Best monitor for 2560x1600 MBP

[neelkamath]

I need one monitor (no more than 25") for my MacBook Pro (13.3-inch 2560 x 1600, 2017).

1. Some places said I need to get the same aspect ratio, 16:10, because certain apps won't scale well. Can I use a 16:9 without any issues?

2. I don't require a higher resolution. My current one is 2560x1600. Will a 24" with 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200) look noticeably worse than my current 13" screen? I rarely watch videos but thoroughly enjoy the retina display while programming.

 

[mj_]

No need to worry about display ratios. You can use 16:9, 4:3 or even rotate it and use 9:16 if you want to. Won't cause any scaling issues whatsoever.

And both 1920x1080 and 2560x1600 will look like hot garbage next to your MacBook Pro's built-in Retina display. Not only because of their relatively low pixel density but also because they are LowDPI displays and for quite a number of years macOS has handled LowDPI font scaling much worse than HiDPI font scaling.

Long story short: you want a 4K display. Everything else will look like hot garbage.

 

[neelkamath]

No need to worry about display ratios. You can use 16:9, 4:3 or even rotate it and use 9:16 if you want to. Won't cause any scaling issues whatsoever.

And both 1920x1080 and 2560x1600 will look like hot garbage next to your MacBook Pro's built-in Retina display. Not only because of their relatively low pixel density but also because they are LowDPI displays and for quite a number of years macOS has handled LowDPI font scaling much worse than HiDPI font scaling.

Long story short: you want a 4K display. Everything else will look like hot garbage.

Thank you so much.

Yea, I was worried about the actual quality of the display despite what the resolution said but I thought the upscaling might not have been appreciable. I now understand that this not a problem.

This LG (on Amazon) is the only monitor I could find in my area which fit my requirements. (My requirements are a monitor ~24" with a resolution roughly comparable to my MBP). The problem with it is that a lot of people said it gets pink in the corners, and that the light bleeds (which might be a problem because my programming environment uses a dark theme). Is it probably still worth the buy?

 

[mj_]

If you can purchase it, test it, and return it should you not like it then go for it.

 

[edubfromktown]

My 2 GHz 13" MBP 10th generation can drive a (somewhat larger) external HP e324q 31.5" QHD display at 3660x2100, 2880x1800, 2560x1600, 2560x1600 on down (using RDM). This display is USB-C direct plug-in (cable included) and works quite well in the ~2 months I've had it.

I sit <3 feet away from the external display and generally prefer 2560x1440 myself. 2560 x 1600 really doesn't look bad at all- just with a ~2" black border on either side.