[rbosinger]

This has been a big one for me in regards to pulling the trigger on an M1 (and I need something new for work very soon).

I found a whole bunch of YouTube videos of people using DisplayLink adapters such as various docks from Targus or smaller single adapters from StarTech (brands likely don't matter but this happens to what people are testing in these videos). They all show good results. Comments all say "DisplayLink is faking it and it's gross" but the people making these videos say "Sure, but it's not gross. It's working almost perfectly."

Anyone here have any experience or thoughts on this?

I'm not gaming or needing to do high level graphics or video editing on a 2nd or 3rd display. Just basic dev stuff and window management.

[statico]

I bought the StarTech dual 4K DisplayLink adapater after watching one of those videos. I use it to power a second 4K monitor with my M1 MacBook Air running lid-closed. I have a 1080p gaming monitor as my primary connected to a Elgato dock via DisplayPort.

DisplayLink is definitely suboptimial, but it's the only option. There is noticable input lag (my guess is around 100ms) that makes mouse and keyboard input feel sluggish. Showing a moving image on the screen pegs the DisplayLink Manager process to 100% of one core while it's playing. DisplayLink does not currently support rotation on Big Sur, though it probably will in the future. However, the image itself is pixel-perfect, so it's fine for secondary apps like chat or monitoring.

[Trun222]

I have the new MacBook Air and am able to run two 1080p monitors just fine. I use the same adapter for gaming with my HP omen as well. It looks great. (StarTech)