Anyone else noticed that the rMBP is running hotter when using scaled resolutions on the P2415Q or P2715Q? I have gone back to using 'Best for display' because the fan went on several times when using 1440p.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Dell P2715Q and P2415Q 4K IPS Displays
- Thread starter VirtualRain
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
yes, i am noticed it, but not sure. At the time of start using my p2715q i am trying a different scaled resolution and noticed a noisy fan working of rMBP what not happened before. Now i am working at 'Best for display', it just comfortable for me personally, not because it fan noise and hot machine. And i think it stay more cooler and quiete at the default 'best for display'.
I can not quite understand how this is possible that at the "native" 3840 x 2160 resolution image of the screen very clear, quality, sharp and retina like?. Of course that texts of UI is small and it is not everyday working resolution, but important is the fact that it is clear. Native resolution use all available number of pixels that this 4k monitors has, and how come it possible to OS X to improve the image when there is no available number of pixels to double it and to make retina? Does anyone can explain please? It is same on the other operating systems like Windows 8, Ubuntu etc.?
Last edited:
My P2715Q arrived today and I'm pretty impressed with it, so ordered a second one. 
I have scaled it to the 2nd to last option in the preferences which is about perfect for my eyes. Text looks incredibly sharp but whole blocks of colour (specifically lighter ones) do look a little grainy. Assuming this is a standard feature of the anti glare coating. I did try it on the smallest setting, still perfectly readable but I imagine after a 12 hour day I may have eye strain!
Have been running it from my top spec rMBP and I noticed it is constantly using the 750M graphics card it does run a little warmer than before, but nothing too concerning after monitoring temperatures in iStat menus.
Also as I connect my Mac to a 10GbE network using an older generation Sonnet Echo Express (TB1) enclosure I was curious to see what happens when this is introduced into the mix.
Test 1
TB port 1 > Dell P2715Q - Full 4K at 60Hz
TB port 2 > Sonnet Echo Express - Working fine
Test 2
TB port 1 > Sonnet Echo Express > Dell 2715Q - Sonnet works fine, Dell P2715Q running at 1440p 60Hz maximum
A few posts back I noticed campyguy has managed to run both screens at 4K 60Hz which I'm really curious to try from my rMBP, if both work at 60Hz I'm wondering if I was to upgrade to a Sonnet Echo Express Thunderbolt 2 enclosure I could introduce that to the mix and manage to get 10GbE + 2x 4K at 60Hz
eg:
TB Port 1 > 1st Dell P2715Q
TB Port 2 > Sonnet Echo Express (TB2 version) > 2nd Dell P2715Q
Think I'd really be pushing the bandwidth capabilities of the machine though! Worse case Im happy to do one at 60Hz and another at 30Hz as one monitor is used for Skype/Email/Itunes
I have scaled it to the 2nd to last option in the preferences which is about perfect for my eyes. Text looks incredibly sharp but whole blocks of colour (specifically lighter ones) do look a little grainy. Assuming this is a standard feature of the anti glare coating. I did try it on the smallest setting, still perfectly readable but I imagine after a 12 hour day I may have eye strain!
Have been running it from my top spec rMBP and I noticed it is constantly using the 750M graphics card it does run a little warmer than before, but nothing too concerning after monitoring temperatures in iStat menus.
Also as I connect my Mac to a 10GbE network using an older generation Sonnet Echo Express (TB1) enclosure I was curious to see what happens when this is introduced into the mix.
Test 1
TB port 1 > Dell P2715Q - Full 4K at 60Hz
TB port 2 > Sonnet Echo Express - Working fine
Test 2
TB port 1 > Sonnet Echo Express > Dell 2715Q - Sonnet works fine, Dell P2715Q running at 1440p 60Hz maximum
A few posts back I noticed campyguy has managed to run both screens at 4K 60Hz which I'm really curious to try from my rMBP, if both work at 60Hz I'm wondering if I was to upgrade to a Sonnet Echo Express Thunderbolt 2 enclosure I could introduce that to the mix and manage to get 10GbE + 2x 4K at 60Hz
eg:
TB Port 1 > 1st Dell P2715Q
TB Port 2 > Sonnet Echo Express (TB2 version) > 2nd Dell P2715Q
Think I'd really be pushing the bandwidth capabilities of the machine though! Worse case Im happy to do one at 60Hz and another at 30Hz as one monitor is used for Skype/Email/Itunes
- Simple explanation for that. Thunderbolt 1 doesn't have enough bandwidth for 4K at 60 Hz.
- I'd say you probably could. At least the Thunderbolt port won't be limited by its bandwidth any longer.
Thought as much, but was curious to see what the result would be. Actually was surprised that test 1 worked perfectly!
My P2715Q arrived today and I'm pretty impressed with it, so ordered a second one.
I have scaled it to the 2nd to last option in the preferences which is about perfect for my eyes. Text looks incredibly sharp but whole blocks of colour (specifically lighter ones) do look a little grainy. Assuming this is a standard feature of the anti glare coating. I did try it on the smallest setting, still perfectly readable but I imagine after a 12 hour day I may have eye strain!
Have been running it from my top spec rMBP and I noticed it is constantly using the 750M graphics card it does run a little warmer than before, but nothing too concerning after monitoring temperatures in iStat menus.
Also as I connect my Mac to a 10GbE network using an older generation Sonnet Echo Express (TB1) enclosure I was curious to see what happens when this is introduced into the mix.
Test 1
TB port 1 > Dell P2715Q - Full 4K at 60Hz
TB port 2 > Sonnet Echo Express - Working fine
Test 2
TB port 1 > Sonnet Echo Express > Dell 2715Q - Sonnet works fine, Dell P2715Q running at 1440p 60Hz maximum
A few posts back I noticed campyguy has managed to run both screens at 4K 60Hz which I'm really curious to try from my rMBP, if both work at 60Hz I'm wondering if I was to upgrade to a Sonnet Echo Express Thunderbolt 2 enclosure I could introduce that to the mix and manage to get 10GbE + 2x 4K at 60Hz
eg:
TB Port 1 > 1st Dell P2715Q
TB Port 2 > Sonnet Echo Express (TB2 version) > 2nd Dell P2715Q
Think I'd really be pushing the bandwidth capabilities of the machine though! Worse case Im happy to do one at 60Hz and another at 30Hz as one monitor is used for Skype/Email/Itunes
did you check for any dead pixels or any issues? I got one and was very discuraged it had dead pixels.
Second display arrived today, spent a good few minutes checking both and they seem to be dead pixel free!
With regards to my 2014 MBPr 15" i7 running both monitors I can also confirm that they can run the internal display at the maximum resolution including both external displays at full resolution 60Hz absolutely fine!
Now debating if I should order a TB2 PCIe enclosure, I have a bad feeling with this introduced into the mix that both displays won't work at 60Hz!
Second display arrived today, spent a good few minutes checking both and they seem to be dead pixel free!
With regards to my 2014 MBPr 15" i7 running both monitors I can also confirm that they can run the internal display at the maximum resolution including both external displays at full resolution 60Hz absolutely fine!
- Now I'm jealous...
Seriously, that's fantastic. Will you be running them at native or 1080p HiDPI or some sort of other scaling?
It's so nice, isn't it? Finally being able to see what our Windows brethren can see on their 4k displays! I was in an office in Seattle with my business partner on his older HD displays and found myself getting a headache - the text was so.... fuzzy.Second display arrived today, spent a good few minutes checking both and they seem to be dead pixel free!
With regards to my 2014 MBPr 15" i7 running both monitors I can also confirm that they can run the internal display at the maximum resolution including both external displays at full resolution 60Hz absolutely fine!
Now debating if I should order a TB2 PCIe enclosure, I have a bad feeling with this introduced into the mix that both displays won't work at 60Hz!
I've had the same debate regarding a TB2 PCIe enclosure - I'm holding off, pass on whether you pull the trigger on one and whether it works or not, and I'll do the same. I'm interested to see whether the pass-through works in reality as well as it does in reality...
Hey, I posted about this first!!!- Now I'm jealous...
Seriously, that's fantastic. Will you be running them at native or 1080p HiDPI or some sort of other scaling?
Addressing your question, I'm running my two displays at 1080x1920 HiDPI in portrait for reading and 2560x1440 HiDPI or 3200x1800 HiDPI in landscape using SwitchResX. The displayed text and graphics are awesome. 4k YouTube videos are pretty sweet too!
I'm going to purchase the Sonnet Echo Express SEL enclosure on Monday once I can check the business account as I'm really struggling with wireless only at the moment!
So happy with the workspace now though, theres so much room! I have noticed Google Chrome really struggles with scrolling though, all other browsers are smooth.
Wait... so does this mean that a Retina iMac should be able to power 2 4K displays if a Retina MacBook Pro clearly can as well?
*Also, flickering came back on the Dell P2715Q. No way I can keep. Sigh. Probably for the best anyway, I'd rather run at native HiDPI mode for a display than some scaled resolution.
Has anyone had flickering on the P2415Q? That's the next one for me to try. Maybe two at once!
*Also, flickering came back on the Dell P2715Q. No way I can keep. Sigh. Probably for the best anyway, I'd rather run at native HiDPI mode for a display than some scaled resolution.
Has anyone had flickering on the P2415Q? That's the next one for me to try. Maybe two at once!
I look forward to hearing about your test with the new enclosure. :munching popcorn:
About Chrome, try the version 43 beta - it's much, much smoother than the stable build version 42 that's out. I just gave it a try with CNN, ESPN, and Bleacher Report - 3 of the "busier" websites I check out, and I had no issues with those sites in either portrait or landscape modes. I have zero plug-ins (or whatever they're called in Chrome), and really only use Chrome for Flash-based videos. The latest beta works well with 10.10.3 and these displays, and the 4k YouTube videos I've watched on them look fantastic.
Thought I'd pop in and update since it's been around three months. I've learned some habits/workarounds that maybe others can benefit from.
I still have the monitor and it's working just as it did when I got it. No more dead pixels, no new issues. (Touch wood.)
The flicker still happens bit it's really infrequent, doesn't bother me at all.
I've completely gotten used to the anti-glare. (Though if you asked, I'd still rather have glass.)
Forget about the USB hub. To few ports. For many reasons I got one of these for my nMP and it's fantastic.
The wake from sleep issue remains. I'd hoped that driver updates would have resolved it. But I've established a workaround. During the day my nMP doesn't really need to sleep to I put on a screensaver. At night I turn the monitor off and let the Mac go to sleep. In the morning I turn the monitor on, the Mac wakes up, the screen comes up, and I'm good for the day.
Even when it does wake from sleep it takes too long to do so compared to a MacBook or a Thunderbolt monitor, so I actually like the screensaver route.
So an update. Good news, Dell P2415Q doesn't flicker with my Retina iMac. The Dell P2715Q apparently has some issues then. Bad news, seems it really does support only one external 4K display at a time.
I don't understand. some of you say that there are flicker,dead pixels, and wake/sleep issues and some others don't. Is this monitor a lottery? I got one and had dead pixels, did not inspire confidence. But some of you swear by it, Im confused, if i should get in the game of getting and returning specially since this monitor are always out of stock.
MacBook-Pro(2014)Retina /2x Dell P2715Q - Ok!
That's unexpected, but good news. ..Nice. What kind of applications are you running, and is there any evidence of over-heating, or fan-strain etc in the MBP/r?
It will be interesting to see what kind of GPU bump is available when the next update to the MacBook-Pro(15") /Retina(2015) is announced (perhaps @WWDC). Intel Iris Graphics 6100/6200/6300?
Second display arrived today, spent a good few minutes checking both and they seem to be dead-pixel free.
With regards to my 2014 MBPr 15" i7 running both monitors I can also confirm that they can run the internal display at the maximum resolution including both external displays at full resolution 60Hz absolutely fine!
That's unexpected, but good news.
..Nice. What kind of applications are you running, and is there any evidence of over-heating, or fan-strain etc in the MBP/r?It will be interesting to see what kind of GPU bump is available when the next update to the MacBook-Pro(15") /Retina(2015) is announced (perhaps @WWDC). Intel Iris Graphics 6100/6200/6300?
Last edited:
I'm a web developer so typical applications which will be running all day:
The VMs cause quite a bit of memory usage and CPU usage depending on what they are doing.
