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conancn

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 10, 2005
89
2
Wonder if anyone had experience with this monitor. I'm having the opportunity to buy this monitor for sub-$500 from Lenovo so I save the dongles hassle once for all. Cannot find enough information to pair with new macbook pro 13".

Update:
Found some more macbook user feedback: it's default at 4K@60Hz via USB-C; USB hub is USB2.0 at 4K@60Hz and USB3.0 at 1080p@60Hz; the USB-C charging at 45W (ok w/ macbook, not ok w/ 13" macbook pro??);
 
Last edited:

ultraman982

macrumors member
Jun 24, 2007
30
12
I'm looking at the same monitor. Where'd you find it for sub-500? lol

I believe the 13'' TB draws 60W, so it might charge slower than normal? Unsure. There is a user who owns this and the TB mac, trying to find the thread.

Here's the thread: What monitor for a new Macbook Pro 15.
 

dmn8

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2007
72
4
Chicago
I'm looking at the same monitor. Where'd you find it for sub-500? lol

I believe the 13'' TB draws 60W, so it might charge slower than normal? Unsure. There is a user who owns this and the TB mac, trying to find the thread.

Here's the thread: What monitor for a new Macbook Pro 15.

Have had it a week and works well. The USB ports are limited to 2.0 when the monitor is in 4K. Other than that everything works well and it has been charging my 15".
 

McCarron

macrumors 6502
Feb 17, 2006
256
11
Have had it a week and works well. The USB ports are limited to 2.0 when the monitor is in 4K. Other than that everything works well and it has been charging my 15".

What cable are you using with the monitor? I can't get it to charge my 15" as it only gets 45W with their cable which is not enough to charge the battery of the 15" at all. I have a better cable on order that may work better and get some extra Ws I've read.
 

conancn

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 10, 2005
89
2
What cable are you using with the monitor? I can't get it to charge my 15" as it only gets 45W with their cable which is not enough to charge the battery of the 15" at all. I have a better cable on order that may work better and get some extra Ws I've read.

Try the monoprice or belkin ones, should handle your needs
[doublepost=1481344579][/doublepost]
I'm looking at the same monitor. Where'd you find it for sub-500? lol

I believe the 13'' TB draws 60W, so it might charge slower than normal? Unsure. There is a user who owns this and the TB mac, trying to find the thread.

Here's the thread: What monitor for a new Macbook Pro 15.

Try here if you're in the US https://slickdeals.net/coupons/lenovo/

Still showing $450ish+tax to me now
 

jtoepel

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2012
12
9
Thank you very much for the referral link!

That's a great deal and I've been eyeing this up over the Apple/LG offerings because my wife's work computer isn't TB/USB-C and I want to be able to hook up the PS4 to it as well.

Ordered.
 

conancn

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 10, 2005
89
2
Wow you just saved me a ton of money. Thanks!
Thank you very much for the referral link!

That's a great deal and I've been eyeing this up over the Apple/LG offerings because my wife's work computer isn't TB/USB-C and I want to be able to hook up the PS4 to it as well.

Ordered.

Please report back to your experiences with your new monitor, congrats!
 

jtoepel

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2012
12
9
Sorry it took so long. We've been pushing for an alpha release at work and with the holidays, I haven't gotten to spend much time with the thing...

Overall, I like it and will keep it, especially at the 490 shipped price I paid but it's not all chocolate boxes and roses.

My Setup:
2016 2.0 Macbook Pro w/ 2 TB ports (8GB/512 GB) in clamshell mode
Magic Keyboard
Razer Orochi BT Mouse
Jabra Revo BT Headphones
PS4 (not pictured, obv)

IMG_2521.jpg IMG_2523.jpg


Use Cases:

I'm a game designer who has graduated to the "powerpoint" portion of my career. I spend most of my time creating visual specifications and in Jira. I do some light Xcode and Unity work with a browser open to the side. Gamewise, if it's on console, I play it there... (I think all ya "Mouse + Keyboard" players are smoking something... :p)

The Great:
- The monitor looks intent-fully designed
- The camera is good enough for Skype, even in my poorly lit room and the privacy screen is nice
- The camera, audio and 4K work all over the single USB-C cable
- Charging is fast, even when taxing the CPU
- There is a 4KUSB2.0/1KUSB3.0 toggle switch on the side if you need to hook a bunch of stuff up
- Scalling the 4K screen to 2560 x 1440 looks almost as nice as the 27" iMac at an arms distance away.
- HDMI, Displayport, USB
- I am using the same monitor for my MacBook and Consoles!
- Comes with a metric ton of cables. (Power, USB-C, USB-C to A, HDMI, Displayport and Displayport to MDP)
- 2x USB + Headphone jack on the side

