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2020 MacBook Pro + LG UltraFine 5K Performance

Macdude2010

Macdude2010

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 17, 2010
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The Apple Store
Hello all,

I was just curious about the performance of the LG UltraFine 5K running off of the 2020 MacBook Pro, if anyone has this combo. I‘ve seen reports of lagging and dropped frames on the 13 inch in the past (Especially when it first launched) due to the weaker Intel iGPU. This has kept me on the larger MacBook Pro with a dGPU in the past, but I’m hoping eventually the 13 inch could adequately run one without a problem.
 
If anyone has this combo could they also advise in relation to fans and if they kick in like they do on the 16"
 
I have this combo (13-inch 2020 MBP with LG UltraFine 5K) and I haven't seen any performance issues. No frame rate problems, no stuttering, no fans kicking up.

I am having an issue with the monitor's built-in camera, you can read more here. This seems so far to be only affecting the 2020 13-inch, so hopefully we'll see a software update that helps.
 
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dicili said:
I have this combo (13-inch 2020 MBP with LG UltraFine 5K) and I haven't seen any performance issues. No frame rate problems, no stuttering, no fans kicking up.

I am having an issue with the monitor's built-in camera, you can read more here. This seems so far to be only affecting the 2020 13-inch, so hopefully we'll see a software update that helps.
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, do you have the 8th-gen or 10th-gen MacBook Pro?
 
@dicili I have read the apple discussions page you have linked. I see there that your configuration is 2020 13" MBP 10th gen i5 + Ultrafine 5K in penultimate version.
I'm wondering if anyone is experiencing the issue with the latest version of the ultrafine 5k
Maybe @MacRS4 would be able to give us more information, as he has done a couple youtube videos testing exactly this setup (don't know which ultra fine 5k version, though), without reporting any such problem. If I remember correctly he also specifically tested the screen.
 
Thanks @MacRS4 for your input and for your very informative videos!
When I will get my mbp I will try the camera on the lg 5k latest version and we'll be able to understand if the problem is limited to the previous version or if it also affects the latest version.
 
I can't speak to the performance of the MacBook Pro but I can speak to the Mac Mini. I'm currently using one connected to a 144hz 34" ultra wide monitor, using the iGPU was 'acceptable' I would find that it worked well and didn't really slow down considerably. But now since I've been using a RX 570 dedicated GPU its a night and day difference, not only can I run the monitor at its full refresh rate I find even scrolling to be much smoother than before.

Not only that but applications open considerably faster, I assume this is because the CPU is not being burdened with pushing the graphics as well as doing the main processing. I'm actually able to play 4K videos in Chrome which before was a slideshow on the integrated GPU.

You will likely be fine with using the dedicated iGPU on the MBP, it easily workable as long as you're not doing any heavy graphics tasks.
 
earlyadoptermakeshistory said:
@Dhock_Holiday thanks for sharing your experience. I expect the MPB 10th gen iGPU to be noticeably faster than the mac mini's iGPU in driving an external screen...
Click to expand...

Absolutely it is, here are my benchmarks for both. Unfortunately I forgot to select the Metal API.
 

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My 2018 6 core Mac Mini is horrible to use on the 5K LG screen, and is borderline annoying on the 4k screen it's normally plugged into. Fortunately I mostly use it via VNC. Laggy as anything on the 5k. Quite rightly plugging into an eGPU changed the experience immensely.
 
MacRS4 said:
My 2018 6 core Mac Mini is horrible to use on the 5K LG screen, and is borderline annoying on the 4k screen it's normally plugged into. Fortunately I mostly use it via VNC. Laggy as anything on the 5k. Quite rightly plugging into an eGPU changed the experience immensely.
Click to expand...

Slightly off topic, but how are you liking the 9300?
 
It's been getting tons of use lately out and about. It's effectively replaced my iPad as it's more flexible. Battery life is a bit sucky though, but that's my fault for going lol omg 4k touch screen.
 
Just received my mbp 10th gen i7, 32gb, 4tb.
Still in the installation, migration phase.
Tried a quick video conference with teams from an LG ultrafine 5k latest version and it went perfectly smooth.
Edit: I mean, the LG camera did not exhibit any of the problems mentioned by @dicili
 
I confirm that the setup runs without problems.
Has anybody tried to add an eGpu to this monitor? I hear that only black magic work with thunderbolt output.
What about using a Razer + amd eGpu with hdmi output? Would it work through some kind of converter? Would it then be necessary to use a standard usb c cable to use the webcam?
Thanks!
 
earlyadoptermakeshistory said:
I confirm that the setup runs without problems.
Has anybody tried to add an eGpu to this monitor? I hear that only black magic work with thunderbolt output.
What about using a Razer + amd eGpu with hdmi output? Would it work through some kind of converter? Would it then be necessary to use a standard usb c cable to use the webcam?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
new MBP13 2020 10th gen, 16GB, 2tb here
updated monitor to 3.04,1.13,5237,3.04,0.1e

Webcam on the LG Ultrafine 5K is laggy (Skype, Meet, Zoom) and sometimes freezes (Zoom)

Webcam works fine on the MBP's monitor.
LG 5K webcam worked fine on previous MBP13 2017.
 
Colleague has this setup at work. His fans are on all the time. No demanding software, it's just safari, email and slack. I'll ask him to install macsfancontrol to get temps and fan speed.
 
2020 MBP 10th gen. i5 and newest LG 5K Ultrafine. After a few days, there is no remarkable improvement in performance over (2018) MBB i7. No fan noise yet, no problems except for a couple of times per day there is a freeze that requires a hard restart.
 
Not wanting to steal the thunder of the OP, but having just purchased an LG Ultrafine 5K for my 2020 i7 MBP 13, and have noticed an increasing amount of ‘color profiles’ that say LG Ultrafine with the Display pref pane. Anyone know why?
I’ve deleted a few of them, but each time I connect it seems to add a new one!
 
Last edited:
Madonepro said:
Not wanting to steal the thunder of the OP, but having just purchased an LG Ultrafine 5K for my 2020 i7 MBP 13, and have noticed an increasing amount of ‘profiles’ that say LG Ultrafine with the Display pref pane. Anyone know why?
I’ve deleted a few of them, but each time I connect it seems to add a new one!
Click to expand...
Color profiles? I don't know why macOS wants to add a new profile after every display connection. The least it could do is compare the new profile with the existing profiles and not add it if there's an existing one with the same contents.

I wrote a script to delete duplicate color profiles.
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/prefer-hdr-mode-in-macos-10-15-4-beta/paged/3/#post-76332
 
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