4K 32" (or 27") monitors that definitely work with a Mac Studio?

[andrewhh]

Hi,

I don't know much about Macs, but I've just ordered a Mac Studio primarily for audio recording. I want to get a 32" 4K monitor (or maybe 27" if 32" might be too big for comfort), but I'm finding it difficult to get clear information on the web. So, I'm starting this thread in the hope that people who already have a Mac Studio with a 32" or 27" 4K monitor attached might be willing post a little bit of information that would be really helpful to people like me. So, I'd be hugely grateful to everyone willing to copy the fields below and add the answers!

- monitor brand and model:
- cable type used to connect the Mac Studio to the monitor:
- port used on the Mac studio (if there is a choice for that cable type):
- port used on the monitor (if there is a choice for that cable type):
- resolution and refresh rate achieved:
- whether setup was "plug and play":
- whether the monitor is also powered by the Mac Studio via the same cable: YES / NO
- whether you would recommend this monitor: YES / NO

Regarding the last field, any reasons you want to share would also be gratefully received!

Also, an comments specific to how Logic Pro X looks on your monitor (legibility, etc.) would also be really helpful.

Thanks,
Andrew.

 

[Marco Klobas]

I have no direct experience with 4K monitors.

I report two related articles which can come useful to Mac users, though:

https://bjango.com/articles/macexternaldisplays/
https://bjango.com/articles/macexternaldisplays2/

 

[andrewhh]

I have no direct experience with 4K monitors.

I report two related articles which can come useful to Mac users, though:

https://bjango.com/articles/macexternaldisplays/
https://bjango.com/articles/macexternaldisplays2/

Hi Marco,

Thanks for this. I had come across mention of optimal PPI ranges in my reading, and one of my motivations in posting was to get people's "real world" impressions of specific monitors with the Mac Studio given that I won't have the chance to check this out directly before purchasing a monitor. If I had an unlimited budget, I'd certainly just purchase one of the official Apple monitors. Even the LG 5K monitor is much more expensive than I'd like to pay. So, I'm looking for an option that performs reasonably well on the Mac Studio. I will mainly be using it for Logic Pro and maybe streaming the occasional movie, so the GPU cores shouldn't be working too hard even if there's a bit of scaling or re-sizing going on. I understand that this isn't ideal, but it's hard to judge how big of an issue it is, which is why I'm hoping to get people's opinions on specific gear that they have. I'll also be using external speakers, so sound quality isn't an issue either.

Thanks,
Andrew.

 

[enricoclaudio]

- monitor brand and model: LG 32UN880-B
- cable type used to connect the Mac Studio to the monitor: USB-C to DisplayPort
- port used on the Mac studio (if there is a choice for that cable type): Thunderbolt 4
- port used on the monitor (if there is a choice for that cable type): DisplayPort
- resolution and refresh rate achieved: 2560 x 1440 @ 60Hz
- whether setup was "plug and play": Yes
- whether the monitor is also powered by the Mac Studio via the same cable: YES / NO
- whether you would recommend this monitor: YES / NO

Currently using a pair of LG 32UN880-B Ultrafine 4K displays, soon to be replaced by a pair of ASDs VESA Mount. I mostly work with Pro Tools and Logic Pro X and these monitors work really well for that task. But been spoiled for more than 5 years by my already sold and gone iMac 5K Retina, I decided to get a pair of ASDs VESA Mount because I need/want the text sharpness that only a 5K display produce. 32" is also kinda big for me as I sit close to the screens. If you have no previous experience with a 5K Retina display, I would say that you are going to find the 32UN880-B very pleasant and up to the task. I went with VESA mount because I have already Ergotron LX Desk Mounts that allow me to setup one of the displays in portrait mode which is the one I use with the Edit window. Mix window is on the landscape display.

 

[edanuff]

Any newish 4K monitor should work. The only issue will be which cable to use. Unless you are absolutely confirmed to be using a Thunderbolt monitor, then it’s pretty easy as long as you do not use any cable you buy or get from Apple or any cable listed as Thunderbolt 3. This will avoid 99% of the compatibility headaches people find. If your monitor has a DisplayPort input, get a USB-C to DisplayPort cable. If it has a USB-C input, get a cable that says USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 compatible and mentions “DP Alt Mode” in the description. Assuming you have the right cable and a 4K monitor manufactured in the last 4 years, then any Mac with the appropriate cable should connect. By default, unless the monitor is very large or actually a TV set, Mac OS should put it into 200% scaling mode. For a 27” monitor, this will look a little large but if you can live with it, leave it alone, since you’ll get scaling distortion otherwise. Your pixels per inch (PPI) will be around 163. 32” monitors and above will look very large. I’d still recommend leaving it alone but there are lots of people who will tell you otherwise.

