LG 34WK95C-W Monitor and 2020 Macbook Pro Resolution

[TommyAG]

Hi All. I have yet to do more digging in this subreddit but figured I'd post anyway as I do my digging. If I could get some assistance, it would be greatly appreciated! I purchased the following monitor: 34WK95C-W to pair with my 2020 MacBook Pro. The monitor supports USB-C and so that is what I am using to connect the monitor to my MacBook. The issue I am having is that the resolution on the monitor is still not what I expected as in the text in every app is still pixelated/fuzzy. It's not "retina"/crisp like it should be.

The resolution of this exact monitor is 3440x1440. It's a 34 inch 21:9 Ultrawide. I went to the Display settings under system preferences and set the resolution to "Default for Display". I also tried "Scaled" and set it to the max of 3440x1440 but no change from "Default for Display". I did notice that the LG monitor has a setting named "Super Resolution +" which is grayed out. Was told by the LG rep that the reason its grayed out is because the Macbook sends a set signal to the monitor. In other words, the Macbook is disallowing the "Super Resolution +" setting on the monitor. Any ideas how I can get a crisper picture? Is there a program out there that maybe I can use to upscale? Or am I just not understanding the compatibility between this monitor and the Macbook in terms of resolution? Again, Any help would be appreciated!

 

[wendelhp]

You need to modify your monitor to use the MacBook as a PC in the configuration.

This is probably the issue. Please try and post back

 

[TommyAG]

You need to modify your monitor to use the MacBook as a PC in the configuration.

This is probably the issue. Please try and post back

Thanks for the reply! Are you referring to the settings on the monitor itself? If so, those are very limited. Not sure how I would go about doing that. Or is there something on my Macbook that I need to do? Thanks

 

[joevt]

Try turning off HDR?
Hold the option key and click Scaled?
Post results of /System/Library/Extensions/AppleGraphicsControl.kext/Contents/MacOS/AGDCDiagnose -a > "AGDCDiagnoseMacBookPro2020.txt" 2>&1 It will tell us the actual output resolution and pixel format (macOS does not report these).
Try SwitchResX? Show us a list of the Current Resolutions.

I think Super Resolution + should be off for best results.

 

[onepoint]

Unfortunately 3440x1440 @ 34” ultra wide is not a retina-quality resolution. I have the LG 34WN80C-B connected to a 2019 MBP 13 and the display is running 3440x1440 @ 60hz over USB-C and the display is not (and physically cannot be) as sharp as the laptop’s built-in 2560x1600 13” display. That being said I’m a huge fan of the display and at my typical viewing distance I‘m very happy with the sharpness vs real estate trade off.

The MBP display is 227 pixels per inch, 34” ultrawide 3440x1440 displays are ~110 ppi.

 

[TommyAG]

Onepoint, I think youre spot on. I think I may just have to upgrade to the LG 34BK95U-W for more crispness. What do you think?

 

[onepoint]

Onepoint, I think youre spot on. I think I may just have to upgrade to the LG 34BK95U-W for more crispness. What do you think?

That would help but you might run into macOS scaling issues, as in you might be forced to choose between “tons of screen real estate with text too small to read” vs “wow this is super sharp but I wish things were smaller and that I had more screen real estate”

That dilemma was what pushed me to go for the 1440p “compromise” described above while running at native resolution.

Have you considered dual 24” LG Ultrafines? (the one Apple sells)

That was my other consideration when I bought my LG - in my case price drove the decision as I got the ultrawide for ~$500