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wiseoak1

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 20, 2012
53
3
Can the LG UltraFine 5K display power/charge the macbook via a thunderbolt / USB C cable? Can someone explain to me how the best / most simple setup would look like? (without too much cables / chargers)
 
Yes, the lg will plug into a power outlet and the monitor will power and provide three additional USB C ports via one thunderbolt 3 cable that will connect to any of the MBP's 4 thunderbolt 3 ports.
 
But why oh why is the 4K variant so crippled? Only 60 W power and USB 2.0 USB-C ports on the back...

Evidently there is a technical reason and not an artificial one (as in to get people to buy the 5K model) per a thread in the MacBook Pro forum (don't know the specific thread or I would cross post).
 
Evidently there is a technical reason and not an artificial one (as in to get people to buy the 5K model) per a thread in the MacBook Pro forum (don't know the specific thread or I would cross post).
- Not buying that at all. The 5K version does 5 Gbps USB-C and 85 W. The 4K one could, too.

It stems from the fact they opted to make the 5K one Thunderbolt 3 but not the 4K one for inexplicable reasons.
 
Thanks for the link.

Looking at the specs of those panels it does look like that's Apple out of the standalone display business for the time being...
 
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Thanks, I just noticed that on Apple's site. A little nervous, any month's availability is usually the last week of that month, but given that new MBP's are shipping in Nov, what are current users supposed to do? AFAIK, the options are to buy an adapter to connect our existing TB displays or have no external monitors until the new ones are available. Man I really wish Apple would release some TB displays.

I wonder why they quit, $1,299 for a display ain't cheap and I'm sure the profit margin for Apple would make sense as a business model.
 
- Not buying that at all. The 5K version does 5 Gbps USB-C and 85 W. The 4K one could, too.

It stems from the fact they opted to make the 5K one Thunderbolt 3 but not the 4K one for inexplicable reasons.

It's not for inexplicable reasons. 4K display is designed to be compatible with 12" rMacBooks, which have pre-Thunderbolt3 USB-C ports. There isn't enough bandwidth in pre-Thunderbolt variant of USB-C to support 4K video and USB3 at the same time. That's why LG 4K USB ports are only 2.0.
 
Will the MacBook be able to drive this display?
- 4K one, yes. Not 5K one.

It's not for inexplicable reasons. 4K display is designed to be compatible with 12" rMacBooks, which have pre-Thunderbolt3 USB-C ports. There isn't enough bandwidth in pre-Thunderbolt variant of USB-C to support 4K video and USB3 at the same time. That's why LG 4K USB ports are only 2.0.
- Yes, alright. Not completely inexplicable, but still a bad choice. They could have made the three USB-C ports 3.1 Gen 1 instead of 2.0 and then just have them adjust down to 2.0 speeds if 4K 60 Hz is used and stay at 3.1 Gen 1 speeds if 4K 30 Hz is used. This is how it's done on other 4K LG USB-C monitors.
This would also increase its utility on the 2015 rMB which can't do 60 Hz anyway.
 
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I wonder why they quit, $1,299 for a display ain't cheap and I'm sure the profit margin for Apple would make sense as a business model.

I doubt LG profit margins on these 5K screens are all that high. $1,299 is actually very competitive, if you compare it with other comparable 5K displays. LCD display industry (be it TVs or computer displays) operates on razor thin margins, and there is significant overhead on stocking and shipping these large items.

I am sure Apple had done the business case and decided they were no longer interested in putting their name on and shipping giant boxes with PC displays. For all the same reasons they decided to stick with selling small appleTV pucks, and not sell you the entire TV set.
 
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Yea I guess you're right. It's just such a shocker to me to have to think about moving away from my existing Apple Displays...I'm still using a 24 Cinema Display and 27 LED Display before Thunderbolt came along...

The LG one seems to be the go-to upgrade since Apple is co-signing it, but I'm wondering if maybe one of those curved displays is a better fit, kinda torn on the display side.
 
I suppose that using the bidirectional TB3 - TB2 adapter from Apple, I could hook up one of the LG 5K units to my 2013 rMBP (it does TB2 up to 4K @60) and drive the monitor at 4K. Later when I get a new rMBP that does 5K over TB3/USB-C, I just remove the adapter and go native to the monitor.

Anyone plan on trying something similar?
 
This monitor tempts me but the housing is just so ugly. If Apple made it you know it would be all metal and pretty. Hard to drop that kind of cash on plastic.
 
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I suppose that using the bidirectional TB3 - TB2 adapter from Apple, I could hook up one of the LG 5K units to my 2013 rMBP (it does TB2 up to 4K @60) and drive the monitor at 4K. Later when I get a new rMBP that does 5K over TB3/USB-C, I just remove the adapter and go native to the monitor.
- Perhaps. Remains to be seen. Could very well be that it will only accept Thunderbolt 3 inputs.
 
I read some speculation that the display is the same as the one in the iMac 27" med P3 color gamut. The speculation was based on the information that LG should be producing that display for the iMac, but does anyone know whether that is a fact?

It would be a very nice screen to hook up with my new MBP if the image quality does indeed mirror that of the iMac 27".
 
I read some speculation that the display is the same as the one in the iMac 27" med P3 color gamut. The speculation was based on the information that LG should be producing that display for the iMac, but does anyone know whether that is a fact?

It would be a very nice screen to hook up with my new MBP if the image quality does indeed mirror that of the iMac 27".
- Image quality should be superior to the iMac, which isn't DCI-P3.
 
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The 4K display is also around half the price. You get what you pay for. The real question is if it's better to do 2x of the 4K displays or one 5k one.
 
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I read some speculation that the display is the same as the one in the iMac 27" med P3 color gamut. The speculation was based on the information that LG should be producing that display for the iMac, but does anyone know whether that is a fact?

It would be a very nice screen to hook up with my new MBP if the image quality does indeed mirror that of the iMac 27".
Yes, LG make the current iMac 5K screen. This external probably has the same or very similar panel.

- Image quality should be superior to the iMac, which isn't DCI-P3.
What? The iMac 5K went DCI-P3 in October 2015 - and was the first Apple product to do so!
 
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What? The iMac 5K went DCI-P3 in October 2015 - and was the first Apple product to do so!
- You're right. Apologies. It isn't mentioned on the Apple spec page for the iMac, which it is for iPhone 7 and the new MacBook Pro. I jumped to a conclusion based on that. But why wouldn't they mention it?
 
This monitor tempts me but the housing is just so ugly. If Apple made it you know it would be all metal and pretty. Hard to drop that kind of cash on plastic.

And Apple would be charging you extra $300-$400 for the same glass in an aluminum frame with Apple logo slapped on it. And then you and others would be complaining about how Apple's hardware is so overpriced, and how you hate paying Apple tax.

Apple just can't win anymore - people will always find something to complain about.

And personally, I don't really see what's so "ugly" about this LG display. It's perfectly fine eesthetically, and functionally - it's everyone one can ask for in TB3 5K display.
 
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