External Monitor 1080p Vs 1440p vs 4k

[Cdub2235]

Hi all,

I'm in the market for a new external monitor for my late 2013 MBP. Can anyone give me some advice on going with the right resolution?

From what I've read and probably misunderstood. at the moment there is no way to drive a 4k resolution with a 2013 MBP because there isn't enough bandwidth using ThunderBolt to drive it.

With that in mind I'm looking at 1080p or 1440p. I'm thinking I want to go with the higher res because that "seems" better...but I'm not entirely sure. In the same way like a 18mp camera sensor might not be as good as a 12mp camera for various reasons. Could the same be applied to monitors and their resolutions?

I'm looking at these 2 atm.
Samsung S27D590P - 1080p
ASUS PB278Q 1440p

Things I like about the S27D590P

• Small bezels
• Sleek design
• 1080p, I know I can easily drive games,videos,multimedia content with my GT 750M in the rMBP
• $200 less than the ASUS

Things I like about the ASUS

• 1400p resolution

They both can be oriented in Portrait/Vertical. So I'm not really sure what to go with Here.

I use my MBP for

• Xcode
• Terminal
• Occasional video/image editing
• Games: SC2, Dota2, WoW( Not very demanding games) I'll have to run them at 1080p for best performance ideally.
• VLC multimedia viewing.

I realize there was a post above me discussing (4k) monitors, but I really didn't get much out of it. Can anyone touch on some points I made and give their recommendation or share and similar dilemma they had when choosing a new monitor? Even recommend some other monitors to look at.

Thanks!

 

[paulrbeers]

Hi all,

I'm in the market for a new external monitor for my late 2013 MBP. Can anyone give me some advice on going with the right resolution?

From what I've read and probably misunderstood. at the moment there is no way to drive a 4k resolution with a 2013 MBP because there isn't enough bandwidth using ThunderBolt to drive it.

With that in mind I'm looking at 1080p or 1440p. I'm thinking I want to go with the higher res because that "seems" better...but I'm not entirely sure. In the same way like a 18mp camera sensor might not be as good as a 12mp camera for various reasons. Could the same be applied to monitors and their resolutions?

I'm looking at these 2 atm.
Samsung S27D590P - 1080p
ASUS PB278Q 1440p

Things I like about the S27D590P

• Small bezels
• Sleek design
• 1080p, I know I can easily drive games,videos,multimedia content with my GT 750M in the rMBP
• $200 less than the ASUS

Things I like about the ASUS

• 1400p resolution

They both can be oriented in Portrait/Vertical. So I'm not really sure what to go with Here.

I use my MBP for

• Xcode
• Terminal
• Occasional video/image editing
• Games: SC2, Dota2, WoW( Not very demanding games) I'll have to run them at 1080p for best performance ideally.
• VLC multimedia viewing.

I realize there was a post above me discussing (4k) monitors, but I really didn't get much out of it. Can anyone touch on some points I made and give their recommendation or share and similar dilemma they had when choosing a new monitor? Even recommend some other monitors to look at.

Thanks!

A late 2013 15" rMBP can run 4K displays. What model are you using specifically? Seems like this is a fully loaded late 15" rMBP....

Directly from Apple:
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202856

Basically the 5K iMac, Mac Pro and the 15" rMBP can all do 4K MST @ 60hz

 

[Cdub2235]

Thanks, the more and more I think about it though I don't really think I "need" a 4k monitor. What advantage will that extra res give me other than tiny windows/text that I might not be able to see? I don't do hardcore image processing, so I can't think of any other reasons to use it. I know my MBP won't be able to run any games at 4k for sure.

 

[paulrbeers]

Thanks, the more and more I think about it though I don't really think I "need" a 4k monitor. What advantage will that extra res give me other than tiny windows/text that I might not be able to see? I don't do hardcore image processing, so I can't think of any other reasons to use it. I know my MBP won't be able to run any games at 4k for sure.

No Apple has implemented HiDPI modes on 4k displays (really anything it deems "Retina"). So rather than just display everything as super tiny, it uses scaling so that you get a reasonable sized desktop, but one that is super crisp (aka "retina"). Then text, icons, images are all rendered super crisp. until you see it in action, you won't understand. I love it on my rMBP.