External monitor (need some help)

Hardware
1

Hello,

Has anyone tried using an external monitor on a MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)?

I’m worried about overheating…

2

Generally, when you read stories or posts about connecting an external monitor to a Mac laptop resulting in lots of heat and fan noise, it involves models with discrete GPUs (connecting an external monitor switches the graphics processing over to the GPU). The MacBook Air only has integrated graphics, so it shouldn’t be any sort of issue.

1 Like
3

Thank you very much!

4

Hmm after getting only offered $180 from Apple for my 2016 MBP I was thinking of putting it in clamshell with an external monitor to replace my 2010 iMac - would that be a bad idea?

5

I use a Thunderbolt Display with my 2015 MacBook Air in clamshell mode. Never have problems with heat. I prefer that mode because I like a full,size keyboard with a numeric pad.

6

Users need to have their MacBooks plugged into external power supply all the time for clamshell to work. That didn’t harm built in battery?

7

Since Apple only offered me $180 when they saw my 2016 MBP, after initially offering $500 or so, I find myself with an extra laptop. And I’d like to replace my 2010 iMac.

Stand, dock, trackpad, monitor would together run me ~$1000-1300. I’m wondering if it would be worth trying to use the MBP in clamshell for a few years. On one hand, I could just get an M1 mini and keep all the accessories if need be. On the other hand, I could wait for an M1(2?) iMac, especially as none of the external monitor options seems that great.

What to do, what to do…