The 9 Best Mini Displayport To HDMI Cables and Adapter

Editor's Notes

January 29, 2021:

Whether your older laptop has a dedicated mini DP port, or you're using a MacBook with Thunderbolt 2, there are plenty of adapters available for turning the video signal over to an HDMI connector. The Plugable Active is the top choice because of its active configuration, which ensures it works well with finicky devices like the Microsoft Surface Pro. If an active cable is okay and you want to spend less, get the Ivanky Super Slim. If you need legacy display options as well, the ToPoint 4 in 1 is the way to go, and the Rankie R1101 is a highly reliable choice that eliminates the need to buy a separate cable.

April 02, 2019:

If your older-model MacBook is still kicking or if you invested in a nice Ultrabook before the USB-C craze hit, one of these handy adapters and cables could really come in handy when it's time to share your display with a larger monitor or TV. Users of Wacom's popular drawing tablets may also find these immensely useful, especially if their desktop doesn't have a full-size DisplayPort. Owners of even the newest Microsoft Surface Pro and Laptop will also benefit from these, which is a bit of a disappointment to many, but hey, at least it's (a little bit) less confusing than the jungle of type C connector standards. For that matter, if you're one of those with a late-model Surface Pro or a relatively powerful MacBook, skip right to the top and check out the Plugable. It's one of the few around that outputs to HDMI 2.0, and a lot of users find it to work well right out of the box. If it doesn't work seamlessly -- and with the MacBook, we promise that it won't and you can thank Apple for that -- grab a freeware program called SwitchResX, which will let you set a custom resolution within the OS, and it should solve your problem.

If you're not terribly worried about 4K at 60Hz or 1080p at 120Hz, there are plenty of other options. The active Cable Matters model can also support high refresh rates at 4K, though it doesn't appear to officially support the HDMI 2.0 protocol. The iVanky is cheap, durable, compact, and its relatively attractive appearance won't stick out like a sore thumb if you're using it to give an important presentation. The CableCreation is even more affordable, and while it will actually stand out (because it's bright blue), at least it'll be a little easier to fish out of your laptop bag (although we'd recommend picking up a small zippered bag if you've got more than a couple dongles to deal with). The QGeeM is an interesting choice as it's nearly the only one you'll find with a female miniDP connector. And check out the ToPoints or UGreen if you ever need to connect to older display devices like legacy monitors or projectors, as they have a wider range of output formats.