 

[edanuff]

Just to elaborate a bit on the scaling question and why I strongly recommend leaving it alone. When you choose a different scaling factor than the 200% "looks like 1920 x 1080" mode, what Mac OS does is creates an offscreen virtual 5K display in memory of 5120x2880 pixels that the OS and applications draw into. It then rescales this image lossily onto the monitor's 4K display of 3840x2160 pixels which means it has to blur pixels together to accomplish this. This is no different than rescaling an image layer in Photoshop, for example. If it's a photograph, it will look fine. If it's text or fine horizontal or vertical lines that are a pixel or two thick, you'll see blurring since adjacent pixels need to be combined. Same thing happens with the Mac OS user interface when you do this. It's this full desktop rescale that is the biggest problem with 4K displays at anything other than 200%. Some people aren't bothered by the blurring but it is incontrovertibly mathematically there, so whether it bothers you or not is up to you. Windows chooses a different model for handling how it renders it's UX, so under Windows, you can get very good results at 150% scaling and this is part of the reason why Windows users don't care so much about 5K displays. The annoying thing is the Mac OS rendering model is very similar to how Windows does it about 90% of the way through but they made a decision at some point to just do this heavy handed rescaling mechanism rather than dealing with the potential compatibility issues. Windows used to have a lot of compatibility issues with their approach - you'd see certain application windows drawn at the wrong size because the app failed to account for the display's PPI but these are very infrequent these days. The Mac OS approach meant you would never see an app that displays at the wrong size but you also have to make a choice with your 4K display of having the desktop either be slightly too big or slightly too blurry.

 

[JaredAppleHead]

Just to elaborate a bit on the scaling question and why I strongly recommend leaving it alone. When you choose a different scaling factor than the 200% "looks like 1920 x 1080" mode, what Mac OS does is creates an offscreen virtual 5K display in memory of 5120x2880 pixels that the OS and applications draw into. It then rescales this image lossily onto the monitor's 4K display of 3840x2160 pixels which means it has to blur pixels together to accomplish this. This is no different than rescaling an image layer in Photoshop, for example. If it's a photograph, it will look fine. If it's text or fine horizontal or vertical lines that are a pixel or two thick, you'll see blurring since adjacent pixels need to be combined. Same thing happens with the Mac OS user interface when you do this. It's this full desktop rescale that is the biggest problem with 4K displays at anything other than 200%. Some people aren't bothered by the blurring but it is incontrovertibly mathematically there, so whether it bothers you or not is up to you. Windows chooses a different model for handling how it renders it's UX, so under Windows, you can get very good results at 150% scaling and this is part of the reason why Windows users don't care so much about 5K displays. The annoying thing is the Mac OS rendering model is very similar to how Windows does it about 90% of the way through but they made a decision at some point to just do this heavy handed rescaling mechanism rather than dealing with the potential compatibility issues. Windows used to have a lot of compatibility issues with their approach - you'd see certain application windows drawn at the wrong size because the app failed to account for the display's PPI but these are very infrequent these days. The Mac OS approach meant you would never see an app that displays at the wrong size but you also have to make a choice with your 4K display of having the desktop either be slightly too big or slightly too blurry.

What Monitor are you using with your Mac?

 

[JaredAppleHead]

Hi,

I don't know much about Macs, but I've just ordered a Mac Studio primarily for audio recording. I want to get a 32" 4K monitor (or maybe 27" if 32" might be too big for comfort), but I'm finding it difficult to get clear information on the web. So, I'm starting this thread in the hope that people who already have a Mac Studio with a 32" or 27" 4K monitor attached might be willing post a little bit of information that would be really helpful to people like me. So, I'd be hugely grateful to everyone willing to copy the fields below and add the answers!

- monitor brand and model:
- cable type used to connect the Mac Studio to the monitor:
- port used on the Mac studio (if there is a choice for that cable type):
- port used on the monitor (if there is a choice for that cable type):
- resolution and refresh rate achieved:
- whether setup was "plug and play":
- whether the monitor is also powered by the Mac Studio via the same cable: YES / NO
- whether you would recommend this monitor: YES / NO

Regarding the last field, any reasons you want to share would also be gratefully received!

Also, an comments specific to how Logic Pro X looks on your monitor (legibility, etc.) would also be really helpful.

Thanks,
Andrew.

What did you end up picking!? How are you liking it?