M1 MacBook Pro 14 - will I be pushing it to hard?

Hardware
1

Hey all,

I have an M1 MacBook Pro 14inch, standard (no upgrades) running an AOC 34inch ( U34P2C) widescreen monitor powered by USB C (which for the price is proving to be a great monitor). I also run a small portable USB A monitor in portrait. This is my dual screen setup.

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I wanted to add another of the same AOC monitor (2 in total) and stop using the portable monitor.

  1. Am I going to be pushing the MacBook too hard running both these monitors? (I already notice high RAM usage - this is for another topic).

  2. Would a dock help the issue at all?

  3. Could you run both of them monitors over USBC given the power pass through? Or would the second be better run through HDMI?

Am I asking too much from my amazing M1?

Thanks so much in advance.

2

My first assumption would be that it should be fine, given that Apple states the M1 Pro Chip can Power two Pro Display XDRs (the M1 Max should be able to power three plus a 4K display). I don’t have any first hand experience and haven’t looked for YouTube videos and the like - but if it can power two 6k displays and should be able to handle two 4K displays :thinking:.

Would it be possible for you to just try it out? Do you have a return policy for that display?

3

As the AOC is technically not 4k in resolution: WQHD (3440Ă—1440) you should have no problems doing that.

Do think you neck muscles will get some training as your view angle will be huge. Potentially with a screen split in the middle. That’s why I always use 3-screen set up. The middle one is my “focus” screen, the other 2 for reference and messaging.

As you have a wide screen already, try to have smaller screens in portrait mode on each side and use your MBP in clamshell mode giving its display a break

1 Like
4

I would not think you would have any trouble with that setup. I can tell you that my 14" MBPro easily handles an attached 5K and 4K setup, although I do have a M1 Max with 32GB ram.

A dock would be helpful since most TB4 docs can handle 2 x 4K monitors, and that would allow a 1-cable hookup.

5

Great suggestions, the typical place I buy from is a no, but I will hunt around!

6

Thanks Simonsmark… I was actually going to stack them. I had a 49inch widescreen and I didn’t love the looking left and right.

3 monitors would be great, but with the Pro chip, it can only support 2.

Thanks nlippman
I was considering the doc for this reason, plus the ability to add some USB A slots and an external hard-drive. Any doc suggestions?

7

I have a CalDigit TB4 dock. I have been experiencing some flaky operation with USB, however, so I won’t recommend it until I finish testing it out. Others have highly rated it, however, so it’s probably something weird with my setup.

Here’s an article: The best Thunderbolt 4 docks and hubs you can buy for your Mac | AppleInsider