[gambiting]

Can you? My i5-10300H equipped laptop drives two external monitors daily and the fans don't even start in normal use. Maybe specify which laptop?

The M1 can't even support two monitors plugged in directly, which is a joke for a machine this expensive.

[matthewmacleod]

The M1 can't even support two monitors plugged in directly, which is a joke for a machine this expensive.

That is the case for the M1, which is the lower-end of the new processors – a bit disappointing because I'd've otherwise bought one, but a relatively uncommon scenario overall for a lower-end Mac.

It's not the case for the recently-launched chips, which support up to 2x6k external displays (M1 Pro) or 3x6k + 1x4k (M1 Max).

[gambiting]

Yes, correct, sorry maybe I should have specified.

[imeron]

For the Macbook Pros definitely. Just try a non-4k (or FHD) display to trigger the external GPU to see the fans spinning up. Any ultra-wide screen will do.

[formerly_proven]

I've had dual-head on 12? 13? year old laptops - no problem (not HiDPI, which was not a thing then, obviously, but FHD or WQHD). Currently doing the same with an i5-8350U, runs passively most of the time.

[spectre3d]

My M1 Mac mini supports two monitors plugged in directly. I know you mentioned “laptop”.

OT: It’s nice that DisplayLink connections let an M1 machine have unlimited displays, and that the performance of their driver under Big Sur and above has been fantastic for me for the past half year for 2 extra displays. (Four total, 1 is vertical)

[easton]

The new MacBooks from a few weeks ago can due to Apple putting some effort into the GPU. I think they’re talking about the Intel MacBook Pro, which had meh cooling from what I hear. (Although if you want to see bad cooling, try out a Surface. Throttle city after anything strenuous.)

[alpaca128]

> if you want to see bad cooling, try out a Surface. Throttle city after anything strenuous

Implying Apple's cooling is any better? Both build difficult to repair devices tuned only for looks. Whether it's the Macbook that literally doubles its performance if you build a custom cooler that prevents throttling, or the Surface Book that you can't use at full performance for long because the charger cannot deliver enough power to sustain it.

Nobody can cheat thermodynamics, and attaching "Pro" to the name doesn't make it go faster either. I just hope I can keep buying "normal" laptops. They're ugly and noisy, but at least I know they can be fixed without melting off the keyboard or the repair guy telling me it's water damage when it isn't.

[ansible]

Do you have a discrete GPU on that laptop?

Intel integrated GPUs are often set up to use main memory instead of dedicated GPU memory (as for the Iris graphics). I wonder if that makes a difference, though it is on the same package.