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Best Display for a M1 Macbook Air

J

johnnyindia

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 4, 2010
106
0
I have an M1 Air on the way and will be using it for Audio Production. Was going to pull the trigger on the LG 27" 5K monitor, but I've heard some mixed reviews. I have tried the 24" 4K and I love the look of it, but I need 27" to work comfortably. Also not sure if these monitors are prone to issues.

So other than the 27" LG 5K Ultrafine, what else is worth considering?
 
I wouldn't buy the LG 5k display -- too many mixed reviews on it.

If the display is for audio production (as distinguished from being intended for, say, photo editing or video production), then I would guess your priority is "lots of screen real estate" for the audio timeline and additional windows and dialogs.

My suggestion would be for a 32" display running in NATIVE 1440p.
LOTS of room for windows, etc.
It won't have the absolute clarity of a 4k/5k display (running in HiDPI mode), but the pixel size of 1440p on 32" is quite good (about .277mm).

Another benefit of native 1440p is that it won't tax the laptop's integrated GPU, leaving more "computing horsepower" for plugins, etc.

A list that might be of some use to you:

IPS Monitors: List of the Best LCD Panels

Updated list of IPS monitors (also AHVA, PLS and other In-Plane Switching based tech) that offer the best color accuracy and wide viewing angles.
www.pchardwarehelp.com www.pchardwarehelp.com
 
Hi Buddy, I been also spend time to look around like you, so I think it is worth if you also consider this chart that I found many times recommended in this forum. This is the recommend good-bad range of dpi for people who love having Retina density but also want the native common size of Macos UI. Here is the full article https://bjango.com/articles/macexternaldisplays/
Base on this chart, I feel that LG 5k Ultrafine is still the best option beside the 5k iMac, of course unless your pocket can afford the new Apple display which I believe is wait too overpriced.
 

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I got one of the LG 27" 4K monitors - 27UK850. I run it at 1440p scaled. no problems with "taxing" the M1's gpu. that might have been a concern with the older Intel integrated GPU but not with the M1.

I found the native 4K to be too small. Since the native 4K resolution is high enough, I don't notice any lack of sharpness in the scaled image. In fact is seems a little sharper than the Apple 27" thunderbolt display I had at work.
 
johnnyindia said:
What would you get then?
Click to expand...

Something other than that particular LG, and likely a 27-inch 4K display if price is an issue, and possibly an XDR if it is not an issue at all. I went with two Dell U2720Q's (technically the U2720QM, same display but different packaging) and I absolutely love them. It is a USB-C 27-inch 4K display that is well-liked and plays nice with Macs (including the M1 Macs). They are half the price of the LG 5K. That said, there are many great 27-inch 4K displays on the market. My decision not to go for the LG 5K was a combination of the high price, the very short warranty, the numerous reports of user issues and historic functional problems, reports of LG's not willing to service the display when outside of the warranty, and the inability to buy AC+ on it. It's a beautiful display, but I ultimately felt other options better suited my needs and preferences.

Text looks spectacular on a 4K 27-inch display when scaled to 'look like' 1440P (this has come a very long way since that article was written in 2016), and your MacBook Air has an integrated GPU that is more powerful than the base discrete GPU that was used in the 2019 15-inch MacBook Pro, so GPU performance isn't a major concern. (Additionally, a limited number of M1 owners are reporting some compatibility issues with M1 Macs and the 5K. Presumably these are issues that will be resolved when Apple and/or LG push updates.)
 
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