27 or 32 monitor for Mac Studio

[JaredAppleHead]

Try it first at your seating distance and your preferred resolution. I really don’t like 4K 32” screens. The 138 ppi is just too low at a distance of 22”. Scaled text looks bad IMO.

I wish you could try out a bunch at stores with the Mac Studio...

 

[Richard10250]

I guess my old eyes are just too bad. I just went through an exercise of comparing side by side a 32 inch native 1440 LG monitor (32GN63T-B) to a 32 inch 4K LG monitor (32GQ950-B) scaled to 1440 and I found no significant difference in text quality. Considering the 1440 monitor costs about $240 and the 4K costs about $730, the choice seems obvious to me. Maybe I am doing it wrong...

 

[EugW]

I guess my old eyes are just too bad. I just went through an exercise of comparing side by side a 32 inch native 1440 LG monitor (32GN63T-B) to a 32 inch 4K LG monitor (32GQ950-B) scaled to 1440 and I found no significant difference in text quality. Considering the 1440 monitor costs about $240 and the 4K costs about $730, the choice seems obvious to me. Maybe I am doing it wrong...

How far do you sit from the monitors, and what resolutions do you run?

 

[Richard10250]

How far do you sit from the monitors, and what resolutions do you run?

I sit about 31 inches from the monitors and they were both running at 2560x1440 (native for the 1440 monitor and scaled to 2560x1440 for the 4K monitor).

 

[EugW]

I sit about 31 inches from the monitors and they were both running at 2560x1440 (native for the 1440 monitor and scaled to 2560x1440 for the 4K monitor).

That makes some sense, at least to a certain extent. I sit at 22" or so from the monitors. This is a key factor:

27" 2560x1440 monitor - 109 ppi - Retina at 31.6".
32" 2560x1440 monitor - 92 ppi - Retina 37.5".
27" 3840x2160 monitor - 164 ppi - Retina at 21.1".
32" 3840x2160 monitor - 138 ppi - Retina at 25.0".

Note though that some people don't mind low ppi monitors if they are running at the native resolution. For example, I liked my 30" Apple Cinema HD Display:

30" 2560x1600 monitor - 101 ppi - Retina at 34.2".

The 30" ACD was pixelated, but the text was very crisp nonetheless, and at 101 ppi I really liked the default text sizing, more so than Apple's current default for the Apple Studio Display which is 109/218 ppi. The text on these is slightly smaller, enough that I don't like it as much.

My holy grail would be a 30" 5120x3200 monitor, which would be 201 ppi and Retina at 17.1".

I currently run a 28.2" 3840x2560 monitor, which is 164 ppi, Retina at 21.1", perfect for my 22" seating distance. Truth be told, even at this supposedly Retina 22" seating distance I can tell it's not quite as crisp as my 218 ppi 5K iMac, but it's close enough that I don't mind.

 

[brudiaz]

I got a Samsung M8, which is 32". I sit about 2 feet away from it. No complaints after about a month of use in my home office. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Hi! by any chance how did you connect it to your mac? I have the macair m1 2020

 

[avro707]

I guess my old eyes are just too bad. I just went through an exercise of comparing side by side a 32 inch native 1440 LG monitor (32GN63T-B) to a 32 inch 4K LG monitor (32GQ950-B) scaled to 1440 and I found no significant difference in text quality. Considering the 1440 monitor costs about $240 and the 4K costs about $730, the choice seems obvious to me. Maybe I am doing it wrong...

Some 4K screens are lousy. A Dell I have isn’t sharp at all, but the LG 5K is razor sharp. That’s 5120x2880 - just beautiful. It’s set to replicate 2560x1440. Text looks so crisp and solid.

Criticism is the poor case quality (cracked at the corner) and lousy audio quality.

 

[Plutonius]

Yes I know there have been tens of thread and I probably read all of them and yet cannot make my mind 🙁
I have finally given up and ordered a MacStudio to replace my Imac 27 2015 that served me so well for so many years.
I waited the entire year to see if Apple comes with a replacement but due to fiscal considerations I had to take a decision before the end of the year and pulled the trigger last week. I am still using the iMac to type this message as I cannot get to a decision. The key points I struggle to decide on:

- 32 or 27 - I would have loved to take a 32 to have a bigger screen but understand that with only 4k, a 32 would be too big? I am sitting about 60 cm (2 feet) from the screen. I am seeing opinions going in both directions.
- 144hz or 60hz refresh - again different opinions

Budget is 700-800 euros max. Usage is mixed non professional. a lot of reading and as I am no longer that young I need good quality. Then also a lot of videos and occasional pictures editing. I do not game.

I read today that Apple has no plans to release a 27" iMac. It's either a mini or studio now if you want a bigger display (i.e. You made the correct decision not to wait on a new 27" iMac).