MacBook 2017 (USB-C) to Apple Cinema Display 30"

I've seen many of the solutions on the topic, all posted in this site. But I haven't seen any of them mentioning Apple's adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter

I have that, which was used to connect to my old MacBook Pro 2013.

Now, I'm assuming that all I need is to connect the Mini DisplayPort to an adapter, such as AllSmartLife USB C Type to Mini DisplayPort/Mini DP Adapter (as mentioned in one of the posts) and the USB cable to a USB-C adaptor.

Is this correct?


When selecting an adapter, you have to know what sources you are going from to what you are going to. One important thing to keep in mind is that you want to limit the number of conversions/connections you make; more conversions = less reliability.

The 2017 MacBook has just a single USB-C port. However, it supports the following:

  • Charging
  • USB 3.1 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps)
  • Native DisplayPort 1.2 video output
  • VGA output using USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter (sold separately)
  • HDMI video output using USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter (sold separately)

(Emphasis mine)

The Apple Cinema Display has a Dual Link DVI port.

So, you need to go from USB-C DisplayPort to DualLink DVI Adapter like the Tripp-Lite U444-003-D (The product must indicate that it supports Dual-Link DVI or it won't work)

Keep in mind, that this particular display is getting long-in-the-tooth so to speak and it will become increasingly difficult to find newer interfaces for older, unsupported monitors that has a small market share (Everybody had DVI, only a few could afford DL-DVI).