P2214H, MacBook, connection help, #2

@lizeld You'll need to be more specific than "MacBook with Thunderbolt ports".  What exact MacBook do you have, including display size, Pro/Air designation, and generation, e.g. mid-2018 or whatever?

Ah, I've got a MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019). The built in display is 16-inch (3072 x 1920), AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 4 GB graphics

@lizeld  Ok perfect, so your system can support up to four external displays on top of the built-in display and has four ports.  So the simplest and least expensive solution would be to get three USB-C to DisplayPort cables and connect each display to a port on the system.  But that leaves only one port left that would presumably be used for your power adapter most of the time -- but that means you don't have any ports left for anything else.  If you want to avoid that outcome, you might want to look into multi-purpose adapters like this one that would allow you to connect power, a display, and other peripherals to that adapter, which then occupies only one USB-C port on the system itself.  If you got that, then you'd want two USB-C to DisplayPort cables for two displays, and then an HDMI to DVI cable to connect the third display to that adapter.  (An HDMI to DisplayPort cable will NOT work in this setup.)

There are also Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapters that can get two displays running from a single port on your MacBook, but they're more expensive than probably makes sense here.  They're capable of running dual 4K 60 Hz displays, and if you were trying to do that then they might be worth considering, but you're not, so you'd just be paying for capabilities you wouldn't really be using.  Unfortunately the similar and less expensive USB-C MST hubs don't work on Macs due to limitations within macOS.

@lizeld  Here's one other option that's less functional than the multi-purpose adapter solution I suggested, but also less expensive.  This adapter gives you a DisplayPort output and also has a USB-C power input connector, so you could run one display and your system's power adapter through a single port on your MacBook.  If you went this route, you'd get that adapter, a regular DisplayPort cable, and two USB-C to DisplayPort cables.  You'd connect the MacBook's power adapter through that adapter I linked, so at the end of the day you'd have three displays plus your power adapter running from a total of three ports on your system, leaving you one port free for whatever else you might need to connect.

Thank you so much for your quick and thorough help! I decided to go with what sounded like the most painless and sustainable option, got the multi-purpose adapter you linked and two USB-C to DisplayPort cables for the two displays, and I have what I hope is an HDMI to DVI cable to connect the third display into the adapter. I'm waiting for everything to come in but just want to make sure, for the first two monitors that will use USB-C to DisplayPort, those are going from the adapter into the display as well right? Also, do each of the 3 monitors need a power cable? Just realized that. If you can link a compatible one that would save me a lot of worry.

So my set up in the end will be:
3 monitors
my MacBook 
1 multi-purpose adapter
2 USB-C to DisplayPort cables
1 HDMI to DVI cable


I'll connect the adapter to my MacBook via one USB-C port
I'll connect all 3 monitors to the adapter, 2 through USB-C to DP cables, 1 through HDMI to DVI
(I'll connect the monitors to power?)

Thank you so much, n00b-savior! 

@lizeld  Thanks for the kind words! I try to "teach a person to fish" whenever I can rather than just catching a fish.   Sorry, I forgot to address the display power sources.  Yes, the displays will each need to be connected to wall power, but they just use basic PC power cables, so you can just plug them all into the same surge protector or something.

@lizeld  Happy to help!   Good choice about using the multi-purpose adapter, since that may come in handy in other contexts as well, like plugging in "regular USB" devices.  But there's some confusion as to how you'll be connecting all of this.  Here's what you need to do:

• The multi-purpose adapter will connect to one of the MacBook's USB-C ports.
• The MacBook's power adapter will connect to the power input port of the multi-purpose adapter.  This will allow the system to charge through the multi-purpose adapter rather than the charger needing to consume another port on the MacBook itself.
• The HDMI to DVI cable will connect the HDMI output of the multi-purpose adapter to the DVI input of one of your displays.
• But the USB-C to DisplayPort cables will each connect directly to separate USB-C ports on the MacBook.

So the end result will be that you'll use three USB-C ports on your MacBook for this whole solution.  This will leave one open for something else.

Unfortunately you can't run all three displays through the multi-purpose adapter.  That particular adapter only supports a single external display, but even other adapters that support multiple displays (called USB-C MST hubs) don't support that from macOS systems, due to the fact that macOS has steadfastly chosen not to implement support for DisplayPort MST, which allows multiple displays to be driven from a single display output port.  Ironically when Macs are running Windows via Boot Camp, this capability works fine, so it's an OS limitation.  The only way to run multiple displays from a single port on a Mac is with devices that rely on Thunderbolt rather than regular USB-C, since Thunderbolt is capable of carrying two independent GPU interfaces over a single cable, so the Mac can allocate one interface to each display.  But Thunderbolt devices are more expensive, and even then you'd only be able to get two displays running from a single port, whereas a PC could run 3-4 displays depending on the system and the displays involved.

