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My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

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Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#31

Post by refulgentis »

spacedcowboy wrote: post #23
tonynator wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's on Apple to not sell a substandard product with missing features, and it's on Apple fanboys to not buy them. Neither will realistically happen.

Nah. Apple tells you what you're getting for your money in plain old English in white and black. If you don't read it, that's on you. M3 Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz M3 Pro Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: Up to two external displays wi…

*stares at article*

I think Apple may have said something else.

*clicks "promised months ago"*

"Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that a software update for the 14-inch MacBook Pro will gain the ability to drive two external displays with the lid closed. The feature will work identically to how it works with the new M3 MacBook Air."

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#32

Post by spacedcowboy »

FredPret wrote: post #16

Is Gnome on Fedora as polished as he says, or is that just frustration talking?

There's several things I don't like about the Mac (Settings is now an umitigated disaster, for example), but it's IMHO the best of the bunch, with Windows some way behind, and Linux (anything running Linux) some significant way behind that.

Every now and then I'll fire up a VM and install Linux. Try some stuff, and think "nope, still not the year of the desktop on Linux".

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#33

Post by lynndotpy »

spacedcowboy wrote: post #20
eganist wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does any of this detract from the absurdity that no MacBook Pro with the mainline M1/M2/M3 chips has been able to natively drive two external screens? Being able to use two external screens is practically an expectation of any laptop at this point. I can understand the OP's point that this is ridiculous.

[flagged]

> That's not absurd in the slightest.

I think it is very absurd.

It's difficult to imagine a definition of 'absurd' that wouldn't include this. The only other consumer desktop hardware I know of that can't drive two screens is the Raspberry Pi Zero.

I agree with the OP on all points. The lineup is absurd (the Macbook Pro does not come with an M3 Pro). The motto "It just works" is absurd. The five-step workaround is absurd, and it's made worse given the workaround does not work.

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#34

Post by lynndotpy »

FredPret wrote: post #16

Is Gnome on Fedora as polished as he says, or is that just frustration talking?

I've been using MacOS for ~2 years, and GNOME in various forms for ~10 years. I'm even typing this comment from a Mac.

For me, the biggest thing is that MacOS has lengthy sigmoidal animations, and no ability to move windows between desktops ("spaces") with a keyboard shortcut.

Those animations are a source of constant friction, and the limited multi-desktop functionality makes single and dual monitor setups very frustrating.

GNOME has neither of these problems, so for these two issues alone, I think it far outshines MacOS's desktop environment.

I'm sure familiarity has a lot to do with it, and I'd argue KDE and Pop! OS's custom GNOME are more polished than base GNOME, but I wouldn't attribute OP's statement to frustration.

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#35

Post by spacedcowboy »

refulgentis wrote: post #31
spacedcowboy wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nah. Apple tells you what you're getting for your money in plain old English in white and black. If you don't read it, that's on you. M3 Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz M3 Pro Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: Up to two external displays wi…

*stares at article* I think Apple may have said something else. *clicks "promised months ago"* " Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that a software update for the 14-inch MacBook Pro will gain the ability to drive two external displays with the lid closed. The feature will work identically to how it works with the new M3 MacBook Air."

I mean, those are direct quotes from the current Apple.com website [1] under 'Tech Specs' about halfway down. The same information, in more wordy form is on the overview page (the default page for the MBP)

[1]: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#36

Post by ffsm8 »

eganist wrote: post #11
rc5150 wrote: post #9

A) the device in question was provisioned by his employer, so it's not his laptop, ergo, the price is irrelevant. If he's not able to complete his work tasks on the device, then it's on him to communicate with his manager to procure a device that allows him to do so. B) if the device was purchased by him, then the onus is on him to have researched the device's full functionality prior to the spending any amount in an…

How does any of this detract from the absurdity that no MacBook Pro with the mainline M1/M2/M3 chips has been able to natively drive two external screens? Being able to use two external screens is practically an expectation of any laptop at this point. I can understand the OP's point that this is ridiculous.

You're just able to buy a MacBook Pro with a non-pro CPU. This capability is definitely primarily for market segmentation (the power drain isn't a realistic argument in this scenario, as the user will almost always have power available when plugged into a display)

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#37

Post by politelemon »

kmeisthax wrote: post #29

The reason why non-Pro-chip MacBooks can't drive three displays is very simple: Apple gives each display its own SRAM buffer to scan out from, separate from the main system RAM. The display controllers on Apple chips are literally larger than the CPU cores because of this. The reason why they do this is because it lets them run system RAM at lower power or suspend it entirely without affecting the displays. Which sav…

That isn't simple at all!

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#38

Post by 93po »

i hate windows and refuse to use it, but this is also the most annoying thing apple does outside not allowing real third party browser support in ios. it's 2024 and the robots are having human conversations with us and rockets are landing themselves. i think apple could make this work just fine if they wanted to

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#39

Post by ThatMedicIsASpy »

spacedcowboy wrote: post #32
FredPret wrote: post #16

Is Gnome on Fedora as polished as he says, or is that just frustration talking?

There's several things I don't like about the Mac (Settings is now an umitigated disaster, for example), but it's IMHO the best of the bunch, with Windows some way behind, and Linux (anything running Linux) some significant way behind that. Every now and then I'll fire up a VM and install Linux. Try some stuff, and think "nope, still not the year of the desktop on Linux".

My main system is Proxmox and a Linux VM + GPU. Every couple of weeks I try out different distros. No problems here. Right now I'm on Bazzite (KDE 6) and evaluating if I replace SteamOS with Bazzite on the Steam Deck.

Re: My $2.2k laptop can't drive two screens

#40

Post by FredPret »

spacedcowboy wrote: post #32
FredPret wrote: post #16

Is Gnome on Fedora as polished as he says, or is that just frustration talking?

There's several things I don't like about the Mac (Settings is now an umitigated disaster, for example), but it's IMHO the best of the bunch, with Windows some way behind, and Linux (anything running Linux) some significant way behind that. Every now and then I'll fire up a VM and install Linux. Try some stuff, and think "nope, still not the year of the desktop on Linux".

This is my impression as well.

MacOS being far from ideal for a power user but sadly the best of a bad bunch.

My current solution is to use the Mac as a thin client as much as possible.

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