What is the best way to connect a mid 2012 macbook pro to a new ultra wide external monitor?

What is the best way to connect a mid 2012 macbook pro to a new ultra wide external monitor? I know most of the monitors suggest using USB C but that doesn't exist in my macbook pro so trying to figure out the best option (that doesn't require ordering a new laptop)

I'm assuming you're asking about the UltraWide LG monitor range, since this is their registered mark.

The best way would be to use the Mini Display Port (also known as Thunderbolt) on your Mac and Display Port on your monitor (with the correct cable), but you will not be able to use more than 2560 by 1600 (In case you have 15" 2012 MacBook Pro with retina display). Via HDMI, your MacBook is able to output only 1920 by 1080.

Such a compatible monitor should be LG 29WK600-W.

When I first read this question, I assumed the OP was hoping for an answer from a user who actually had a 2012 MacBook Pro connected to a ultra wide monitor. Unfortunately, I do not. So, the best I can offer is an answer based on internet searching. (I assume the OP already did this before posted the question, but I may have come to a different conclusion.)

Actually, a similar question was asked over 6 years ago. Ironically, a bounty was offered for this question and no answer was accepted.

Basically, you should be able to get a monitor with an ultra wide resolution of 2560x1080 (WFHD) to work with any 2012 MacBook Pro, but this probably will require modifying macOS. One such tool for making modifications is SwitchResX. This product requires System Integrity Protect (SIP) to be turned off in order for SwitchResX to modify macOS. Once modifications are complete, SIP can be turned back on. Below is an excerpt from the answer to the SwitchResX webpage FAQ: "I can't get my wide screen monitor to show its native resolution on my Mac".

This question is valid for getting wide screen resolutions on older Macs....

Your Mac has limits in the resolutions it can send to the monitor and the monitor has limits in the resolutions it can show from the Mac. The monitor communicate with the Mac and sends it a list of predefined resolutions it wants to get. Your Mac does or doesn’t activate each of these resolutions depending on its own capabilities.

For example, the monitor will send 1920x1080 at 60Hz as well as 2560x1080 at 60Hz as its wanted resolutions. If 2560x1080 at 60Hz doesn’t fit the Mac’s capabilities, then the Mac will only activate 1920x1080 at 60Hz.

In this case, there's no other predefined resolution claimed by the monitor that fits inside the Mac's limits.... One of the limitations of most Macs before 2014 when using a DisplayPort output is a resolution bandwidth of 165 MHz.

With SwitchResX, you could define new resolutions that fit inside the monitors and the Mac’s limits, but that are not natively claimed by the monitor....

You can define 2560x1080 at 50Hz for example, which is a resolution that fits in the standard limitation of 165 MHz for the bandwidth. Most of the times, a good monitor can handle this lower frequency. SwitchResX will help the Mac and the monitor into finding a resolution that matches their capabilities and is better than the only 1920x1080 resolution that you now have....

This will for example allow to define 2560x1080 in 50Hz, which will remain under the 165 MHz limit.... If there's no resolution that fits in both your Mac and your monitor's limits, these limits have no common space. In this last case, this cannot be corrected by software.

As for the best way to connect, this depends on the monitor. If purchasing a new monitor, apparently, a display port on the monitor probably would offer the most compatibility with the mini display port (thunderbolt port) on your Mac.

The problem with using a USB port is the speed of data transmission. You do not have a USB type C port, but you do have USB type A ports with speeds unto 5 Gbps. USB type A to type C adapter do exist, but the speeds would still be limited to 5 Gbps. With this in mind, using your mini display port (thunderbolt port) would be a better choice.

The 2012 MacBook Pro Retina models have a HDMI port. However, this port is limited to resolution of 1920x1200, which is not enough to support an ultra wide monitor.

• The best way to connect any Thunderbolt 2 Mac to a display is Thunderbolt since that gets you video and hub (USB / ethernet) functionality. This cable costs second most of the 4 options.
• Second best is to connect to a Thunderbolt dock. This costs more, but not all modern displays support Thunderbolt in. This costs the most for the hardware, but you get a docking station that fits your exact needs and one cable connection. Convenient and capable.
• Third best is HDMI if the display has that as an input - go direct. This is the least expensive option in terms of cabling.
• Fourth best is an adapter - use the Thunderbolt port as it also drives adapters to DisplayPort and HDMI - the video quality is superb here, just less functionality. This can cost far less than a dock, second cheapest.

One note - Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter is bi-directional - you can connect newer thunderbolt 3 devices to older Thunderbolt 2 Macs and there's no real downside as the speed of 2 (and thunderbolt 1) is faster than any USB 3.1 network / display / hub can saturate alone. USB-C connector and Thunderbolt 3 adapters are physically the same - just as Thunderbolt 2 shares the same pin and hardware connector as Mini DisplayPort.

Some great docks are made by Dell and HP (value and support) as well as Belkin, OWC and Elgato - those brand's 2 and 3 docks have been stellar values and top performers, great support for years.

• https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-thunderbolt-dock/
• https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter

You should have good success with any of these options in terms of driving all the pixels of your ultra wide display as fast as your Mac GPU can push the data. I've tested the first option between 2014 MacBook Pro and the LG 5K display - works great - full resolution, so any limiting on resolution is not the cables. My 2013 Mac Pro also routinely work with the newest displays and cables described above. No drivers are needed - all of this works out of the box.

None of the 4 options is visually worse than any of the others, so I called them all best - but ranked them to help you and others out budget and buy.