I have a mid 2015 15 inch Macbook Pro
everymac.com
Still need it to run legacy 32-bit software so it's running Mojave. I have a new MB Pro 14 inch M1 Pro coming in for all my other work, which will be running Ventura.
everymac.com
This will be replacing my 2017 27 inch iMac.
I'd like to get an external display for use with both laptops, and have some kind of KVM setup so I can use the same keyboard & mouse (and display, obviously) for both Macs.
Choosing a display, however, is proving to be more difficult than I thought it would be. The obvious choice would be a 27-inch 4K display, but I'm also looking at 1440p and/or maybe 24 inch monitors.
I've already looked into and read numerous posts about (on this and other forums) about the scaling Mac OS does with 'non native' resolutions ; most common use of a 4K display would be to have Mac OS scale it down to 1440p on a 27 inch display.
This comes with a performance hit, apparently, not so much of a problem on the new Apple silicon Macs, but still, a performance hit. Some say it slows down your Mac (so putting pressure on the CPU and/or GPU), others say it's just down to RAM.
To be honest, I'd like to avoid any kind of performance hit, big or small, and with all those contradicting videos and posts, I don't know who or what to believe anymore.
To be on the safe side, I've therefore been looking at a 24 inch 4K model from LG, the Ultrafine 4K 24MD4KL-B,
23.7'' UltraFine™ 4K Monitor | 24MD4KL | LG UK
which would effectively scale down the resolution from 4K to 1080p, a 2:1 ratio, to get 'retina' HiDPI, which apparently doesn't suffer from any performance issues. Any scaling outside of that 2:1 ratio comes with some sort of a performance hit. Any 27 inch 4K panel could of course also scale down to Full HD but that resolution would make everything too big on the screen; a 24 inch running 1080p is just right, I believe, and to be honest, I don't need more screen real estate than that (my 27-inch iMac's default looks like 1440p right now, but I guess the size of icons and text would be comparable to Full HD on a 24 inch screen).
This LG model has been made specifically for Mac users, it's basically plug and play, but I would like to be sure I can use my older Macbook with it ; it has Thunderbolt 2 but no USB-C. I'm not really into USB-C and the latest connections yet so I'd like some advice on this. My new MB Pro M1 would connect to the monitor with Thunderbolt 3, check ; however, what's the best way to connect my old Intel MB Pro ?
Really like this display and as it's not one of the latest models, I can get it new for less than 500 euro, down from nearly 800 (about the same in US dollars).
Now, I've also been looking at BenQ with built-in KVM. Apparently, they're serious about Macs since a lot of their displays have a special M-Book (Macbook) mode and their support for Mac users is said to be very good. I'm talking about the PD range, made for designers and I really like the fact that there's a built-in KVM switch.
3 models pique my interest, a 25 inch with 1440p resolution and two 27 inch ones, one 1440p and the other one with more or less the same specs but with a 4K panel.
25 inch 1440 p
Professional Designer Monitor - 2K QHD 25-inch 95% P3 HDR400 USB-C PD2506Q | BenQ Europe
27 inch 1440 p
BenQ PD2705Q QHD DCI-P3 IPS Monitor for Graphic Design | BenQ Europe
27 inch 4K
PD2705U 27" 4K UHD Designer monitor | BenQ Europe
I already talked about wanting to avoid any kind of performance hit so I was thinking that a 1440 display running its native resolution (1:1 ratio) would have to be scaled : perfection ! But then I came across all kind of posts and articles from people strongly advising against using a 1440p panel for a Mac.
Obviously, it doesn't look as good as retina resolution, but how bad is it really ? I've never seen it so maybe it's not that bad. One Youtuber seems to just contradict all the rest as he returned his 4K panel and got a 1440p one instead. Says native 1440p maybe doesn't look as crisp as 4K scaled down to 1440p but it's really not that noticeable.
Is he full of crap ?
And what about external KVM switches ? How to tell a good one from a bad one ? I've heard that connecting a Mac to a display via a KVM switch/hub doesn't work, it has to be connected directly ? Any truth to that ?
A lot of questions but I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks !
MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 15" Mid-2015 (DG) Specs (Retina Mid-2015 15", MJLT2LL/A, MacBookPro11,5, A1398, 2910): EveryMac.com
Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 15" Mid-2015 (DG). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.
everymac.com
Still need it to run legacy 32-bit software so it's running Mojave. I have a new MB Pro 14 inch M1 Pro coming in for all my other work, which will be running Ventura.
MacBook Pro "M1 Pro" 10 CPU/16 GPU 14" Specs (14-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021, MKGT3LL/A*, MacBookPro18,3, A2442, 3650): EveryMac.com
Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro "M1 Pro" 10 CPU/16 GPU 14". Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.
everymac.com
I'd like to get an external display for use with both laptops, and have some kind of KVM setup so I can use the same keyboard & mouse (and display, obviously) for both Macs.
Choosing a display, however, is proving to be more difficult than I thought it would be. The obvious choice would be a 27-inch 4K display, but I'm also looking at 1440p and/or maybe 24 inch monitors.
I've already looked into and read numerous posts about (on this and other forums) about the scaling Mac OS does with 'non native' resolutions ; most common use of a 4K display would be to have Mac OS scale it down to 1440p on a 27 inch display.
This comes with a performance hit, apparently, not so much of a problem on the new Apple silicon Macs, but still, a performance hit. Some say it slows down your Mac (so putting pressure on the CPU and/or GPU), others say it's just down to RAM.
To be honest, I'd like to avoid any kind of performance hit, big or small, and with all those contradicting videos and posts, I don't know who or what to believe anymore.
To be on the safe side, I've therefore been looking at a 24 inch 4K model from LG, the Ultrafine 4K 24MD4KL-B,
23.7'' UltraFine™ 4K Monitor | 24MD4KL | LG UK
which would effectively scale down the resolution from 4K to 1080p, a 2:1 ratio, to get 'retina' HiDPI, which apparently doesn't suffer from any performance issues. Any scaling outside of that 2:1 ratio comes with some sort of a performance hit. Any 27 inch 4K panel could of course also scale down to Full HD but that resolution would make everything too big on the screen; a 24 inch running 1080p is just right, I believe, and to be honest, I don't need more screen real estate than that (my 27-inch iMac's default looks like 1440p right now, but I guess the size of icons and text would be comparable to Full HD on a 24 inch screen).
This LG model has been made specifically for Mac users, it's basically plug and play, but I would like to be sure I can use my older Macbook with it ; it has Thunderbolt 2 but no USB-C. I'm not really into USB-C and the latest connections yet so I'd like some advice on this. My new MB Pro M1 would connect to the monitor with Thunderbolt 3, check ; however, what's the best way to connect my old Intel MB Pro ?
Really like this display and as it's not one of the latest models, I can get it new for less than 500 euro, down from nearly 800 (about the same in US dollars).
Now, I've also been looking at BenQ with built-in KVM. Apparently, they're serious about Macs since a lot of their displays have a special M-Book (Macbook) mode and their support for Mac users is said to be very good. I'm talking about the PD range, made for designers and I really like the fact that there's a built-in KVM switch.
3 models pique my interest, a 25 inch with 1440p resolution and two 27 inch ones, one 1440p and the other one with more or less the same specs but with a 4K panel.
25 inch 1440 p
Professional Designer Monitor - 2K QHD 25-inch 95% P3 HDR400 USB-C PD2506Q | BenQ Europe
27 inch 1440 p
BenQ PD2705Q QHD DCI-P3 IPS Monitor for Graphic Design | BenQ Europe
27 inch 4K
PD2705U 27" 4K UHD Designer monitor | BenQ Europe
I already talked about wanting to avoid any kind of performance hit so I was thinking that a 1440 display running its native resolution (1:1 ratio) would have to be scaled : perfection ! But then I came across all kind of posts and articles from people strongly advising against using a 1440p panel for a Mac.
Obviously, it doesn't look as good as retina resolution, but how bad is it really ? I've never seen it so maybe it's not that bad. One Youtuber seems to just contradict all the rest as he returned his 4K panel and got a 1440p one instead. Says native 1440p maybe doesn't look as crisp as 4K scaled down to 1440p but it's really not that noticeable.
And what about external KVM switches ? How to tell a good one from a bad one ? I've heard that connecting a Mac to a display via a KVM switch/hub doesn't work, it has to be connected directly ? Any truth to that ?
A lot of questions but I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks !
