External display for MBP - buying advice

[lukasamd]

Hey! I have MBP 15 2018 and plan to buy external monitor. Work 100% remote as full stack, mostly on PHP and Vue on jetbrains IDEs. I worked with Iiyama 5K 27" external display, but it had many bad pixels, used warranty and manufacturer said, that they don't have others and don't have spare parts, so they retuned my money.
Now I looking for something else and not sure what will be the best choice:

1. Buy 27" 4K display - and use in 150% scalling so resolution will be 2560x1440 px -> but what model will be the best?
2. Buy other 27" 5K... because this PPI is superb But not sure - I must pay two times more for LG Ultrafine 27"... but it has camera, antiglare surface, USB-C, USB hub, good speakers.. not sure, is it really worth this money?
3. ... not buy any external display Last week I worked without any external display and I think my productivity was.. better! Probably because I could not watch tv on second display on the same time (with external display as main, I used MBP display as second ).

I'm not interested in other configurations. Two external displays = many issues with colors calibration and bazels, I used such configuration two years ago with 24" and don't want go back to this option.

 

[Successful Sorcerer]

Not watching tv is a self discipline issue so if I don't take that into account I'd go for the LG 5K. It's a bit more expensive but it has great quality control and if you buy it from Apple they replace it with even 1 bad pixel. I also really really prefer 5K real retina over a scale 4K display but I'm critical since I do graphic work. 4K might work fine for dev work.

Now I'm used to it I don't want to go back, 4K looks a bit rougher (still great though) and scaled 4K takes a larger performance hit since it renders higher and downscales instead of pixel doubling (if you want to know more about this you can find it with a bit of Googling).

 

[lukasamd]

Yeah, when I think about that, more and more says: go to LG...
What about sound quality on Ultrafine 27"? Is it better than build-in speakers on MBP 15 2018?

 

[Successful Sorcerer]

Yeah, when I think about that, more and more says: go to LG...
What about sound quality on Ultrafine 27"? Is it better than build-in speakers on MBP 15 2018?

Might be a bit better but I think anybody would recommend external speakers if you listen to whatever for a longer time. I think even cheap speakers have better sound.

 

[lukasamd]

I sold my 2.0 creative after byuing MBP 15 2018 - build-in speakers are better than those speakers

Not sure about scaling, I knew somethingabout that, read more and... it's strange.
Ok, 5K -> default is 2560x1440 px it's 50%, it's simple and without performance impact.

If we want use 4K -> 2560x1440 px, it's rendered in 5K, and then downsample to 1440p. It can hurt performance and make some elements blury - but it's only theory, I'm not able to check this now.

But... MBP 15 2018... it has 2880x1800 px display, and use 1680x1050 px as default. WTF? It isn't "optimal" for MacOS scaling, and Apple uses it anyway, yep? I use "more space" option (1920x1200 px) because I really need more space, and don't see any drawbacks.

So, really don't understand this.

 

[Successful Sorcerer]

If that's good enough for you, no problem, the LG 5K will be fine as well, personally I can't stand listeing to music on my MBP.

And that's correct what you write about scaling. 1680 x 1050 is optimal for a MacBook Pro, it's half the pixels so you have real retina. The performance hit might be bigger on a 4K screen since it's more pixels but don't worry too much about this. It's a supported feature of MacOS and a lot of people use it this way. I prefer real retina like 2880x1800 on the iMac 5K and 1680 x 1050 on the MacBook Pro but if you don't see a difference or don't mind that's ok too.

 

[lukasamd]

@Successful Sorcerer but it doesn't seem to be real retine and correct scaling.
Check this:

4K: 3840px scaling to 1920px (default scaling on 4K external display) => 3840/1920 = 2 - it's ok
5K: 5120px scaling to 2560px (default scaling on 5K external display) => 5120/2560 = 2 - it's ok
MBP 15: 2880px scaling to 1680x => 2880/1680 = ~1,71, it's NOT ok

So we question is - why Apple uses bad scaling reoslution in default? Corect one on twice is:

2880/2 = 1440px || 1800/2 = 900px =====> 1440x900px (one of available, but not default)
Optional:
2880/1.5 = 1920px || 1900/1.5 = 1200px =====> 1920x1200 px (one of available, but not default)

I really don't understand this. On 4K => 1440p we must lose some performance and quality, but Apple do the same thing on MBP in default settings! They probably render all in 3360x2100 and then downsample to 1680x1050 px.

