Dell UP3214Q vs. 21:9 display

[Zorn]

I've been really wanting to move over to a 4k display for some time. I started with the LG 31MU97, but with the bugs and lack of proper OS X support, I exchanged that for a 34UC97. The only issue is that this is a larger screen at a lower resolution. While I like the wide ratio, I would like something that is a bit sharper looking.

I have the opportunity to do an even exchange for a Dell UP3214Q, which seems like a good deal since it retails for $2500. I've heard many of the sleep issues people had with this display are now fixed since the A01 firmware. Anyone using this 4k display with OS X? Any thoughts on this?

 

[jbregar]

I have one... I've also used the LG Ultrawides. There are pros and cons to each.

The UP3214Q at native resolution has nearly twice as many pixels as the LG 21:9 lineup. (8.3 vs. 4.9 million).

The UP3214 gives you significantly more vertical real estate... so if that helps out your work, then it will be superior.

UHD on a 31.5" panel is a bit dense for a lot of people. I run mine native, but I've had a few people comment on how small things are. It's about 140ppi vs. the LG's 115ppi or so. You can run the Dell scaled, however... the next step down is 3200x1800 "equivalent" which is actually lower (things are bigger) than the LG.

The LG is wider physically by a couple of inches... I've only used the flat one, however, so the curved one might be a bit better.

MST bugs are still around, but they're not that big of a deal. Occasionally mine won't wake up from sleep, but you just power-cycle the monitor and it wakes right up. Not a big deal.

If you're driving a UHD monitor, the DisplayPort functionality of all of the other Thunderbolt ports on that Thunderbolt bus is disabled. So, you can't run the Dell + another monitor off of the other Thunderbolt port on a MacBook Pro, for example. The Mac Pro can run up to three UHD displays at the same time though. You can run another screen off of the MacBook Pro by plugging it into the HDMI port.

The Dell is absolutely stunning. It's wide-gamut (100% sRGB + 99.5% Adobe RGB I believe) so colors can be amazing. The pixel pitch is significantly higher than the LG, so everything is sharper, even if you run it scaled to boost the size of on-screen elements.

The Dell has dropped in price significantly. You can get them new from Amazon for around $1500 if you bide your time.

Mac OS X seems VERY VERY buggy with UHD 60Hz SST monitors, so I'd steer clear of those for now.

 

[Zorn]

I have one... I've also used the LG Ultrawides. There are pros and cons to each.

The UP3214Q at native resolution has nearly twice as many pixels as the LG 21:9 lineup. (8.3 vs. 4.9 million).

The UP3214 gives you significantly more vertical real estate... so if that helps out your work, then it will be superior.

UHD on a 31.5" panel is a bit dense for a lot of people. I run mine native, but I've had a few people comment on how small things are. It's about 140ppi vs. the LG's 115ppi or so. You can run the Dell scaled, however... the next step down is 3200x1800 "equivalent" which is actually lower (things are bigger) than the LG.

The LG is wider physically by a couple of inches... I've only used the flat one, however, so the curved one might be a bit better.

MST bugs are still around, but they're not that big of a deal. Occasionally mine won't wake up from sleep, but you just power-cycle the monitor and it wakes right up. Not a big deal.

If you're driving a UHD monitor, the DisplayPort functionality of all of the other Thunderbolt ports on that Thunderbolt bus is disabled. So, you can't run the Dell + another monitor off of the other Thunderbolt port on a MacBook Pro, for example. The Mac Pro can run up to three UHD displays at the same time though. You can run another screen off of the MacBook Pro by plugging it into the HDMI port.

The Dell is absolutely stunning. It's wide-gamut (100% sRGB + 99.5% Adobe RGB I believe) so colors can be amazing. The pixel pitch is significantly higher than the LG, so everything is sharper, even if you run it scaled to boost the size of on-screen elements.

The Dell has dropped in price significantly. You can get them new from Amazon for around $1500 if you bide your time.

Mac OS X seems VERY VERY buggy with UHD 60Hz SST monitors, so I'd steer clear of those for now.

Are you able to use this successfully at 60hz with a cMP? I have a 5,1 Mac Pro and have read posts that there are problems using it at 60hz.

 

[jbregar]

As far as I know, NO UHD monitors are supported on the Mac Pro tower... at least not at 60Hz.

The Dell requires an MST connection, not sure any of the video cards for the MP Tower can do DisplayPort 1.2 MST.

The LG should work fine. It's just a straight DisplayPort monitor.