Dell UP2715K + Mid 2014 rMBP = 5K success!

[sniderbr]

I posted this in another thread, but I wanted to give this more exposure since my findings are somewhat buried amongst other discussion, and I'm extremely happy that it's working and figure someone else may find it useful.

TL;DR #1: Dell UP2715K 5K monitor + mid-2014 rMBP 15" with GT750M = 2560x1440@2x at 60Hz, using both mDP-to-DP cables that come with the monitor!

TL;DR #2: It also works with one of the two mDP-to-DP cables running through an OWC TB2 dock!

Long version: after seeing the news article about the new, mid-2015 rMBP 15" with M370X supporting the Dell UP2715K 27" 5K monitor, I did a bit of searching on the Dell support site and came across this link:

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/SLN295089/EN

On that page, Dell mentions the mid-2014 rMBP 15" with GT750M as a supported option in more than one place, and there is no mention of the new mid-2015 model anywhere. I decided to take a chance on it and see if the Dell support document was correct, so I ordered a new UP2715K from Amazon.

The Mid 2014 MacBook Pro 15" with GT750M supports the Dell UP2715K 5K display at 2560x1440@2x at 60Hz, using both of the included DisplayPort-to-mini-DisplayPort cables!



It also works just fine at 1920x1080@2x at 60Hz with DisplayPort audio (volume keys on Mac keyboard are disabled, but hardware/OSD controls on the monitor work), using just the single included mini-DisplayPort-to-mini-DisplayPort cable. As stated on the Dell support page I linked in my previous post, this is the only configuration that yields audio through the display's speakers.

I did have to reboot the MBP once after first trying "5K3K" via 2x DisplayPort inputs. I toggled between 5K3K and 4K2K settings on the monitor a few times, first getting only a strange 2000-something-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz, then finally it kicked into perfect 5120x2880 native after opening and closing the MBP lid. The MBP initially gave a warning about disconnecting the USB device that was drawing too much power (only the monitor was plugged in using the included USB 3.0 cable to drive the monitor's built-in ports). After dismissing the warning and unplugging and re-plugging the USB cable again, no further warnings were issued. I tried the USB ports on the monitor, and had no issues using a SanDisk USB 3.0 flash drive.

Note that the "default for display" setting in system preferences gives me 5120x2880 native; I had to select the "looks like 2560x1440" scaled option, but I can confirm that it's exactly like the 27" retina iMac (i.e., pixel-doubled, not scaled). My MBP is also running nice and cool, definitely not running scaled with corresponding heat/fan noise as you'd see on, say, a Dell P2715Q 4K display running at 2560x1440 scaled (I have one at work).

For reference, my MBP is the maxed-out mid-2014 15-inch/2.8GHz/16GB/1TB/GT750M config running 10.10.3 (build 14D136).

I also tested the UP2715K with an OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock. I was able to get full 2560x1440@2x at 60Hz by running one of the two mDP-to-DP cables through the TB port on the OWC TB2 dock, with the other mDP-to-DP cable and a TB cable plugged into the aforementioned 2014 MBP.

Did discover one funny thing: my MBP thinks the UP2715K is an 81.5-inch display, with and without the TB2 dock inline. See attached screenshot.



EDIT: after setting everything up in my home office with my vertical Henge dock and waking and sleeping the MBP a few times throughout the day, I'm having zero problems and everything is stable (i.e., no wake-from-sleep or other issues). With the TB2 dock in place now, the laptop is running slightly warmer that it does with just the display plugged in directly, but nothing outrageous and no extra fan noise. Very happy with this setup!

 

[JTToft]

Great news. Did you have to do some sort of weird configurations like the ones linked to in the HP 5K thread, or does everything "just work"?

 

[sniderbr]

Besides initially needing to reboot the laptop and then toggle between 4K over 1x mDP and then 5K over 2x mDP-to-DP, it just worked. Once I set my preferred resolution of "looks like 2560x1440" (rather than the default of native 5120x2880), it works as you'd expect. I've docked and undocked between home (5K) and work (4K, Dell P2715Q) without any issues so far. It's on par with my P2715Q as far as overall usability, except that it's 5K

The only thing I'm noticing now is that I occasionally get the "USB devices are using too much power" warning when first connecting the 5K display, but everything works just fine. I've been using a self-powered USB 3.0 external hard drive as well as peripherals like keyboard and mouse without issue.

 

[jggann]

Great news! Do you notice a significant difference in resolution between the 4k and 5k monitors? I already have the Dell P2715Q 4k monitor and wonder if it's worth upgrading to 5k.

 

[sniderbr]

Definitely — it's the same as going from 1920x1080 up to 2560x1440. It looks exactly like a 27" retina iMac. The 4K displays really look best (i.e., not too "large print") in the 24" size, IMO.

I actually tried a retina iMac and liked it for the extra real estate in retina quality, but really prefer to just maintain one machine, so this monitor gives me the best of both worlds. I always have all of my work with me, and now with the 5K Dell, I'm not sacrificing anything display-wise when docked at home.

At work, I still use the company-provided P2715Q, which works fine. I find myself toggling between 1920x1080@2x and 3840x2160 native when on video chats, etc, as the 1920x1080 isn't enough to keep working while using part of the pixels for the video chat window, and using any of the scaled resolutions while on video chat makes the machine heat up and the fans kick on, and sometimes causes the video chat to lag/drop frames.

Completely worth it for me, especially compared to owning a retina iMac and a MBP.

 

[sniderbr]

El Capitan update (same machine, same monitor, same TB2 dock per my original post):

After upgrading to the 10.11 GM seed, I now have audio over DisplayPort coming out of the monitor's built-in speakers, with one of the two mDP-to-DP cables plugged directly into the rMBP and the other plugged in to the OWC TB2 dock. OS X won't control the volume (i.e., keyboard keys don't change it, you have to use the hardware buttons on the display itself).

The monitor seems much better supported in 10.11 than it was in 10.10. I haven't had any of the "USB devices are using too much power" warnings yet, and the monitor immediately jumps to life when connecting my rMBP. It's a noticeably smoother experience all around. Furthermore, OS X now properly recognizes the display as a 27" display, rather than an 81" one.

 

[jlforester]

El Capitan update (same machine, same monitor, same TB2 dock per my original post):

After upgrading to the 10.11 GM seed, I now have audio over DisplayPort coming out of the monitor's built-in speakers, with one of the two mDP-to-DP cables plugged directly into the rMBP and the other plugged in to the OWC TB2 dock. OS X won't control the volume (i.e., keyboard keys don't change it, you have to use the hardware buttons on the display itself).

The monitor seems much better supported in 10.11 than it was in 10.10. I haven't had any of the "USB devices are using too much power" warnings yet, and the monitor immediately jumps to life when connecting my rMBP. It's a noticeably smoother experience all around. Furthermore, OS X now properly recognizes the display as a 27" display, rather than an 81" one.

I'll add my success with this combo to the list. 2014 15" rMBP with 2.5GHz i7 and NVIDIA GT750M driving the Dell UP2715K at 5k3k@2x at 60Hz. I have an OWC Thunderbolt2 dock in the mix and it came up right the first time once the display was set to 5k3k. Running El Capitan (10.11.5). Audio does come out of the display's speakers, but as others have posted, the keyboard controls for audio control do not work.

Even better is that it can drive the built-in display in a dual monitor configuration. As far as heat, the computer does seem to run a bit warmer than it used to when it was the TBD that was the external display, and I do notice that the fans are running now when they didn't before, albeit at a barely noticeable speed.

Very happy with how easy this was to set up. Had to play around a bit with color settings to get the two displays reasonably close to each other.

 

[satcomer]

I'll add my success with this combo to the list. 2014 15" rMBP with 2.5GHz i7 and NVIDIA GT750M driving the Dell UP2715K at 5k3k@2x at 60Hz. I have an OWC Thunderbolt2 dock in the mix and it came up right the first time once the display was set to 5k3k. Running El Capitan (10.11.5). Audio does come out of the display's speakers, but as others have posted, the keyboard controls for audio control do not work.

Even better is that it can drive the built-in display in a dual monitor configuration. As far as heat, the computer does seem to run a bit warmer than it used to when it was the TBD that was the external display, and I do notice that the fans are running now when they didn't before, albeit at a barely noticeable speed.

Very happy with how easy this was to set up. Had to play around a bit with color settings to get the two displays reasonably close to each other.

Get a can of compressed air and open the back of your Mac and blow out the dust! IMHO this should be done to any computer that travels or is over 2 years old! This could be the cause of your heat!

 

[richgcook]

I have the same setup but I get the following issues (randomly)

It seems like the screen is halved (or not enough pixels to go full width)... very odd. Have you experienced this at all?

 

[satcomer]

Learn to turn your phone to landscape because you have VVS (Vertical Video Syndrome)!

 

[moninfo]

Hello sniderbr (or anyone else),

I hope you don't mind me asking. But please can you confirm your 5k3k@60hz setup is still working on the same MBP and same monitor, but using the current macOS 10.12.5?

Thanks!

 

[sniderbr]

Hello sniderbr (or anyone else),

I hope you don't mind me asking. But please can you confirm your 5k3k@60hz setup is still working on the same MBP and same monitor, but using the current macOS 10.12.5?

Thanks!

I no longer have that laptop so I cannot confirm, but I would expect the combination to still work. 4K/5K support in macOS has continually improved since then.

Hopefully someone else with that same setup can confirm for you!

 

[moninfo]

I no longer have that laptop so I cannot confirm, but I would expect the combination to still work. 4K/5K support in macOS has continually improved since then.

Hopefully someone else with that same setup can confirm for you!

Thanks!

I bit the bullet and bought a UP2715K earlier this week.

It works fine. And as you predicted, support's better in macOS 10.12 than 10.10, and sounds like at least as good as 10.11. I just plugged in and it immediately worked with sound in native/unscaled 5K3K with 2560x1440@2x at 60Hz.

Let's hope 10.13 doesn't break anything remembering it's not on Apple's officially supported list!

And thanks again for replying.