 

[Ritsuka]

Because it looks good enough to most people.
I prefer to set it back to 1440x900px.

Performances are good enough on recent Macs. I recommend sticking to 2x, but if you don't mind the scaling artefacts performance would still be good enough even at other scaling factors.

 

[lukasamd]

For me is very strange... and confusing. Maybe should consider use other computer than MBP - maybe something with native Linux (Dell XPS) with 2K/4K external displays and without any issues with performance? Apple sucks here

 

[Ritsuka]

There are no performance issue. Your MacBook Pro video card is good enough.
The best option is a 5k 27" or a 4k 24" or smaller. And that's it.

 

[Successful Sorcerer]

For me is very strange... and confusing. Maybe should consider use other computer than MBP - maybe something with native Linux (Dell XPS) with 2K/4K external displays and without any issues with performance? Apple sucks here

Apple is actually the best in scaling so don't worry too much about this. You can just select scaling or a lower resolution or whatever you like. The suggestions are just ideal cases but if it looks good enough to you then it looks good enough.

Edit: about the MBP vs. iMac scaling, you're right it's confusing, I think iMac looks best but they were aiming for around 220ppi for both which they are.

 

[nudoru]

I bought the 27" 5k a few weeks ago and am considering returning it. For the price of $1,400 out the door, I can get 3 typical 4k 27" screens and I think multimonitor might be better than one perfect one.

I love the perfectly smooth 5k display with the high PPI, but the cost is killing me.

I'm a web developer and stare at a Jetbrains IDE all day and several browser windows. I use SwitchResX to quickly jump between resolutions depending on how much code/browsers I want on the screen at one time. With the 5k (I've used 2 different ones), I see a moire like scaling pattern in some windows that I've never seen on a 4k or other monitor and I've used many. Typically, I see them at one of the middle scaled resolutions.

After I return the 5k, I'm looking at the LG 27UK850-W or a BenQ.

Oh, the speakers suck. My 15" '18 and now 16" sound way better. Or pick up a Homepod ($200 >) and it's really better

 

[lukasamd]

@nudoru thanks for opinion! Yeh, this cost is the biggest drawback.. but if quality is superb, maybe is it worth for few years.
I know SwitchResX and also use it if I need some custom resolutions. It was great on using 24" 4K, because default (Full HD) was too big.

Speakers suck? Damit... another drawback. What can you say about antiglare surface? LG is not full mate, but can avoid reflections?

 

[lukasamd]

@nudoru sbout moire like scaling pattern - did you use custom resoluitions on this LG 5K? if thind. default scaling i.e. 2560x1440px is perfect option. Had the same on. iiyama and was great, without any patterns and issues.

 

[nudoru]

@lukasamd Take a look at SwitchResX https://www.madrau.com/ It will allow you to set all kinds of crazy custom resolutions on all screens connected to your mac. Even above 5k - bad scaling, but it's impossibly tiny, so it doesn't matter. But you can see soooooo much code .

I don't think there are adequite speakers on any monitor. You can get a HomePod for around $200 new on sale or lower on eBay. If you're all the way in on the Apple ecosystem, it's a great deal.

The 5k is reflective, not antiglare. In my office, I only have one small light behind me and a window in front of me. The glare isn't bad enough that I notice it or have ever had to adjust the monitor.

I have a Satechi USB-c dock affixed to the back of it wi/ double-sided tape that takes one of the USB-c ports and gives me 3 USB-a ports. With the decent webcam in the monitor already, it's a convenient one cable solution. Something else to consider: other USB-c equipped monitors aren't able to deliver 85w of power, so you'll need an additional power cable if you have a 15" and use apps that use a lot of CPU. The video conferencing app we use at work (BlueJeans) requires me to have my laptop fully powered, so a monitor that only delivers 60w will flicker due to the power draw. With another monitor, the Caldigit TB3 can get around this but for an additional cost.

I'm taking myself in to keeping this monitor! The 5k panel is the best screen, outside of any Apple retina, that i've seen on a device. Anything else is grainy after using one.

 

[lukasamd]

Yeah... it costs so much, but it's "complete" - full TB3, 85W or more (new version is compatible with new MBP 16"), briliant resolution...

Did you have any change to compare it to monitor using 2560x1440px but on 4K 27"?