If MacBook Pro with m4 chip has a gpu chip that is only compatible with two external displays, can I have two external displays rendered with the gpu and one additional display rendered via display link? Or once I add the third I am only able to render them all via display link (utilizing the cpu)?
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.1
DisplayLink technology creates a "fake" display buffer in RAM, sends the data out over a slower interface to a stunt box with DisplayLink custom chips that put that data back onto a "legacy" interface. It is not a true "accelerated" display, and it can suffer from lagging. Just adding the DisplayLink Driver is not adequate to get a picture -- you need a DisplayLink "stunt-box" or a Dock that includes DisplayLink chips.
It may be acceptable for a second display showing slow-to-change data such as computer program listings, stock quotes, or spreadsheets, but NOT for full motion Video, not for Video editing, and absolutely not for gaming. Mouse-tracking on that display can lag, and can make you feel queasy.
It is really nice to know that you can use a DisplayLink display if you MUST have an additional display for some of the types of data I mentioned. But that is NOT the same as the computer supporting a second, built-in, Hardware-accelerated display.
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I think the Big Surprise for a lot of Hub/Dock buyers is that they thought they were getting a "real" display, but actually got a DisplayLink "fake" Display. If you got what you expected in every case, I would not use such pejorative terms to describe DisplayLink.
Directly connected displays will use the Apple hardware (mainly GPUs). If you use a DisplayLink dock, it will depend on the dock whether they are all run via DisplayLink or some are passed through.
Can I split the rendering in external displays between the GPU and CPU?
