32” 1440p - Scaled 5K vs Native Resolution

[enc0re]

I’m setting up a Ventura test system next week to test a new workflow. The hardware is an M1 Mac mini and a 32” 1440p display. Is there an advantage to using a tool like BetterDisplay to have macOS treat it as a 5K display downscaled to 1440p? Or does it look the same?

I figure triggering the HiDPI assets might be worth something but I don’t know enough about macOS scaling to know if that’s really true.

 

[Amethyst1]

I figure triggering the HiDPI assets might be worth something but I don’t know enough about macOS scaling to know if that’s really true.

One obvious advantage is that screenshots will be in HiDPI. However, my experience of using 3840×2160 HiDPI on a 3840×2160 monitor (just for kicks) is that there's very little, if any, difference I can see.

 

[Fishrrman]

It just seems to me that if...
...you bought a native 1440p display, and intend to run it @1440p, then just "let it be" and let it run "in native 1440p" as it comes out of the box.

The less GPU processing, the better.

If you wanted a "scaled down" image (from 5k to 1440p), then you should have bought a 32" 4k display...

 

[enc0re]

It just seems to me that if...
...you bought a native 1440p display, and intend to run it @1440p, then just "let it be" and let it run "in native 1440p" as it comes out of the box.

The less GPU processing, the better.

If you wanted a "scaled down" image (from 5k to 1440p), then you should have bought a 32" 4k display...

It's a Windows monitor that I bought years ago. Although I did select it because 1440p@32in should avoid scaling issues.

I'm waiting for Apple to release its next Pro Display. I don't want to buy three-year-old hardware at these prices.

 

[enc0re]

One obvious advantage is that screenshots will be in HiDPI. However, my experience of using 3840×2160 HiDPI on a 3840×2160 monitor (just for kicks) is that there's very little, if any, difference I can see.

If this approach would let me screenrecord in 5K on a 1440p monitor (or more likely in 4K with the scaling temporarily set for 1080p), that would actually be very useful for me. I will definitely try that out.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[robotica]

You can get a demo version of better display and try it out for yourself to see if you can see any difference.

 

[enc0re]

You can get a demo version of better display and try it out for yourself to see if you can see any difference.

For sure. That's my plan once the Mac mini arrives. I just didn't want to go down that rabbit hole if it was pointless.

 

[Amethyst1]

Thinking about it, I actually remember trying 2560×1440 HiDPI on a 27” 2560×1440 monitor — again there was very little, if any, difference I could see. The highest HiDPI mode that offered a noticeable improvement in text rendering I could see on-screen was 2048×1152.