MacBook – How to use 3 monitors on MacBook Pro that does not have a graphics card

displaymacbook pro

I'm currently using an early 2015 13 inch MacBook Pro with Intel Iris Graphics 6100. I'm trying to use 3 external monitors, but I can only get 2 to work. I've seen people suggest using an active cable, but all of their suggestions are for MacBooks with a dedicated graphics card.

Will an active cable be enough for my situation, or do I have to buy some other, more expensive piece of hardware?

Best Answer

Officially Apple only supports two external displays on this model.

More specifically, it supports an HDMI-compatible device, including 4K, while using one Thunderbolt display or it can support up to two Thunderbolt displays.

In terms of external resolution this model supports up to 3840 x 2160 pixels at 30Hz or 4096 x 2160 pixels at 24Hz via HDMI and up to 3840 x 2160 pixels at 60Hz via Thunderbolt.

You could investigate external graphics card options, but I would suggest living with the two displays instead. However here are some resources that may help you decide:

Related Solutions

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) Dual External Monitor Performance

I had this exact same question, and found the answer on Apple's discussion forums:

A final update - I got my hands on two Dell P2715Q's which support 3840x2160@60Hz over SST. I'm happy to report the new 13" RMBP happily drives both displays at their native resolutions with 60Hz refresh in single stream mode (the default).

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6868583

MacBook – MBP 2015 with Iris Pro Only and External Monitor

Graphics and Video support

Intel Iris Pro Graphics 2.2GHz - 256GB

Intel Iris Pro Graphics 2.5GHz - 512GB

Intel Iris Pro Graphics

AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching
Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native 
resolution on the built-in display and up to 3840 by 2160 pixels on up to two
external displays, both at millions of colors

Thunderbolt digital video output

Native Mini DisplayPort output
DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI output supported using Mini DisplayPort adapters (sold separately)
Support for up to 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz on a single external display (model with AMD Radeon R9 M370X only)

HDMI video output Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz

retrieved from https://support.apple.com/kb/SP719?locale=en_US

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) Dual External Monitor Performance

MacBook – MBP 2015 with Iris Pro Only and External Monitor

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