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5120 x 1440 on a 2019 Macbook Pro 13'' .... How to achieve? Possible?

B

broski7

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 11, 2020
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I've got a 2019 Macbook Pro 13'' and have it plugged into a 49" CRG9 Dual QHD Curved QLED Gaming Monitor (model number LC49RG90SSNXZA). I am using the one and only cable that Apple sells on its own website by Moshi that is capable of 5K resolution.

My Macbook Pro can only get the display to 3840 x 1080. I don't get an option for its native resolution of 5120 x 1440.

Apple's website states that the 2019 Macbook Pro 13'' can achieve one display with 5120‑by‑2880 resolution at 60Hz. I am unable to achieve anywhere near that and max out at 3840 x 1080.

The monitor can achieve its full resolution with no issues on a Macbook Pro 16'' and a windows machine. I have confirmed both by plugging it in and using the same cable I use on my 13'' Macbook Pro 2019.

Does anyone know if this is achievable and/or possible? Is Apple's spec sheet lying about its capabilities? I've tried those override apps for selecting custom resolutions and all that does is scale to the resolution and makes everything look horrible.

Have anyone else had luck with this? Any suggestions?
 
"I hold the same LG Monitor. You can upgrade the Macbook pro system to the 10.15 version. It will support the resolution of 5120 x 1440 at 60Hz directly."
-From one of my friends in China.
 
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2019 Macbook Pro 13'' has intel graphics which cannot output resolution width greater than 4096 using macOS driver. It is able to do 5120x2880 on displays that use a dual DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2 connection (LG UltraFine 5K, Dell UP2715K).
You can use the AGDCDiagnose command to see the connection(s) to a display. Each port of a display may have a different EDID. Some display settings can modify the EDID.

The new MacBook Air 2020 with Intel Gen11 graphics does support resolution widths higher than 4K. It also supports DisplayPort 1.4 and DSC. I wonder if this update (10.15.4) affects older Intel graphics? Probably not.
 
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I tried to get a 2020 Mac Mini to work on at 5120x1440 and ran into the same issue. I am so tempted to try a new MacBook Air/MacBook Pro and see if it’ll work. I tried a 16” and worked great at 5120x1440, but ultimately too big/expensive for my needs. Don’t want to go through the hassle of purchasing only to be disappointed if it doesn’t work.
 
adonis3k said:
anyone know if the Macbook Ai 13 2018 work at 5120x1440?
Click to expand...
For Macs that don't include AMD graphics, only the new MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) and MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) with Intel 10th gen CPU has the gen 11 graphics that supports width > 4096 in macOS.

MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com support.apple.com

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com support.apple.com
 
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no, 13“ - Iris Plus 10th gen
[automerge]1590788285[/automerge]
The 2019 should handle this resolution fine as well btw - its less pixels than 4k
 
elmacci said:
no, 13“ - Iris Plus 10th gen
[automerge]1590788285[/automerge]
The 2019 should handle this resolution fine as well btw - its less pixels than 4k
Click to expand...
Yes, 5120x1440 requires less bandwidth than 3840x2160 but the macOS driver does not allow width > 4096 on Intel graphics prior to the Gen 11 graphics of the 10th gen CPU.
It's weird because Boot Camp / Windows allows width > 4096 on the same computer.

I wonder if Apple could back port the ability to have with > 4096 to older Intel GPUs? Or maybe the new Intel GPU is way different? Or maybe Apple would prefer you buy a new computer? Or maybe the support exists because they share code but there's a flag that's disabled for older GPUs? I don't know all the ins and outs of Intel graphics - but there is plenty of documentation from Intel for implementing support in other OSs like Linux. It might be interesting to see if Linux supports width > 4096 for older Intel GPUs and the Gen 11 GPU.
 
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joevt said:
Yes, 5120x1440 requires less bandwidth than 3840x2160 but the macOS driver does not allow width > 4096 on Intel graphics prior to the Gen 11 graphics of the 10th gen CPU.
It's weird because Boot Camp / Windows allows width > 4096 on the same computer.

I wonder if Apple could back port the ability to have with > 4096 to older Intel GPUs? Or maybe the new Intel GPU is way different? Or maybe Apple would prefer you buy a new computer? Or maybe the support exists because they share code but there's a flag that's disabled for older GPUs? I don't know all the ins and outs of Intel graphics - but there is plenty of documentation from Intel for implementing support in other OSs like Linux. It might be interesting to see if Linux supports width > 4096 for older Intel GPUs and the Gen 11 GPU.
Click to expand...