Here are current temperatures with CPU use jumping between 4-10% with all of the above running
After using this setup with 2 4K screens for a few days now I have noticed that when moving windows around it's not as smooth as it should be. Also finding it a pain in the arse connecting everything everytime I go to use my laptop at the desk. So have been thinking that maybe once the MacPros get a refresh I might get myself a quad core one with 64GB memory and maybe a 3rd P2715Q
- Chrome with more tabs than I can count
- Intellij IDE
- Skype
- HipChat
- Slack
- iTerm (many tabs)
- MySQL workbench
- Vagrant/VMware fusion with 3-10 VMs running (some run on office server)
- iTunes
The VMs cause quite a bit of memory usage and CPU usage depending on what they are doing.
Here are current temperatures with CPU use jumping between 4-10% with all of the above running
After using this setup with 2 4K screens for a few days now I have noticed that when moving windows around it's not as smooth as it should be. Also finding it a pain in the arse connecting everything everytime I go to use my laptop at the desk. So have been thinking that maybe once the MacPros get a refresh I might get myself a quad core one with 64GB memory and maybe a 3rd P2715Q
3x P2715Q etc.
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/20627074/
Not too bad. Some of those Virtual Machines can be ram-hogs.
Yep - Or even on the current (486-days old!) nMP(6). Eg.After using this setup with 2x 4K screens for a few days now, I have noticed that when moving windows around it's not as smooth as it should be. Also finding it a pain in the arse connecting everything everytime I go to use my laptop at the desk. So have been thinking that maybe once the MacPros get a refresh I might get myself a quad core one with 64GB memory and maybe a 3rd P2715Q
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/20627074/
Last edited:
Received my P2415Q and hooked it up to my 2015 rMBP. All is well, expect I've noticed the monitor is pushing out abit of heat, enough that I've noticed it well fiddling with the ports at the back. Is this normal?
Also, am I supposed to install the drivers, those that came on the CD ? (Obviously no disk drive)
Also, am I supposed to install the drivers, those that came on the CD ? (Obviously no disk drive)
I've got mine on a stand with some space under the stand and rMBP, with a small fan blowing across my workspace - I like a breezy workspace but it's keeping my rMBP much cooler.
And, no Dell drivers for us Mac users. The update to 10.10.3 unleashed some nifty features if you're wanting two of either of these bad boys (like, being able to simply drive two of this displays and add 60Hz to the mix...).
Thats good to know, I do intend to get another one of these at some point, I think they're fantastic for the price.
I do have one issue, I have my Harmon Kardon speakers plugged into the back of the P2415Q and listening to music on spotify, however after 5 minutes of playback the sound stopped and won't output anymore. When I press the volume button on my Apple keyboard I get a circle with a cross through it.
Anyone know why this is happening?
Sorry, I can't help you with the sound related question more than to offer that I have used my headphones (Grado SR325e cans, FTW!) from time to time but find that too cumbersome as both of my displays are on display arms and often rotate and move them about. I did make sure that the "Dell P2715Q/DisplayPort" option is selected in the Sound Preference Pane - I never did have any dropouts after making that selection (I edited the display's EDID and also use SwitchResX to get the name of the display from the "Display with forced bladybladyblah…" name FWIW if that's what's showing up for you).
I use a Schiit (yes, mods, that's a company and brand name…) USB DAC for my on-desk listening pleasure (monitors and cans), which is plugged into my rMBP. If I come up with something, I'll pass it on here…
Sonnet Echo Express SEL arrived today, even included a thunderbolt lead which I was a little surprised about!
All working without any hassle!
One thing I am curious about is why it says 3008x1692 for the resolution on this screen when the monitor itself says 3840x2160?
My main use for the PCIe enclosure is access to my 10GbE network, initial out of the box performance wasn't too impressive.
Without the displays attached
With both displays attached
Get around 500MB/s which is decent but I want more!
All working without any hassle!
One thing I am curious about is why it says 3008x1692 for the resolution on this screen when the monitor itself says 3840x2160?
My main use for the PCIe enclosure is access to my 10GbE network, initial out of the box performance wasn't too impressive.
Without the displays attached
Code:
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.0.5.15, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 1018 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[ 4] local 10.0.5.211 port 56604 connected with 10.0.5.15 port 5001
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 4] 0.0-10.0 sec 6.23 GBytes 5.35 Gbits/secWith both displays attached
Code:
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.0.5.15, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 1018 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[ 4] local 10.0.5.211 port 56693 connected with 10.0.5.15 port 5001
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 4] 0.0-10.0 sec 4.65 GBytes 3.99 Gbits/secGet around 500MB/s which is decent but I want more!