I have a Mac Mini and I have ordered and will soon have the S2718D. I am thinking of connecting the monitor from the Mac Mini DP to the HDMI in of the monitor to obtain maximum resolution. My question is, would it be possible to take advantage of the monitors USB ports somehow? Or do the USB ports work strictly with USB-C? Oct 19, 2019 Your Mac only has so much processing power, particularly when it comes to graphics. The more displays you use, the more of a performance hit your Mac is going to take. It’s a lot easier on your Mac if you use an external, 1080p display (1920 x 1080 = 2,073,600 pixels), rather than an external, 4K display (3840 x 2160 = 8,294,400 pixels).
You can make all of your displays mirror each other, or extend your workspace with different apps and windows on each display. If you use an external display with your Mac notebook, you can also use closed-display mode.
Check your requirements
- Check the ports on your Mac to find out whether you need an adapter.
- Check how many displays your Mac supports: Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, click Support, then click Specifications. On the webpage that appears, the number of displays your Mac supports appears under Video Support.
Use extended desktop mode
Maximize your workspace with extended desktop mode, which lets you enjoy full-screen apps and windows on each monitor. Then, use Mission Control to organize apps and windows across your displays. If your Dock is on the bottom of your screen, it appears on any of your displays when you move your pointer to the bottom edge of your display.
Turn on extended desktop mode
- Make sure that your external display is turned on and connected to your Mac.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Displays.
- Click the Arrangement tab.
- Make sure that the Mirror Displays checkbox isn’t selected.
Arrange your displays or change your primary display
So that you can move apps and windows across your displays in one continuous motion, arrange your displays to match the setup on your desk. You can also change your primary display, which is where your desktop icons and app windows first appear.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Displays.
- Click the Arrangement tab.
- To change the position of a display, drag it to the desired position. A red border appears around the display as it's moved.
- To set a different display as the primary display, drag the menu bar to the other display.
Use video mirroring
With video mirroring, all of your displays show the same apps and windows.
Turn on video mirroring
- Make sure that your external display is turned on and connected to your Mac.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Displays, then click the Arrangement tab.
- Make sure that the Mirror Displays checkbox is selected.
Use AirPlay
With Apple TV, you can mirror the entire display of your Mac to your TV, or use your TV as a separate display. To turn on AirPlay, follow these steps:
![Monitor For Mac Mini 2012 Monitor For Mac Mini 2012](/uploads/1/2/7/7/127748702/897208576.jpg)
- Make sure that your TV is turned on.
- Choose in the menu bar, then choose your Apple TV. If an AirPlay passcode appears on your TV screen, enter the passcode on your Mac.
- Mirror your display or use your TV as a separate display:
- To mirror your display, choose , then choose Mirror Built-in Display.
- To use your TV as a separate display, choose , then choose Use As Separate Display.
- To turn off AirPlay, choose , then choose Turn AirPlay Off.
If you don't see in the menu bar, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Displays, then select the 'Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available' checkbox.
Learn more about how to AirPlay video from your Mac.
Learn more
The support article for Mac Mini (Late 2012) shows and details which ports can do what.
So you'd probably need to get a Thunderbolt adapter to use a second display, it seems.
See the listed items to connect to Thunderbolt port in the link you posted. I've the same
![Best monitor for mac mini late 2012 Best monitor for mac mini late 2012](/uploads/1/2/7/7/127748702/585005069.jpg)
link bookmarked from more than a year ago...
I have a Late 2012 Mac Mini i7, while only using one Apple Cinema (aluminum) display.
Another option would be also buy a Thunderbolt multiple port dock. Some allow many other
2012 Mac Mini Specs
products, & duplicate ports. (Up to 12 items, from USB3.0, Thundebolt, etc) not cheap. A
Best Monitor For Mac Mini Late 2012
few displays may allow daisy-chain; note MiniDisplay looks like a Thunderbolt port but may
not act like one. The adapters may allow minidisplay to run from Thunderbolt. See support
article and then refer to Apple store page of display adapters.
Monitor For Mac Mini 2012 Vs Mac Mini 2016
OWC also has an external optical drive with several ports built-in (with extra HDD).
Good luck! ?
Feb 24, 2016 2:14 PM