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Pretty much this. At the moment, I am trying to sort this out for my parents who bought a MacBook Air to replace a 12" MacBook and want to know if it is still p

Pretty much this. At the moment, I am trying to sort this out for my parents who bought a MacBook Air to replace a 12" MacBook and want to know if it is still possible to use a pair of 23" 1080p HP displays with it. They don't care about resolution so much, nor does my brother who tested this setup with his 2017 MacBook - bad keyboard and all. (On that front, last I heard, there was a hidden preference for non-HiDPI displays which has been completely removed, causing some issues.) So far as I can tell, it is possible to run more than 1 display on the M1 - but it requires using a version of the DisplayLink driver with some extra [hardware][1], which is not exactly straightforward and I question how well this works in practice. Sonnett is not the only one doing this, but it's the first one I found. [1]: https://www.sonnettech.com/product/m1-mac-dual-displayport-adapter/overview.html https://www.sonnettech.com/product/m1-mac-dual-displayport-a...

bombcar 5y ago
At least one person at work is using something like that to drive two displays from the M1, so I suspect it can be made to work well enough.
- jq-r 5y ago
  I have two external monitors on my M1 Air. The "main" one is connected via hdmi and runs at 120Hz, and another one is connected via DisplayLink compatible adapter which is connected via usb to the same usb hub as the first monitor. That hub is then connected with two usb type-c connectors+cables to the laptop. It works quite fine. There is a small caveat though. The monitor connected with DisplayLink has a very small input lag, but for light work it works just fine. I would not tolerate it for a main monitor (some people would I guess), but it defintely is much better than not having a monitor.
  - Forgeties79 5y ago
    What adaptors/dongles are you using? I could really use a solution that keeps at least one monitor 120hz
    - jq-r 5y ago
      The hub is a Ugreen branded one with two USB type C connectors which you can plug directly to your laptop. It also has 2 HDMI, 1 USB type A connectors, USB type C power input, and SD+micro SD card reader. I don't advise plugging this hub directly to your laptop because it heats up and that heats up the laptop's battery which I'm sure doesn't like it. I just keep it on two short USB type C cables so the heat doesn't transfer to the laptop. I've been using it for two years like this. The DisplayLink compatible adapter is then connected to that hub via USB type A cable. It is made by Startech and has two DisplayPort connectors as outputs. I only use one out of those.
  - chrisfinazzo 5y ago
    You mentioned input lag - how noticeable is this effect and is it something you can "hide" by increasing the tracking speed or other settings? While it might be down to the mediocre Logitech gear he's using, one complaint I have gotten on occasion is how the cursor does not always keep up with his mouse inputs.
    - jq-r 5y ago
      The effect to me is noticeable. If I gave it to my SO or some average user I dont' think it would be noticeable. But at the same time, we're all here, so we're not average users. However, on that monitor I have terminal or documentation so for me it works quite fine. Increasing the tracking speed or mouse refresh rates won't help in this case. I will say though that the system is rock solid for me. I've read complaints about monitors not waking up or similar, but I've never experienced anything like it. Also the mouse does keep up. The 60Hz refresh rate will keep up with it. There is just a small amount of lag, but that's that. Better than not having additional monitor in my case.
      - chrisfinazzo 5y ago
        Good to know. He's currently using both screens via DisplayPort with USB-C going from the HP hub back to the computer - might need to consider other options to see if they will work better.

bombcar 5y ago

At least one person at work is using something like that to drive two displays from the M1, so I suspect it can be made to work well enough.

jq-r 5y ago
I have two external monitors on my M1 Air. The "main" one is connected via hdmi and runs at 120Hz, and another one is connected via DisplayLink compatible adapter which is connected via usb to the same usb hub as the first monitor. That hub is then connected with two usb type-c connectors+cables to the laptop. It works quite fine. There is a small caveat though. The monitor connected with DisplayLink has a very small input lag, but for light work it works just fine. I would not tolerate it for a main monitor (some people would I guess), but it defintely is much better than not having a monitor.
- Forgeties79 5y ago
  What adaptors/dongles are you using? I could really use a solution that keeps at least one monitor 120hz
  - jq-r 5y ago
    The hub is a Ugreen branded one with two USB type C connectors which you can plug directly to your laptop. It also has 2 HDMI, 1 USB type A connectors, USB type C power input, and SD+micro SD card reader. I don't advise plugging this hub directly to your laptop because it heats up and that heats up the laptop's battery which I'm sure doesn't like it. I just keep it on two short USB type C cables so the heat doesn't transfer to the laptop. I've been using it for two years like this. The DisplayLink compatible adapter is then connected to that hub via USB type A cable. It is made by Startech and has two DisplayPort connectors as outputs. I only use one out of those.
- chrisfinazzo 5y ago
  You mentioned input lag - how noticeable is this effect and is it something you can "hide" by increasing the tracking speed or other settings? While it might be down to the mediocre Logitech gear he's using, one complaint I have gotten on occasion is how the cursor does not always keep up with his mouse inputs.
  - jq-r 5y ago
    The effect to me is noticeable. If I gave it to my SO or some average user I dont' think it would be noticeable. But at the same time, we're all here, so we're not average users. However, on that monitor I have terminal or documentation so for me it works quite fine. Increasing the tracking speed or mouse refresh rates won't help in this case. I will say though that the system is rock solid for me. I've read complaints about monitors not waking up or similar, but I've never experienced anything like it. Also the mouse does keep up. The 60Hz refresh rate will keep up with it. There is just a small amount of lag, but that's that. Better than not having additional monitor in my case.
    - chrisfinazzo 5y ago
      Good to know. He's currently using both screens via DisplayPort with USB-C going from the HP hub back to the computer - might need to consider other options to see if they will work better.