2015 MBP and External Monitors

[Dave410]

Hi Gang,

I'm planning to jump from Windows to Mac and I'm looking at the 2015 13" MacBook Pro with the 3.1 GHz i7 processor and 16 GBs of RAM. I understand it has onboard graphics. Will this computer successfully drive a 4k or 5k external monitor for smooth photo and video editing? If not, would a similarly configured 2015 15" MBP be acceptable? The 15" models have a dedicated graphics card, although I see Apple removed one of the two cards from the website. There used to be a choice of graphics cards, but now there is only one.

Many thanks,
Dave

 

[deany]

Hi

4K fine can't be sure on 5K, fairly sure the rMBP 2015 wont benefit from 5K but does from 4K

My post here may help
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/monitor-that-wont-break-the-bank.2025628/#post-24150077
Cheers

 

[xmonkey]

The 2015 13" can support up to 2 4K monitors at once. 5K is not supported.

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-2015/

 

[rutrack]

2015 13" supports two 4k@60hz monitors, 15" supports two 4k@60hz or one 5k@60hz, using two mini display port ports, you would have to purchase the 5k Dell monitor. Make sure you check the prices though, UP2715K Dell might cost similar to 5k iMac.

 

[Dave410]

Many thanks, guys!

 

[navaira]

One problem I have with the 2015 rMBP + HDMI is that I haven't been able to calibrate my (non-4K) screen in any sensible way. I go through the Apple calibration, finish, then the colours continue to be completely inaccurate. I have no idea what to blame. And yes, I used this display before with my Hackintosh and it looked perfect, the same for the rMBP itself. They just don't seem to play together very well.

 

[jerryk]

2015 13" supports two 4k@60hz monitors, 15" supports two 4k@60hz or one 5k@60hz, using two mini display port ports, you would have to purchase the 5k Dell monitor. Make sure you check the prices though, UP2715K Dell might cost similar to 5k iMac.

Have you tried these?

I have a 2015 15" rMBP with dGPU and have read that it does and does not support 2 4K monitors at 60 Hz. I have read the referenced page and still have my doubts based on some people experiences, and other posting, like this.

http://apple.stackexchange.com/ques...pro-drive-two-ultra-hd-monitors-at-60fps-each

 

[Dave410]

One problem I have with the 2015 rMBP + HDMI is that I haven't been able to calibrate my (non-4K) screen in any sensible way. I go through the Apple calibration, finish, then the colours continue to be completely inaccurate. I have no idea what to blame. And yes, I used this display before with my Hackintosh and it looked perfect, the same for the rMBP itself. They just don't seem to play together very well.

Are you using a third-party calibration device like a ColorMunki or an XRite Display Pro? You really need something like that to get accurate calibration; software-based systems usually don't work very well. If you continue to have problems I can recommend the Digital Darkroom forum over at photo.net. There are some real experts over there and they're very familiar with monitor calibration and with Apple products. Good luck.

 

[navaira]

No, I only used Apple calibration in expert mode. I don't need perfect calibration, just something that at least looks vaguely like the rMBP colours. Currently browns display as washed-out oranges and I have no clue why that is.

Thank you for the response though!

 

[jerryk]

No, I only used Apple calibration in expert mode. I don't need perfect calibration, just something that at least looks vaguely like the rMBP colours. Currently browns display as washed-out oranges and I have no clue why that is.

Thank you for the response though!

It is likely a calibration device would create a profile that would fix that issue. Also displays drift over time so you need to recalibrate every so often.

I use the Xrite.

 

[rutrack]

Have you tried these?

I have a 2015 15" rMBP with dGPU and have read that it does and does not support 2 4K monitors at 60 Hz. I have read the referenced page and still have my doubts based on some people experiences, and other posting, like this.

http://apple.stackexchange.com/ques...pro-drive-two-ultra-hd-monitors-at-60fps-each

This is my daily set up and runs really well. I can have two external monitors at 4k over mini display ports and sometimes I have my laptop screen open at 2880x1800, so I have three screens running really smooth.

Some of the reports you have read might actually be true, I went through probably 6 or 7 cables. You can either connect via mini dp to dp cable, dp to dp with adapter or mini dp to mini dp, if your monitor supports it. Some cables and some adapters just don't hold this resolution, so just get the really thick once or buy a bunch of different once, like I did.

 

[jerryk]

This is my daily set up and runs really well. I can have two external monitors at 4k over mini display ports and sometimes I have my laptop screen open at 2880x1800, so I have three screens running really smooth.

Some of the reports you have read might actually be true, I went through probably 6 or 7 cables. You can either connect via mini dp to dp cable, dp to dp with adapter or mini dp to mini dp, if your monitor supports it. Some cables and some adapters just don't hold this resolution, so just get the really thick once or buy a bunch of different once, like I did.

Just to be sure I am understanding you correctly. We are talking about a 2015 15" rMBP with DGPU and both of your 4K monitors are running at a 60 Hz refresh rate? If so, can you provide the monitors and cables you used.

 

[rutrack]

Just to be sure I am understanding you correctly. We are talking about a 2015 15" rMBP with DGPU and both of your 4K monitors are running at a 60 Hz refresh rate? If so, can you provide the monitors and cables you used.

It is a mid 2015 15" MacBook pro with radeon m370x running 2 external monitors at 3840x2160@60Hz each in either clamshell or open mode. It is also a documented spec of the machine . The monitors are:
Samsung U32E850R and Asus PB279Q and I just looked up the invoice, the cable is "Monoprice DisplayPort Male to Mini DisplayPort Male 28AWG Cable".

 

[jerryk]

It is a mid 2015 15" MacBook pro with radeon m370x running 2 external monitors at 3840x2160@60Hz each in either clamshell or open mode. It is also a documented spec of the machine . The monitors are:
Samsung U32E850R and Asus PB279Q and I just looked up the invoice, the cable is "Monoprice DisplayPort Male to Mini DisplayPort Male 28AWG Cable".

Thanks for the information. This is one of the few times people demonstrated 2 4K monitors @ 60 Hz working, despite what the specs say. I want to be sure before I buy 2 K monitors, cables, etc. And thanks also for the detailed cable models. You saved me from having to buy and try a bunch of cables.

 

[rutrack]

Thanks for the information. This is one of the few times people demonstrated 2 4K monitors @ 60 Hz working, despite what the specs say. I want to be sure before I buy 2 K monitors, cables, etc. And thanks also for the detailed cable models. You saved me from having to buy and try a bunch of cables.

You're welcome, it's an amazing setup