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No support for MST daisy chaining is unfortunate, but not really a dealbreaker since most users spending a lot of time at a desk are using either a standalone d

No support for MST daisy chaining is unfortunate, but not really a dealbreaker since most users spending a lot of time at a desk are using either a standalone dock (e.g. CalDigit TS4) or a monitor that has a dock built in (like Dell’s U2724DE) which also achieves one-cable multimonitor (+charging). The limit on number of monitors isn’t an issue on the newer low end models. On the hardware side of things, the big differentiators are build quality and battery life. To get either as good as is found on MacBooks you’re likely to be spending about as much in the x86 world. Those dirt cheap Chromebooks in particular are miserable to use.

goosedragons 1y ago
MST makes getting a dock cheaper. It's very cheap to get a hub or dock that can do two or even three monitors over MST, with power pass through and a few extra USB ports for a mouse and keyboard or printer. Like $30-$50. Maybe you spend another $50 for a decent extra charger to go with it. On Mac you basically HAVE to get an expensive $200+ TB dock to get a one cable multi-mon setup. The new M4 MBAs can still only do two external screens at a time. It's better but the competition can do more.
- cnst 1y ago
  Yeah, my $79 Chromebook, could literally already do 2 external USB-C monitors, at 1/10th the price of an M4 MacBook Air! The best part about DP MST is that most monitors already have a DP-Out, so, you can already daisy-chain even without having to buy a cheap dock. I'm pretty sure DP-Out would be even more popular if not for the macOS users leaving all the negative reviews about the daisy-chaining not working after paying a full half price for a DP MST monitor compared to a Thunderbolt one! Ironically, some manufacturers simply remove the DP-Out port, and release the resulting product as a Mac-friendly version of an identical PC monitor with a DP-Out. My fav USB-C / DP MST monitor deals, have been HP Z24m G3 at $149.99 USD in early 2024, and PHILIPS 4K UHD IPS Black 27E2F7901 at $209.99 in mid/late 2024, both 400nits with DP 1.4, USB-C and DP-Out, at far cheaper prices than any comparable Thunderbolt monitor: https://slickdeals.net/f/17456364-23-8-hp-z24m-g3-2560x1440-90hz-ips-conferencing-monitor-150-free-shipping https://slickdeals.net/f/17456364-23-8-hp-z24m-g3-2560x1440-... https://slickdeals.net/f/17650827-philips-creator-series-27e2f7901-27-4k-uhd-ips-black-display-usb-c-built-in-kvm-height-adjustable-daisy-chain-pd-96w-209-99 https://slickdeals.net/f/17650827-philips-creator-series-27e...
- cosmic_cheese 1y ago
  I’d buy the Thunderbolt dock anyway because plain USB-C docks/hubs have been consistently flaky and generally frustrating in my experience, even under Windows/Linux. The reduced frustration is easily worth the higher cost.
cnst 1y ago
> CalDigit TS4 Wait, that's a $379 dock? Isn't it a bit too much to pay so much just to get back about the same ports that most non-Macs still have? If I connect my peripherals like SSD and mouse/kb through this dock, will they continue working during a power outage? Or do I now have to get a UPS for my laptop, too, because I can't use the native ports anymore, and have to use a dock to connect the most basic equipment? > Dell U2724DE https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-thunderbolt-hub-monitor-u2724de/apd/210-bksj/monitors-monitor-accessories https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-thunderbo... $599 USD for QHD 2560x1440? That's just not very competitive. I got a QHD 2560x1440 with RJ45 and a DP-Out for $149 brand new, for HP Z24m G3: https://slickdeals.net/f/17456364-23-8-hp-z24m-g3-2560x1440-90hz-ips-conferencing-monitor-150-free-shipping https://slickdeals.net/f/17456364-23-8-hp-z24m-g3-2560x1440-... So, it's basically a 4x premium for TB. --- Many monitors on the market today do come with a dock built-in, but most of the time, it's a DP MST kind of dock, so, the daisy-chaining won't work in macOS, since it has no support for DP MST. Thunderbolt is VERY rare across most monitors. It's even more rare on the models that go on sale and aren't broken in some fundamental way (IIRC, some Samsung TB monitor that was on sale, would actually have terrible reviews specifically because it still didn't work daisy-chained properly). Since you're a Dell fan, I've just casually looked over the filters at https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/computer-monitors/ar/8605 https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/computer-monitors/ar/8605, and it's got 42 for USB-C, but only 6 for Thunderbolt; that's 7 times more non-Thunderbolt monitors that Thunderbolt. If we limit the search to QHD 2560x1440, there's 11 USB-C, but only 1 Thunderbolt. You're basically paying 2x more, or $300 more, for a "free" Thunderbolt dock. Compare to DP-Out options. For example, HP Z24m G3 2560x1440 was on sale for many months throughout 2024 at $149.99 USD brand new, it does have DP-Out and RJ45, a very quality monitor. As for battery life, I'm not doing video encoding or compiling on my Mac, so, battery life is just a matter of power consumption. There are many ARM-based Chromebooks that are powered by like 5W CPUs. By definition, they're INCAPABLE of consuming their 50Wh battery in less than 10 hours; this often results in a better battery life than my MacBook Air, simply because M1 is still a 15W CPU, and can easily made to waste lots of cycles doing pointless webpage busywork that noone cares about, diminishing the battery life. Yes, they've finally fixed the regression with a second monitor come M4, but it's still missing the most basic ports and expansion features.
- 1y ago