Hopefully this help!

That really really helps! Thank you, I'll be referring back to this on setup day!

Just to clarify ...no power adaptors for monitors themselves? Just my Mac being powered through the adaptor now.

Now I am also beginning to understand some of the more nuanced opinions about the different OSs, and I super-appreciate that and the fact that you were specific about what things are called and what conditions/circumstances would change the setup. I learned a lot

Thank you, would something like this work? I'm nervous lol 

Moreover, I just got the Anker PowerExpand 8-in-1 USB-C PD 1-Gbps Data Hub and there is some concerning info on a sticker on it. It says:
1. Does NOT support media display via USB-C ports with a USB-C to HDMI/DP/Mini DP/VGA cable

2. The USB-A port or USB-C data port does NOT support charging

Are these expected?

@lizeld  Ok, one more last thing after my previous last thing.   If you've never set up a multi-display workspace before, the other thing to be aware of is that your system won't necessarily make correct assumptions about where each display is in relation to the other displays.  That's important because if you for example want to be able to move a cursor from your leftmost display across your center display and over to your rightmost display as a single left-to-right motion, then the system needs to know which display is on the left, in the center, and on the right -- plus where your laptop's built-in display is in relation to your external displays if you choose to keep that one active as well.  The way to specify this is under System Preferences > Display > Arrangement.  In there you'll see a diagram that contains each active display.  You'll need to drag and drop the icons corresponding to each display so that the diagram's layout matches the physical placement of your displays.  Good luck!

@lizeld  One last thing: Make sure to set each display to the appropriate input after you get everything connected.  The displays might not auto-detect which input your MacBook is using with them, in which case you'd need to manually set two of them to DisplayPort and one to DVI.  That's accomplished using the buttons on the display itself, but if the displays don't auto-detect that and you don't do it yourself, then you'll be looking at a black screen.

@lizeld Yes, that's exactly the type of power cable you need.  You can order it in whatever length makes sense for your setup.

The notes on that multi-purpose hub are expected.  The hub has two USB-C ports.  One is a power input port, which is where you'll connect the MacBook's charger, and the other is a USB-C "data only" port.  Some USB-C ports, like the ones on your MacBook, support video output.  That is an optional capability of USB-C ports.  The PowerExpand device supports receiving a video signal from your MacBook, but it can only pass that signal through its HDMI output, which is what you'll be using.  It cannot pass that signal through its USB-C data port, but that's not an issue in your case.

The callout about charging devices from the USB ports is also typical for these devices.  Basically, devices that charge from USB ports, like smartphones and tablets, pull a lot more power than typical USB peripherals like flash drives, keyboard/mice (or their wireless receivers), etc.  These adapters aren't designed to provide the amount of power required to satisfy the high power requirements of devices that charge from USB.  That's mainly because the multi-purpose adapter can be used even if you do NOT have a power source plugged into it.  You of course wouldn't be charging your system through the adapter in that case, but the adapter will still work -- but in that case it will be drawing power from the system to run its own internal electronics.  That's perfectly fine, but systems aren't designed to supply enough power out of their USB ports to cover the requirements of a multi-purpose adapter and one or more devices connected to it that are themselves trying to draw a lot of power to charge a battery.  In fact these days many phones and tablets support fast charging using power levels that have never been provided from USB ports built into actual systems, so even if you connected that type of device directly to a port on your MacBook, it likely still wouldn't charge as fast as it could.  So you'll still want to charge your phone, tablet, etc. from a wall charger.

@lizeld  Well in fairness, I'm an IT professional, so I'm pretty well immersed in this type of stuff.  I just view my time spent here as my "pro bono" work to try to do some good in the world.  In terms of this weekend, as long as that cable that you said you think is an HDMI to DVI cable is in fact an HDMI to DVI cable, I think everything will go fine now with all the instructions and tips in here.  Still, I'll keep an eye out for any additional posts, and if I miss them, you can always send me a direct message through the forum!

I am so grateful! Thank you again. I hope my ignorance reminds you that you have a whole lot of knowledge that isn't obvious. Probably talk to you over the weekend when I'm setting this up and looking for problems