I want to run a 4k display at 1440p HiDPI. Options?

[motrek]

Now that 4k monitors are dipping below $400, buying one for my desktop computer setup seems like a no-brainer.

Problem is, I want to drive it at a logical resolution of 1440p.

1080p just doesn't give me enough screen real estate for my work, and native 4k resolution would make me go blind. So I want 1440p.

This is ridiculously easy with Windows, just set the display scaling slider to 150% and call it a day.

What are my options with a Mac? I currently have a 2012 Mac Mini and that's definitely a non-starter, since I can't even get it to display 1080p high-DPI on my current 1440p monitor. I would be willing to buy a more recent Mini but it seems like people have trouble getting the 2014 Minis to drive a 4k display at anything over 30Hz, much less run 1440p high-DPI.

I guess recent MacBooks would be able to do this, but if I'm considering a ~$1500 laptop plus ~$400 for a new 4k display, it would be cheaper to just buy a new 5k iMac at that point.

Is anybody else annoyed that this seems to be a completely solved problem with Windows and tragically difficult with OS X?

 

[Fishrrman]

Aren't you trying to say that you want a 5k display?

I don't think it's possible to do what you want on a 4k display.

 

[motrek]

Aren't you trying to say that you want a 5k display?

I don't think it's possible to do what you want on a 4k display.

Somebody told me that if you have a retina MacBook Pro and you plug it into a 4k display and go to System Preferences/Displays, then it gives you the usual 4 options for scaling content. I assumed one of these options gave you a logical resolution of 1440p but I may be wrong?

 

[iStillMac]

Somebody told me that if you have a retina MacBook Pro and you plug it into a 4k display and go to System Preferences/Displays, then it gives you the usual 4 options for scaling content. I assumed one of these options gave you a logical resolution of 1440p but I may be wrong?

Sure you can. I have used two different 4K monitors in 1440P Hi-DPI mode on my Macbook Pro 15" 2015 with no issues at all.

Also, check out this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/anybody-running-27-4k-monitors-in-1440p-scaled-mode.2026551/