Samsung 57" Dual UHD Monitor & Mac Compatibility

[anthonymoody]

So, I made two photos with the requested apps on 3 columns.
...
And one more thing... At least when working with mail + documents (except excel files) I use at least 4 or even 5 columns.

Thank you so much - incredibly generous of you! And super helpful.

Looking at your photos and comparing in my minds eye as best I can to my 5k/2k widescreen LG, which I have set to 3840x1620 HiDPI and use with 3 columns of apps, I concur that I'd wind up with 4 or 5 columns too. 4 might make more sense with the workspace though of course then nothing is dead center.

I may give this monitor a go, but I'd want to get it from somewhere like BestBuy and get their extended warranty so I could easily walk in and swap for any defects. I know that if you look hard enough at any product you'll find reports online of QC issues, but, this monitor in particular seems troublesome in that regard.

Anyway thanks again!

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

We Europeans are lucky in this regard. 2 years come as standard warranty and I think Samsung offers 3 or 5 years for this one.

 

[PhoenixDown]

I can make fonts and UI elements much bigger so it is not an issue, but having a much worse eye sight than just a few years ago, I much prefer the first option.

Appreciate your sharing. I am far sighted and my near-sighted vision has gotten worse the last few years for me as well. Hearing that the scaled HiDPI option makes a solid difference is a relief to hear!

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

Appreciate your sharing. I am far sighted and my near-sighted vision has gotten worse the last few years for me as well. Hearing that the scaled HiDPI option makes a solid difference is a relief to hear!

I am far sighted as well so I have the same issues.

One more thing though. This monitor is HUGE. I am seriously advising any prospective buyer to try to find it in a physical location and try it. No picture is able to relate its size. You may instantly love it or hate it. It is really not for everybody. So to avoid at least a significant disconfort - the package is huge and 2 persons are needed for assembly - with the return, everyone interested should check it out in person.

 

[JoeG4]

Thought I'd check in. I have 2 macs that I use this monitor with:

1. MacBook Pro 2018 i9, radeon rx560 pro.
2. MacBook Air 15" m2.

Here's my luck so far:

1. Cable Matters USB-C to displayport adapter - works at 5120x1440 at 120hz. Every now and then it'll give me higher resolution options at 60hz, but not the full 7680x2160

2. OWC Thunderbolt dual displayport adapter - this gave me exactly the same results as the cable matters adapter.

3. Cable Matters USB-C to HDMI 2.1 adapter - I've heard a lot of good about this, and what I received over the weekend was a 201388-A (VMM7100) model. It already had the latest firmware available on it (7.02.120). Sadly I get a much lower res like 3840x1080 or something and that's as high as it goes.

My results have been rather consistent whether I use the macbook air or the macbook pro. That kinda surprised me.

The funny thing about the USB-C to HDMI 2.1 adapter is I can say that it works with my monitor at full res. When I plugged it into my PC desktop to check and update the firmware, it was able to drive the monitor at 7680x2160. I can't remember the refresh rate, but it was able to do that. (It was just using the 7800x3d's built in graphics to drive the display).

 

[chars1ub0w]

It's down to 1799.99 limited time deal on Amazon.

 

[jaapaap79]

Can a Mac Pro with Vega II drive this at full resolution?

 

[jaapaap79]

Nobody has tried?

 

[chars1ub0w]

It's a shame the base M3 cannot support 8K on the HDMI port (or any port?).

 

[magicvash]

Has anyone gotten the full resolution working on any Mac system at 120Hz? Or even at 60Hz?

I have an M1 Pro MacBook Pro and I have to use PIP and dual displays to get 7680x2160 (really 4k x 2) which is fine for now, but I'll probably be upgrading to an M2 or M3 Mac Mini or Mac Studio in 1-2 years. I would ideally love to have the entire screen as one screen at full resolution.

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

As I said in post no 2, it works full res on m2 pro mac mini via hdmi 2.1.
Full res - 120Hz

 

[magicvash]

To clarify, you're connecting the HDMI port on the Mac Mini to the HDMI port on the monitor with an appropriately rated cable, and getting 7680x2160 at 120Hz? Or are you using a thunderbolt adapter?

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

I don not use any adapter.

Just hdmi port and 8k rated cable. Have no issue getting 7680x2160 at 120 Hz

 

[adonis3k]

I don not use any adapter.

Just hdmi port and 8k rated cable. Have no issue getting 7680x2160 at 120 Hz

Hi mate, is the font really tiny with the HDMI connection? cheers

I still have my 49" which is why I haven't upgraded. I just got a M1 Max Studio so hopefully can run at 7680x2160 at 120Hz but with readable font.

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

Hi mate, is the font really tiny with the HDMI connection? cheers

I still have my 49" which is why I haven't upgraded. I just got a M1 Max Studio so hopefully can run at 7680x2160 at 120Hz but with readable font.

