Any issues so far driving the UltraFine 5K OR dual-4K monitors with 2018 13-inch base model?

[pubmsu]

Hi everyone,

It seems the 2016/17 13-inch models had some performance issues driving the LG UltraFine 5K monitor. Any such issue so far with the 2018 13-inch base model - either driving a single 5K or dual-4K monitors?

Thanks!

Edit: included dual-4K setup in question

 

[defn]

Runs very smoothly on mine until there's about 50-60% load.

 

[tonyz123456]

Runs very smoothly on mine until there's about 50-60% load.

What happens after 50-60% load?

 

[defn]

What happens after 50-60% load?

It gets choppy when you switch spaces or scroll on complex websites, but not to the point that it feels unresponsive (i.e. it skips frames rather than renders it slowly).

I was previously using a 2016 15" which didn't exhibit such behaviour. It's something I can tolerate though as it doesn't happen that often and I gain better portability.

 

[pubmsu]

I was previously using a 2016 15" which didn't exhibit such behaviour.

I use 2016 15-inch, too. I was really hoping for as smooth as that machine, which just flies with the 5K.

Are you seeing the performance issues while using just the 5K or another additional monitor while running the 5K too?

Are you on High Sierra? Tried Mojave by any chance?

I wonder whether driving two 4Ks will be choppy, too.

 

[defn]

I use 2016 15-inch, too. I was really hoping for as smooth as that machine, which just flies with the 5K.

Are you seeing the performance issues while using just the 5K or another additional monitor while running the 5K too?

Are you on High Sierra? Tried Mojave by any chance?

I wonder whether driving two 4Ks will be choppy, too.

I'm on the latest Mojave beta. It does fly until you tax the CPU FWIW.

The 13" can only drive 1 5K display.

I might get the Blackmagic eGPU once I see more in depth reviews. Not sure if it can do 2x 5K displays with that though.

 

[pubmsu]

I'm on the latest Mojave beta. It does fly until you tax the CPU FWIW.

The 13" can only drive 1 5K display.

I might get the Blackmagic eGPU once I see more in depth reviews. Not sure if it can do 2x 5K displays with that though.

What's the configuration of your 13-inch?

Could the choppiness due to Mojave beta?

Does BlackMagic specify how many displays of what resolution it can drive?

I am planning dual-4K directly with MBP 13 and BlackMagic driving the 5K once I buy it. Before that, need to drive the 5K only with the 13-inch base model with 16GB RAM.

 

[defn]

What's the configuration of your 13-inch?

Could the choppiness due to Mojave beta?

Does BlackMagic specify how many displays of what resolution it can drive?

I am planning dual-4K directly with MBP 13 and BlackMagic driving the 5K once I buy it. Before that, need to drive the 5K only with the 13-inch base model with 16GB RAM.

I highly doubt that it's due to the Mojave beta, probably because the internal GPU is sharing some resources with the CPU. Also, I have the i7 processor with 16GB of RAM for what it's worth.

BlackMagic says it can drive two displays, but I suspect that's one through Thunderbolt 3 and another through HDMI (no 5K here).

I found this on Apple's website, I'm not sure how performance will be impacted though. https://developer.apple.com/documen...ti_gpu_and_multi_display_setups?language=objc
View attachment 772055

 

[pubmsu]

I highly doubt that it's due to the Mojave beta, probably because the internal GPU is sharing some resources with the CPU. Also, I have the i7 processor with 16GB of RAM for what it's worth.

BlackMagic says it can drive two displays, but I suspect that's one through Thunderbolt 3 and another through HDMI (no 5K here).

I found this on Apple's website, I'm not sure how performance will be impacted though. https://developer.apple.com/documen...ti_gpu_and_multi_display_setups?language=objc
View attachment 772055

Thanks!

If you happen to switch to High Sierra at some point, it will be great if you can update us whether the choppiness still happens on High Sierra.

The BlackMagic HDMI will support 4K 60Hz?

 

[tonyz123456]

I highly doubt that it's due to the Mojave beta, probably because the internal GPU is sharing some resources with the CPU. Also, I have the i7 processor with 16GB of RAM for what it's worth.

BlackMagic says it can drive two displays, but I suspect that's one through Thunderbolt 3 and another through HDMI (no 5K here).

I found this on Apple's website, I'm not sure how performance will be impacted though. https://developer.apple.com/documen...ti_gpu_and_multi_display_setups?language=objc
View attachment 772055

Your experience is pretty consistent with my past experiences using the 2016 MacBook Pro. I guess having a discrete GPU is a must to drive the 5k display smoothly.

 

[pubmsu]

I guess having a discrete GPU is a must to drive the 5k display smoothly.

But I run my 5K with only the integrated GPU of 2016 15-inch very smoothly. And 2018 13-inch integrated GPU is at least better than the integrated GPU of 2016 15-inch?

 

[defn]

But I run my 5K with only the integrated GPU of 2016 15-inch very smoothly. And 2018 13-inch integrated GPU is at least better than the integrated GPU of 2016 15-inch?

The 2016 15 inch runs on the dGPU whenever you connect an external display.

 

[pubmsu]

The 2016 15 inch runs on the dGPU whenever you connect an external display.

Didn't know that. Activity Monitor doesn't show any process using dGPU.

 

[defn]

Try looking at GPU History in Activity Monitor (Window -> GPU History), I'm pretty sure I see some load on the dGPU whenever it's plugged into an external display.