goosedragons 1y ago

MST makes getting a dock cheaper. It's very cheap to get a hub or dock that can do two or even three monitors over MST, with power pass through and a few extra USB ports for a mouse and keyboard or printer. Like $30-$50. Maybe you spend another $50 for a decent extra charger to go with it. On Mac you basically HAVE to get an expensive $200+ TB dock to get a one cable multi-mon setup. The new M4 MBAs can still only do two external screens at a time. It's better but the competition can do more.

cnst 1y ago
Yeah, my $79 Chromebook, could literally already do 2 external USB-C monitors, at 1/10th the price of an M4 MacBook Air! The best part about DP MST is that most monitors already have a DP-Out, so, you can already daisy-chain even without having to buy a cheap dock. I'm pretty sure DP-Out would be even more popular if not for the macOS users leaving all the negative reviews about the daisy-chaining not working after paying a full half price for a DP MST monitor compared to a Thunderbolt one! Ironically, some manufacturers simply remove the DP-Out port, and release the resulting product as a Mac-friendly version of an identical PC monitor with a DP-Out. My fav USB-C / DP MST monitor deals, have been HP Z24m G3 at $149.99 USD in early 2024, and PHILIPS 4K UHD IPS Black 27E2F7901 at $209.99 in mid/late 2024, both 400nits with DP 1.4, USB-C and DP-Out, at far cheaper prices than any comparable Thunderbolt monitor: https://slickdeals.net/f/17456364-23-8-hp-z24m-g3-2560x1440-90hz-ips-conferencing-monitor-150-free-shipping https://slickdeals.net/f/17456364-23-8-hp-z24m-g3-2560x1440-... https://slickdeals.net/f/17650827-philips-creator-series-27e2f7901-27-4k-uhd-ips-black-display-usb-c-built-in-kvm-height-adjustable-daisy-chain-pd-96w-209-99 https://slickdeals.net/f/17650827-philips-creator-series-27e...
cosmic_cheese 1y ago
I’d buy the Thunderbolt dock anyway because plain USB-C docks/hubs have been consistently flaky and generally frustrating in my experience, even under Windows/Linux. The reduced frustration is easily worth the higher cost.

cnst 1y ago

> CalDigit TS4 Wait, that's a $379 dock? Isn't it a bit too much to pay so much just to get back about the same ports that most non-Macs still have? If I connect my peripherals like SSD and mouse/kb through this dock, will they continue working during a power outage? Or do I now have to get a UPS for my laptop, too, because I can't use the native ports anymore, and have to use a dock to connect the most basic equipment? > Dell U2724DE https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-thunderbolt-hub-monitor-u2724de/apd/210-bksj/monitors-monitor-accessories https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-thunderbo... $599 USD for QHD 2560x1440? That's just not very competitive. I got a QHD 2560x1440 with RJ45 and a DP-Out for $149 brand new, for HP Z24m G3: https://slickdeals.net/f/17456364-23-8-hp-z24m-g3-2560x1440-90hz-ips-conferencing-monitor-150-free-shipping https://slickdeals.net/f/17456364-23-8-hp-z24m-g3-2560x1440-... So, it's basically a 4x premium for TB. --- Many monitors on the market today do come with a dock built-in, but most of the time, it's a DP MST kind of dock, so, the daisy-chaining won't work in macOS, since it has no support for DP MST. Thunderbolt is VERY rare across most monitors. It's even more rare on the models that go on sale and aren't broken in some fundamental way (IIRC, some Samsung TB monitor that was on sale, would actually have terrible reviews specifically because it still didn't work daisy-chained properly). Since you're a Dell fan, I've just casually looked over the filters at https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/computer-monitors/ar/8605 https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/computer-monitors/ar/8605, and it's got 42 for USB-C, but only 6 for Thunderbolt; that's 7 times more non-Thunderbolt monitors that Thunderbolt. If we limit the search to QHD 2560x1440, there's 11 USB-C, but only 1 Thunderbolt. You're basically paying 2x more, or $300 more, for a "free" Thunderbolt dock. Compare to DP-Out options. For example, HP Z24m G3 2560x1440 was on sale for many months throughout 2024 at $149.99 USD brand new, it does have DP-Out and RJ45, a very quality monitor. As for battery life, I'm not doing video encoding or compiling on my Mac, so, battery life is just a matter of power consumption. There are many ARM-based Chromebooks that are powered by like 5W CPUs. By definition, they're INCAPABLE of consuming their 50Wh battery in less than 10 hours; this often results in a better battery life than my MacBook Air, simply because M1 is still a 15W CPU, and can easily made to waste lots of cycles doing pointless webpage busywork that noone cares about, diminishing the battery life. Yes, they've finally fixed the regression with a second monitor come M4, but it's still missing the most basic ports and expansion features.

1y ago