5k Cinema Display requirements

[Michaelgtrusa]

I hate too hear that a new purchase may be needed for 5k, perhaps an upgrade path?

 

[seisend]

I ****ing bought this mac pro with a hope that apple will come up with a new display since the last update has been years away. so if my current nMP isn't gonna support the new Apple Cinema Display I'm gonna ****ing go crazy !!

 

[gugy]

I hate too hear that a new purchase may be needed for 5k, perhaps an upgrade path?

Yeah, I would be mad too. I still have my 2011 cMP, I would love to connect to a 5k, but that at this point it seems like a pipe dream.
When/If the 5K TB display becomes a reality, I will jump into a nMP.

 

[maclove4life]

I ****ing bought this mac pro with a hope that apple will come up with a new display since the last update has been years away. so if my current nMP isn't gonna support the new Apple Cinema Display I'm gonna ****ing go crazy !!

would you upgrade again if nMP v.2 comes out?

 

[dmccombs]

Can the nMP drive a 4K display now?

If so, I may get that setup. It sounds like it would work well for my photography work for a few years.

 

[goMac]

If Apple's custom display controller is SST then they possibililty is probably very close to zero. The simpler solution would be to do what they have done for MST 4K connections..... namely enable 3rd party displays. So MST 5K displays ? Yeah that is possible, I just won't count on an Apple label on the display.

Given that I think the iMac internally is MST, I'm torn on what I think Apple would do. I could see them going both ways. The advantage of MST is they may not have to upgrade a lot of their product line to support it, but it is a little more hacky than what Apple usually prefers out of their user experience.

 

[robgendreau]

A tad off the topic, but what about a smaller display?

In essence, retina is a marketing concept pitched at creating a very detailed viewing experience. But it is dependent on your viewing distance.

In other words, I could live with a smaller display that has a greater pixel density. And a smaller screen has an absolutely smaller number of those pixels, which is why a little old iPad knocks the socks off a big old cinema display without the need for the same bandwidth/power/processing horsepower.

I haven't done the math, but would a 21" screen 25% closer to my face, with a retina display, be within the range of a nMP and existing outputs?

 

[paulsdenton]

I would be more than happy with a simple 4K monitor from Apple. 5K is nice but complicated.

I bought my Mac Pro in part because of the 4K capability, and I kind of assumed that Apple would be supporting it with a new display.

I am definitely a bit disappointed that they have not done so.

 

[goMac]

I'd prefer 5k. I'd like to run at 2x but not sacrifice any logical resolution over a Thunderbolt Cinema.

 

[xav8tor]

Can the nMP drive a 4K display now?

If so, I may get that setup. It sounds like it would work well for my photography work for a few years.

Yes, easily. However, be careful about your choice of monitor if you want a 60 Hz refresh rate, much less in a single stream. 4k implementation right now is less than elegant and 5K, which isn't even a "real" standard, is going to be a nightmare for early adopters.

 

[deconstruct60]

A tad off the topic, but what about a smaller display?
...
I haven't done the math, but would a 21" screen 25% closer to my face, with a retina display, be within the range of a nMP and existing outputs?

A 24" 4K display like this Dell 24" (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&cid=280772&lid=5323430&acd=12309204792294293 ) run in in hiDPI/"double" mode would fit.

For a Mac Pro it is really just a question of Apple maturing the 3rd party monitor support broad enough to cover a couple of quality monitor vendors. The next round of 4K monitors should get better as more mainstream and generally available display/timing controllers cover DisplayPort single stream 4K input abilities. In part, these first generation monitors are a bit behind. Once mainstream monitor tech catches up to 4K norms the support should be broader and easier in OS X.

I don't know if vendors are in a hurry to push 4K down to the 21.5" range or to get more maturity on the 24" size first. Personally, I don't think Apple is in an extreme hurry on 21.5" 4K since they'd have to cover that in lower end iMacs with Intel graphics. Skywell ( next generation after Broadwell) is going to be a better match ( more GPU core horsepower and at least partial H.265 fixed function hardware support. )