Answers...

to commonly asked questions.

What cables do I need for my external monitors?

I bought a refurbished 2019-2020 refurbished iMac with i9 processor. I did the migration and that worked with a few hicups, which we can work out on a remote call. My dilemma is fairly simple, but I am losing my confidence. The thunder bolt connections on the new iMac are different from the 2010 model. I need an adapter cable to connect an HMDI fitting and another for a VGA fitting so I can hook up both external screen. PLEASE can you give me a reference as to what I should order from Amazon.
___________


Here are the tech specs on that model year iMac:




So in theory you should be able to connect two external monitors as well as the internal monitor included on board the iMac. (Assuming you’re not trying to push 5K).

That iMac is going to want to drive the external monitors via its “Thunderbolt 3” ports. Also known as USBC...



So for at least one of the external monitors, a simple HDMI to USBC cable should be fine. Here’s one: https://amzn.to/3E9eNTK

The more important question I have is concerning the second external monitor. Does it perhaps Also have HDMI out? If so, I would just use another cable just like above. However, if it only has VGA out, then you’d want to try this adapter: https://amzn.to/3E60Iqe

Problem there is the technology gap between VGA and USBC is so far (like 20 years) that there’s a possibility it might not work well. So running out HDMI would be the better choice if you had it.

Lastly, there’s also an output called DVI. DVI is more modern that VGA and there’s a possibility your monitor has DVI out. So if HDMI isn’t available but you see a DVI output port, you’d want to go with this: https://amzn.to/3ybnrNH


This image is a theme.plist hack