Hi,

I posted some pics in this thread, see the last post on page 1.
Fonts are tiny but you can make it bigger. Some UI elements are harder to make the bigger.
If you have good eye sight you can certainly manage.

 

[Gumbypix]

Has anyone gotten the full resolution working on any Mac system at 120Hz? Or even at 60Hz?

I have an M1 Pro MacBook Pro and I have to use PIP and dual displays to get 7680x2160 (really 4k x 2) which is fine for now, but I'll probably be upgrading to an M2 or M3 Mac Mini or Mac Studio in 1-2 years. I would ideally love to have the entire screen as one screen at full resolution.

FYI - This maybe common knowledge, but in doing research regarding compatibility between these two I read that you need to use HDMI 2 or 3, but not HDMI 1. I haven't received my Samsung yet so I don't have any hands on experience yet.

 

[chars1ub0w]

It's on sale at the Samsung website. The price at $1384.71 seems quite reasonable. Free shipping. So I pulled the trigger and ordered it today. Unfortunately, I don't have a HDMI 2.1 mac. Mine is a M1 Max 16" Powerbook. So I will have to drive each half of the screen separately. I have to research the adapters required. There is one HDMI connection the M1 Max Powerbook. I guess I can use one Thunderbolt port as well.

Each screen half seem to have color matching problems. This guy used one USB to HDMI and one USB to DisplayPort. Couldn't use the built in HDMI. https://www.reddit.com/r/ultrawidemasterrace/comments/184irpy

 

[JoeG4]

It's on sale at the Samsung website. The price at $1384.71 seems quite reasonable. Free shipping. So I pulled the trigger and ordered it today. Unfortunately, I don't have a HDMI 2.1 mac. Mine is a M1 Max 16" Powerbook. So I will have to drive each half of the screen separately. I have to research the adapters required. There is one HDMI connection the M1 Max Powerbook. I guess I can use one Thunderbolt port as well.

Each screen half seem to have color matching problems. This guy used one USB to HDMI and one USB to DisplayPort. Couldn't use the built in HDMI. https://www.reddit.com/r/ultrawidemasterrace/comments/184irpy

I have am not sure that you absolutely need to have an hdmi 2.1 port on the mac itself? It seems to be more a capability of the GPU to support such high resolutions. I think the m1 max might be able to do it with a good usb-c to displayport adapter.

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

I have am not sure that you absolutely need to have an hdmi 2.1 port on the mac itself? It seems to be more a capability of the GPU to support such high resolutions. I think the m1 max might be able to do it with a good usb-c to displayport adapter.

You can use a tb-DP adapter for max resolution @120 Hz.
I just tested it to avoid any misinformation.

 

[chars1ub0w]

You can use a tb-DP adapter for max resolution @120 Hz.
I just tested it to avoid any misinformation.

I ordered a tb-DP cable to try, but am not optimistic.
You mentioned you have a Mac Mini M2 Pro, which supports 8K.

• Up to three displays: Two displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI
• One display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI

My M1 Max MacBook Pro is an earlier generation and seems less capable. For example, yours supports 8K. Mine doesn't.

• Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Max).
• HDMI digital video output. Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz.

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

I also have a M1 Max laptop. Sadly, it is at home right now, but I will take it to my office tomorrow to test it.

 

[chars1ub0w]

Thank you! Will be interested to see if it works. Someone gave me a new M3 MacBook Pro. But the base model, so it’s also not 8K capable. And worse still, the M3 cannot drive the two halves separately like the M1 Max. So I only have the M1 Max to use.

• Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and:
• One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz

 

[anthonymoody]

It's on sale at the Samsung website. The price at $1384.71 seems quite reasonable.

Nice spot, and I agree. DAMN it's already back to $1800.

I also have a M1 Max laptop. Sadly, it is at home right now, but I will take it to my office tomorrow to test it.

DAMN that's TOMORROW!

 

[chars1ub0w]

Nice spot, and I agree. DAMN it's already back to $1800.

The $1384.71 price is if you use the Samsung app (or website perhaps), sign up for an account and use the educational discount. I signed up using a .edu address and the price magically appeared. No need for verification. Shipping is free but I had to pay sales tax.

I hope the monitor is reliable. Samsung is not Apple. My Apple 30" monitor is what I'm typing this on. Built like a tank. Still works but has flecks due perhaps to the conversion from the Club USB-C adapter all the way through to dual-DVI.

 

[anthonymoody]

The $1384.71 price is if you use the Samsung app (or website perhaps), sign up for an account and use the educational discount. I signed up using a .edu address and the price magically appeared. No need for verification. Shipping is free but I had to pay sales tax.

I hope the monitor is reliable. Samsung is not Apple. My Apple 30" monitor is what I'm typing this on. Built like a tank. Still works but has flecks due perhaps to the conversion from the Club USB-C adapter all the way through to dual-DVI.

AH ok that makes sense. I do have access to a .edu address thanks. But first I wanna hear from @Silvestru Hosszu after trying his M1 Max