I'm running 5120 x 2160 with 2018 MacBook Pro 13".

It works.

P.S.: also, works on Mojave.
 
bill-p said:
I'm running 5120 x 2160 with 2018 MacBook Pro 13".

It works.

P.S.: also, works on Mojave.
Click to expand...
You have an LG 34WK95U-W 34'' UltraWide 5K2K HDR display? It has a Thunderbolt 3 connection that uses two DisplayPort signals to drive two 2560x2160 tiles. It's basically an LG UltraFine 5K display with fewer pixels. The two signals do not exceed the 4K limit so of course it will be compatible with the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports). You can see this information with the AGDCDiagnose command.
 
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bill-p said:
I'm running 5120 x 2160 with 2018 MacBook Pro 13".

It works.

P.S.: also, works on Mojave.
Click to expand...

What GPU does that have (Intel 655?) and do you need 2 cables connected to the laptop and monitor like joevt has said?

I am waiting for the Samsung G9 Odyssey 49" UW monitor to release but in the meantime might have to upgrade my MacBook Air 2018 with Intel 617 GPU to something that can push that monitor. We need a list of Macs with GPU info that can handle 5120x2160.
 
adonis3k said:
What GPU does that have (Intel 655?) and do you need 2 cables connected to the laptop and monitor like joevt has said?

I am waiting for the Samsung G9 Odyssey 49" UW monitor to release but in the meantime might have to upgrade my MacBook Air 2018 with Intel 617 GPU to something that can push that monitor. We need a list of Macs with GPU info that can handle 5120x2160.
Click to expand...

No, it's a single cable. Internally, the device was doing 2x DisplayPort 1.2 connections as joevt noted, with each doing 2560 x 2160 side by side so ultimately, I get 5120 x 2160, as if it's connecting 2 displays at once but with a single cable instead.

If the 49" UW monitors in question do not support this tech (i.e. they need a single DisplayPort cable), then yeah... I don't think that'll work.

My monitor has a single-DisplayPort configuration that allows a graphics card that supports DP1.4 to connect with a single 5120 x 2160 stream, but I don't think the MBP 13" supports that. Gen 11 graphics say it does support that, but I don't have a 2020 MBP 13" to test.
 
ok thanks, I was looking at getting MBP 2018 with the Radeon 560X, has yours only got the Intel 655 running @ 5120x2160?
 
Yes, I have both a 13" 2018 MacBook and a 16" 2019. Both work with native 5120 x 2160 resolution.

Also, the 85W power delivery of the monitor is enough for the 16". It's more than adequate with the 13".
 
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bill-p said:
Yes, I have both a 13" 2018 MacBook and a 16" 2019. Both work with native 5120 x 2160 resolution.

Also, the 85W power delivery of the monitor is enough for the 16". It's more than adequate with the 13".
Click to expand...

Nice one cheers mate, looks like my MBA will be up for sale! The Samsung G9 Odyssey won't be hitting the markets until June/July!
 
I have a MacBook Pro 13” 2016 and can’t get the LG 49” to run in 5120x1440 with the single USB-C cable. Currently using 3840x1080.
If I hold down alt key when clicking the “scales” radio button I get more resolutions to select e.g. 5120x2160 (low resolution).

Any way to get this working?
 
sonynair said:
I have a MacBook Pro 13” 2016 and can’t get the LG 49” to run in 5120x1440 with the single USB-C cable. Currently using 3840x1080.
If I hold down alt key when clicking the “scales” radio button I get more resolutions to select e.g. 5120x2160 (low resolution).

Any way to get this working?
Click to expand...
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016) has old Intel graphics that can't output width greater than 4096. Only new Intel graphics in 2020 MacBook Air or MacBook Pro will support output width > 4096.

You can do a scaled 5120x1440 and output that as 3840x1080 but that's not what you want on a 5120x1440 display.
One horrible solution is run macOS in a virtual machine in Windows or Linux with a virtual display.

Maybe 4096x1440 with vertical bars on the sides is possible? A 4096x1152 timing would allow the most pixels at the same aspect ratio of the display. Either of those options requires the display's scaler to allow those timings though...
 
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Will Intel 655 run at 5120x1440?
I am looking at a 2019 MPB with the Intel 655/Radeon RX580
 
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