If I remember correctly, this has been the behaviour for all Macs that had switchable graphics since the Optimus days...

 

[pubmsu]

Wow! Just saw this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...es-lg-ultrafine-5k-4k-simultaneously.2031331/
[doublepost=1532260974][/doublepost]

Your experience is pretty consistent with my past experiences using the 2016 MacBook Pro. I guess having a discrete GPU is a must to drive the 5k display smoothly.

Pls take a look at the thread above. Gives me hope for 2018 13-inch. When are you going to get yours and test? I'll postpone buying till your test.

 

[defn]

Wow! Just saw this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...es-lg-ultrafine-5k-4k-simultaneously.2031331/
[doublepost=1532260974][/doublepost]

Pls take a look at the thread above. Gives me hope for 2018 13-inch. When are you going to get yours and test? I'll postpone buying till your test.

I'll see if they'll let me test it out at the Apple Store in the coming week.

 

[tonyz123456]

But I run my 5K with only the integrated GPU of 2016 15-inch very smoothly. And 2018 13-inch integrated GPU is at least better than the integrated GPU of 2016 15-inch?

The GPU on the 15in MacBook Pro 2016 with red is much more powerful than the integrated GPU on the 2018 MacBook Pro 13in

Wow! Just saw this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...es-lg-ultrafine-5k-4k-simultaneously.2031331/
[doublepost=1532260974][/doublepost]

Pls take a look at the thread above. Gives me hope for 2018 13-inch. When are you going to get yours and test? I'll postpone buying till your test.

Sure it could drive the monitors in a store, but is it usable under load? That’s the real question. My new MacBook arrives on Friday...13in 16gb, i5 and 512gb config

 

[pubmsu]

Sure it could drive the monitors in a store, but is it usable under load? That’s the real question. My new MacBook arrives on Friday...13in 16gb, i5 and 512gb config

Will wait eagerly. In the mean time let’s see if someone else posts here their experience.

This time I am thinking of going for your spec but 256GB, as I will use iCloud seamless storage extension feature if I need more storage. With the price of the upgrade to 512GB, I can pay for 200GB iCloud for 6.5 yrs!

 

[pubmsu]

Anyone using 2018 13-inch with dual 4K monitor setup with iGPU? Any issues?

 

[tonyz123456]

Anyone using 2018 13-inch with dual 4K monitor setup with iGPU? Any issues?

I test my new MacBook pro 2018 last night with 16gb of ram and the LG 5K with all the USB-C ports used and it worked pretty well. Can't comment how dual monitors will perform but I think it will drive a single LG 5K monitor with no problem.

To answer your questions on performance with an eGPU, everything feels more responsive but I can't say it's necessarily worth it with a single LG 5K monitor unless you're doing video editing or gaming. On the MacBook pro 2016, it provides a clear difference in performance but the performance ceiling is now clearly raised with the 2018 MacBook pro so the performance difference is much more subtle.

I ran a quick torture test of running a 4k HDR 60 fps youtube video clip on chrome while running a time machine backup in the background on both wifi (more resource intensive) and physical ethernet. Also played around with Capture One Pro with and without egpu. The MacBook Pro 2018 without egpu handled the youtube test quite well. Capture One is a little bit laggier than with the eGPU but still very usable.

Overall, i'm a bit on the fence with respect to keeping the egpu but leaning towards keeping it since it does add a dedicated video card with 8 gigabyte of ram to my system and a better USB-dock than the LG 5K monitor by itself. I figure it's good for at least 3 years or until Apple replaces Thunderbolt 3 - it'll likely outpace integrated GPUs for a while even if better video cards come out.

 

[pubmsu]

I test my new MacBook pro 2018 last night with 16gb of ram and the LG 5K with all the USB-C ports used and it worked pretty well. Can't comment how dual monitors will perform but I think it will drive a single LG 5K monitor with no problem.

To answer your questions on performance with an eGPU, everything feels more responsive but I can't say it's necessarily worth it with a single LG 5K monitor unless you're doing video editing or gaming. On the MacBook pro 2016, it provides a clear difference in performance but the performance ceiling is now clearly raised with the 2018 MacBook pro so the performance difference is much more subtle.

I ran a quick torture test of running a 4k HDR 60 fps youtube video clip on chrome while running a time machine backup in the background on both wifi (more resource intensive) and physical ethernet. Also played around with Capture One Pro with and without egpu. The MacBook Pro 2018 without egpu handled the youtube test quite well. Capture One is a little bit laggier than with the eGPU but still very usable.

Overall, i'm a bit on the fence with respect to keeping the egpu but leaning towards keeping it since it does add a dedicated video card with 8 gigabyte of ram to my system and a better USB-dock than the LG 5K monitor by itself. I figure it's good for at least 3 years or until Apple replaces Thunderbolt 3 - it'll likely outpace integrated GPUs for a while even if better video cards come out.

Thank you so much! You just gave me the license to pull the trigger!

I will buy the eGPU when I get the second 4K monitor, after first attempting to run both 5K+4K off the iGPU, which may just be feasible enough. I plan to buy the portable Asus ProArt 4K, which is not yet released. Portable, so that I can carry it with me while traveling - just 1 kg weight.

Let me still ask to confirm: the mission control animations are super smooth on 5K with the 13-inch iGPU?