Can I use my 2010 Apple 24" Cinema Display with a contemporary M3 14" MacBook Pro or with a new M4 Mac Mini?

I've been using this display with a highly modified 2017 21.5 inch iMac (modifications included logically decoupling the 1 TB rotating platter internal drive from the very small SSD in the processor direct slot, inserting a 1 TB NVMe2 SSD into that slot, then formatting it to be the boot volume. I also upped the RAM to 32 GB, so it's still a quite nice general computer, but Apple doesn't support it for current versions of the macOS beyond Ventura.


I'm in the process of moving, and since I'm retired my relatively new 14" M3 MacBook Pro with 1 TB internal SSD and 16 GB RAM may be relegated to use primarily while I'm traveling. I may purchase an M4 Mac Mini that supports 10 gbits/sec Ethernet and TB4 or 5 and sending my iMac down the family food chain. MY current setup for the Cinema Display connects it to the iMac with OWC's Thunderbolt 3 dock handling the cabling translations, with video signals going to the external monitor through the dock's MiniDisplayPort slot. I'm not sure whether the Mac Mini would feed video signals through the TB3 dock via a Thunderbolt cable or via just a USBc cable.


The "Hydra" cable from the monitor branches into 3 connectors. One is MiniDisplayPort, the second is USBA (I think USB 2.0.1) and the third is Magsafe, for charging a laptop connected to the display.That last connector is physically incompatible with the Magsafe port on my MacBook Pro. I don't know whether there's an adapter to solve that issue, but that would be relevant only if I decided to use the Cinema Display as a large monitor for the MacBook Pro.


I'm considering and purchasing an M4 Mac Mini capable of running the current macOS and using the Cinema Display as its monitor rather than parting with a small fortune for Apple's current display. I'm wondering If I'm considering attempting to cross a "bridge to far" with these plans.


Thanks so much for any relevant experiences or opinions regarding whether this would work. I THINK I could test the concept by using the OWC dock and the MiniDisplayPort cable of the monitor to feed signals from the laptop to the Cinema Display, but don't know that for certain.

Mac mini (M4)

Posted on Jun 29, 2025 7:43 PM

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Jun 30, 2025 3:01 PM in response to JimRobertson

Yes, it should work pretty much the same way you have it set up with the 2017 iMac with the OWC dock out of the Thunderbolt 4 port on the Mac mini.


And yes, you can totally test it with the current M4 MacBook Pro as a proof of concept. If it works with the MacBook Pro it will work with the Mac mini.


And also yes, the Magsafe connector of the display harness, will continue to go unused and is not necessary.


Do note you will be limited by the Display's resolution as the Mac mini can produce much much higher resolutions.


You can also just buy a better display, (does not have to be Apple's display). There are many options out there with better resolutions and specs any a fraction of the cost of Apple's own display.


for example: click here ➜ Dell 27 Plus S2725QC 27-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) 120Hz, sRGB 99%, 16:9 Display, USB-C Monitor - Amazon.com

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Can I use my 2010 Apple 24" Cinema Display with a contemporary M3 14" MacBook Pro or with a new M4 Mac Mini?

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