Quote:
Originally Posted by Poly
It's not really an alternative, it's an eGPU and thus it requires a Thunderbolt 3 port. If you do have a Thunderbolt 3 port, you probably have 2-4 ports already and can conveniently connect your external screens directly, or you can use a port splitter and run two screens off one port. Latest MacBook Pros utilize Thunderbolt 3 ports only.
Not so much the single MacBook 12" port that is unfortunately only a USB 3 (5Gbit/s) port with a USB-C connector. Apple decided not to include the Alpine Ridge TB3 controller at the time of MacBook 12" release. Thus, DisplayLink was the only working solution for extended dual screen support. 
Also nowadays, in enterprise environments there are often standardized work desks and meeting rooms that just have a single USB cord attached to a (hidden) port replicator utilizing DisplayLink technology to prevent staff ripping various cables apart and leave a mess after. That single cord solution works very well with Windows PCs but not so much with Macs anymore. 
At home you can pretty much do what you want! Get a new Mac (with TB3 ports) or use e.g. a Matrox DualHead2Go adaptor for older Mac models or whatever. I'm stressing the struggle in enterprise environments here since the DisplayLink support was abruptly terminated by Apple with 10.13.4.
I'm tired of waiting and have rising concerns regarding security while keeping my Mac on macOS 10.13.3. Let's just hope that the DisplayLink team is working fast towards a solid solution. |
It's not an alternative in your use case. But it is an alternative to other use cases as stated in the question I answered.
As such it might also work as an incentive for DisplayLink to fix their product support before people jump ship.