The Meh:
- The stand pushes the monitor away from my wall so it's 3-4" closer than I'd love
- Moving closer to the monitor (~2ft) and the pixels start to show up
- Display switching is buried inside a weak menu interface...
- Switching video resolutions inside games can yield fun results!
- Blacklight bleed like crazy. I don't do color-perfect work on here

The Not Great:
- Does not reliably work as a USB Hub in 4K mode. Tried using a wired Apple Keyboard for a while and it wouldn't always detect. Switching to 1080p solved the problem but I dislike the number pad so went wireless anyway.
- The monitor volume is not controllable by OS X and "resets" to 30% when new sources come start (browsing different tabs, etc) I've switched to the internal speakers.
- I had several instances where I woke up in the morning to the system "off" having crashes on wake. I think there is some weird hand-off between energy star settings and the monitor going to sleep. I set it to never turn off and haven't had a problem since.


Verdict:
-
I'd probably rather have the 5K if this was JUST a computer monitor, but the ability to turn this into a AppleTV/Xbox/PS4/Switch screen in the future is a huge win for me. At the price, I'm happy about it, but there are some nits (the display switching and the volume control) that would make me thing twice about the full price.

If I was worried about even blacks and bleed, I'd not be pleased but this is not a reference machine.


Happy to answer any other questions!
 

makeintosh

Cancelled
Oct 6, 2012
19
20
Just spent 5 days trying to get the Thinkvision X1 working with my 2016 12-inch MacBook. Unsuccessful at 4K regardless of cable used. I went through 4 of them, each rated for compatibility. Sadly, I'm returning the monitors.
 

dinok

macrumors newbie
Jun 1, 2017
1
0
Hello, just installed this screen with new Macbook Pro 13" and I'm having trouble with the screen going into power saving mode very quickly. Lenovo tell me the delay time can only be adjusted with windows software. Any thoughts or suggestions?
 

nyuriks

macrumors newbie
Jun 17, 2017
1
0
Earth
While the screen itself is good, and it offers USB-C charging + speakers + camera, the monitor clearly has not gone through a thorough testing/usability review. Tiny irritations like the sound volume keeps resetting to 30%, cannot be set from a PC, and the volume button on the side takes forever to raise it to ~70%. The screen cannot operate in full HD with USB 3.0 - so either high res, or USB 3, but not both. Very unexpected. And it has a special button to switch between USB2+HD, and USB3 w/ low res - but it keeps forgetting the setting, so I have to reset it manually, and on top of it, Ubuntu 17.04 semi-crashes on switch. Windows experience is not much better. It takes very long to warm up. It often does not detect that USB-C laptop is now connected, and I have to hit source selection button. The camera on a swinging arm is nice, but mostly useless - its on the side of the screen, not in the middle. One good thing is that it can be blocked physically. Kudos for privacy. The light bulb in camera is very dim. Lastly, the traditional USB ports are too tight, and I even broke a mouse dongle trying to pull it out. In short - a big disappointment.
 

liechtis

macrumors newbie
Oct 7, 2017
1
0
Switzerland
Hello everyone

I also made the mistake of buying a ThinkVision X1 for my 12" Macbook. (2017)

Unfortunately, I wasn't even able to get it working in 1080p or 30 Hz, neither on USB-C, nor HDMI nor via Thunderbolt Adapter.
I tried 4 different USB-C cables, also the recommended "Aukey" 3ft, without any success.

Whilst the display works perfectly via miniDisplayPort on my old 2010 MBP 13" (only in 1080p though), I did not once get a picture on my Macbook 12", only charging and USB hub functionality. Tried both OS 10.12 and OS 10.13. Any hints?

Thanks and Best Regards
Stefan
 

runwithnewmedia

macrumors newbie
Feb 23, 2018
1
0
For anyone still interested -- I just picked up this monitor for use with my Late 2016 MBP NTB. Picked this USB-C cable up off of Amazon and was unable to run at 4k with more than 30hz. Display port seems to work however. Bummer because I was hoping I'd get the one cable charging/display.

