Is text size in a 4K display scaled down to 1080p the same as in a native 1080p, but sharper?

[Gustavo Carvalh]

Hi,

I have a 2017 MacBook Pro 13' 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports. Connected to it, a Dell P2416D 24' Quad HD display.

I find text and general UI elements too small in this resolution. I also have a Benq 24' Full HD monitor and like the size of text and icons in it, but dislike how things look pixelated.

I have two questions:

1) If I buy a 27' 4K monitor and scale it down to 1080p, will things look exactly like they would on a native 27' 1080p display, but sharper?
2) Can my MacBook run a 4K display at 60hz using a displayport to thunderbolt cable?

Thanks!

 

[coffeeplease]

Yes, running the external 4K monitor at 1980x1080 will essentially be run at 2x scale (like the MacBook screen) so that everything is sharp. Your MBP supports up to 2 external displays at 4K 60Hz according to Apple: https://support.apple.com/kb/SP754?locale=en_US. Just make sure you have a cable that is capable of 4K 60Hz

 

[joevt]

There is no scaling for a 4K display that shows "Looks like 1980x1080" (either by the GPU to convert the framebuffer size to the output signal size) or the display (to convert the input signal size to the display size).

What "Looks like 1980x1080" means is that everything is drawn four times larger (twice as wide and twice as tall) as for a non-Retina 1920x1080 display because a 4K display has four times as many pixels.

So to answer your questions:
1) Yes.
2) Yes. Use a Thunderbolt cable if the display has Thunderbolt. Use a USB-C cable if the display has USB-C. Use a USB-C to DisplayPort cable if the display has DisplayPort.

 

[MHenr]

If you're used to the sharpness of a built-in Retina display you need to take HiDPI into account when buying a monitor.
HiDPI is more important than resolution or 4K when talking about sharpness.

Here's an article that explains it simply.
And here's one that goes into a lot of detail