do is Music : Finale, Ableton, Logic. Sometimes I'm using Final Cut Pro X and some photo work. 

I will look for an > 27" screen. 32 " ? Large scores? 

Hi

You Macbook will support a maximum resolution of 2560x1600. (https://support.apple.com/kb/SP694?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US )

So while you'll be able to connect a 4K monitor, you'll not be able to use the full resolution supported by the monitor (3840 pixels × 2160 lines) All that you need is a monitor that has a Displayport or DVI input port.

I would also consider your configuration. If you have the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory (15-inch 2.6GHz configuration), then connecting a monitor at 2560x1600 will be no issue. If your configuration has the lower spec cards, you may wish to consider settling for lower resolution external monitors (1920 x 1080) purely due to performance considerations

There is an article which discusses monitors that support 2K resolution from a couple of years ago. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424722,00.asp Many of those monitors (or their equivalent) are still available.

Getting a 4K monitor will future proof you, but I'd suggest taking your Macbook along to a showroom and connecting it up to one to see how it look/handles running in a non-native resolution

By the Bye

My earlier suggestion of duet display/idisplay is not as silly as it may appear.

Consider having the score on one screen, and floating pallettes on another.

You can keep the score and mouse on you main screen(s) and use your hand/fingers to activate the various tools on your tablet.

A suggestion that was made by someone over in the old forums. Very useful.

Cheers...

Daz :o)

Some basics. You can get a nice, LED backlit LCD 27" monitor with speakers for $200 from Fry's, Best Buy etc.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/12702869433098857449?lsf=seller:6136318,store:963625842951688994&q=dvi+monitors+best+buy&hl=en-us&prds=oid:2573346228314429789&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwip1sGHheHOAhWFKGMKHSCwDPgQrRIIUg

If it doesn't have an HDMI connector, you don't want it new — it's too old, generates too much heat and isn't as bright as those made in the last two years. 

MDP and Thunderbolt ports look identical. They both take the same MDP—HDMI adapter. Older DVI monitors take a more expensive adapter that Apple and others sell.

I have see this monitor. It'a amazing: http://www.lg.com/uk/monitors/lg-34UM88C

Anybody experience with MBP?

How can i check in specification if cable support audio compatibility for example i found some suppler on amazon    https://www.amazon.com/RatSmart-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Compatible-Adapter/dp/B071JPPDHL ?

Thank you 

>How can i check in specification if cable support audio compatibility for example i found some suppler on amazon    https://www.amazon.com/RatSmart-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Compatible-Adapter/dp/B071JPPDHL ? <

It's MDP (Mini Display Port) to HDMI. That's all anyone needs to know. As I posted earlier, this makes any HDMI monitor compatible with the MDP or Thunderbolt port on a Mac.

Thank you i just received it and its worked as expected 

Only 8 years have passed since the publication of this post, and how much has changed I chose for work Macbook Pro (2021) 16 inch M1 Pro 16GB ram 1TB ssd zilver. I'm sure it will be a cool thing

Jull Leng

legalfiles.com

Wow, this thread is over six years old — interesting how some things have changed while others have not. The high-heat monitors of the past are no longer available except at garage sales and on CraigsList—even if free, they should be avoided because of what they do to your electric bill.

You can hook up any external monitor you can think of to that M1. From the least expensive 1080 HDMI to the $6,000 Apple 6K Thunderbolt Display, anything will work with the right adapter/cable. Unfortunately, you are limited to only one external on these without an external GPU.

I have my eyes on Apple’s 27” Studio Display with the NanoGlass option. My wife has that option on her 2020 iMac and, for these aging eyes, it’s quite nice. I expect to be buying the new Mac Studio soon unless Apple finally comes through on a new M1 or M2 27” iMac Pro. For now, I’m still chugging by on an 18 core iMac Pro with a pair of inexpensive 27” LG 4K side monitors. The LGs will likely remain as I don’t expect my budget to handle three of thos Studio Displays — ouch!