Not sure if the cable was incompatible or if its the MBP that doesn't push 60hz through USB-C. There are reviews on the cable that say they got 60hz at 4k out of it.

Oh well. The display is pretty nice in my opinion, though I don't believe I've heard of anyone getting the included webcam to work. Price is right if you can find one now at ~$400.
 

antuni

macrumors newbie
Oct 12, 2011
11
0
Qatar
Sorry it took so long. We've been pushing for an alpha release at work and with the holidays, I haven't gotten to spend much time with the thing...

Overall, I like it and will keep it, especially at the 490 shipped price I paid but it's not all chocolate boxes and roses.

My Setup:
2016 2.0 Macbook Pro w/ 2 TB ports (8GB/512 GB) in clamshell mode
Magic Keyboard
Razer Orochi BT Mouse
Jabra Revo BT Headphones
PS4 (not pictured, obv)

View attachment 680944 View attachment 680945


Use Cases:

I'm a game designer who has graduated to the "powerpoint" portion of my career. I spend most of my time creating visual specifications and in Jira. I do some light Xcode and Unity work with a browser open to the side. Gamewise, if it's on console, I play it there... (I think all ya "Mouse + Keyboard" players are smoking something... :p)

The Great:
- The monitor looks intent-fully designed
- The camera is good enough for Skype, even in my poorly lit room and the privacy screen is nice
- The camera, audio and 4K work all over the single USB-C cable
- Charging is fast, even when taxing the CPU
- There is a 4KUSB2.0/1KUSB3.0 toggle switch on the side if you need to hook a bunch of stuff up
- Scalling the 4K screen to 2560 x 1440 looks almost as nice as the 27" iMac at an arms distance away.
- HDMI, Displayport, USB
- I am using the same monitor for my MacBook and Consoles!
- Comes with a metric ton of cables. (Power, USB-C, USB-C to A, HDMI, Displayport and Displayport to MDP)
- 2x USB + Headphone jack on the side

The Meh:
- The stand pushes the monitor away from my wall so it's 3-4" closer than I'd love
- Moving closer to the monitor (~2ft) and the pixels start to show up
- Display switching is buried inside a weak menu interface...
- Switching video resolutions inside games can yield fun results!
- Blacklight bleed like crazy. I don't do color-perfect work on here

The Not Great:
- Does not reliably work as a USB Hub in 4K mode. Tried using a wired Apple Keyboard for a while and it wouldn't always detect. Switching to 1080p solved the problem but I dislike the number pad so went wireless anyway.
- The monitor volume is not controllable by OS X and "resets" to 30% when new sources come start (browsing different tabs, etc) I've switched to the internal speakers.
- I had several instances where I woke up in the morning to the system "off" having crashes on wake. I think there is some weird hand-off between energy star settings and the monitor going to sleep. I set it to never turn off and haven't had a problem since.


Verdict:
-
I'd probably rather have the 5K if this was JUST a computer monitor, but the ability to turn this into a AppleTV/Xbox/PS4/Switch screen in the future is a huge win for me. At the price, I'm happy about it, but there are some nits (the display switching and the volume control) that would make me thing twice about the full price.

If I was worried about even blacks and bleed, I'd not be pleased but this is not a reference machine.


Happy to answer any other questions!

I just got this monitor, I noticed when I use the Macbook Pro USB-C cable, the display doesn't show up but when I changed to the Apple Thunderbolt cable it worked. Is there somethingI have to do to make the USB-C cable work?

Thanks
 

antuni

macrumors newbie
Oct 12, 2011
11
0
Qatar
For anyone still interested -- I just picked up this monitor for use with my Late 2016 MBP NTB. Picked this USB-C cable up off of Amazon and was unable to run at 4k with more than 30hz. Display port seems to work however. Bummer because I was hoping I'd get the one cable charging/display.

Not sure if the cable was incompatible or if its the MBP that doesn't push 60hz through USB-C. There are reviews on the cable that say they got 60hz at 4k out of it.

Oh well. The display is pretty nice in my opinion, though I don't believe I've heard of anyone getting the included webcam to work. Price is right if you can find one now at ~$400.

UPDATE: I contacted Apple support and they weren't able to help me fix the problem. I bought a Thunderbolt cable, now the display and my audio interface work. The included Apple USB-C charging cable won't work with the display it will only charge the Macbook.
 
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