LG Ultrafine 4k vs Dell U2718q for productivity

[monojet]

Purchased a new 2017 13'' nTB MBP almost a month ago and I love this thing!

I've been using 13'' laptops for the past decade and I have developed a forward-neck posture as a result of peering down (and closer) at my laptop. I've been working out my back and doing exercises to correct my posture, so I want to get a large monitor that I could adjust to eye level.

Now I want to get an external monitor for it, but I want to save some money if I could. The LG 4k would be about $150 cheaper.

I haven't seen either the LG Ultrafine 4k or the Dell 27'' U2718q in person. I don't have an apple store near me and I don't think the local Bestbuy carries it.

I want to use my MBP in clamshell mode. But I want to be able to have a minimum of 2 (maybe even 3 windows open at a time) and be able to read text comfortably without having to feel like I need to move my head closer. I also do some minor photo editing and watch netflix whenever I get the chance.

Do you think I could get away with the 22'' LG Ultrafine 4k or do you guys think I should go with the Dell? Is there anything else I should take into consideration between the two monitors other than 22'' vs 27''? What about scaling? I feel like I've read something about scaling when using a MBP on a 4k 27'' but it quickly got confusing when they started bringing up terms like native vs non-native resolution, etc. Would text appear too small on a 4k 27'' monitor like the Dell?

Please help this newbie out.

 

[sergioarista]

I have the LG Ultrafine 4k, it is a really good monitor. Coming from a 27" display it feels a little cramped, but image quality is superb. the native resolution is 4096 x 2304 but in the default settings it displays 2048 x 1152 at HiDpi mode which gives you less realstate but text is super sharp. if you set the native resolution text is very small to be used on daily basis.
it charges your macbook trough USB-C (one cable for charging and display data)
The dell gives you a Native Resolution of 3840 x 2160 on a 27" but if you enable HiDpi it will give you 1920 x 1080 or use adjusted resolution but text won't be as crisp as the LG´s

the best if is on you budget or you can stretch it would be to get the LG 5k display it is the same 27" and the same quality as iMac/ iMac PRO.

You would need to carge your computer using your macbook´s brick and acquire an adapter since delis is not USB-C.

 

[treekram]

There have been several posters on the forums I frequent here on macrumors who have bought 27" 4K monitors (the ones they mention were all UHD monitors - 3840x2160, not the "true" 4K - 4096x2304 monitor) without actually seeing it in person and who were livid (really, they were livid) that 4K 27" monitors, in native resolution, was too small for their purposes. They find HiDPI ("Retina mode", explained in post #2) too big with not enough screen real estate. They also have found scaling options outside of the "Retina mode" which are available in the recent macOS versions unacceptable. So I would say that you too will find 27" too small in native resolution. If 2048x1152 or 1920x1080 (depending on the monitor) is acceptable, then the 27" monitors will be OK. Reiterating what was said in post #2, when you do 2048x1152 or 1920x1080 in these monitors, you're still seeing the actual pixels of the native resolution (4096x2304 or 3840x2160). The content of what appears on the screen is the same as a display with 2048x1152 or 1920x1080 resolution, but with better quality because the OS manipulates the extra pixels to produce that better quality.

 

[robvas]

The LG's are garbage and full of issues.

 

[alphaod]

I have the Dell UP2715K and it's great. Size is perfect especially in HiDPI mode. I imagine the 4K won't be that bad.

 

[monojet]

I have the LG Ultrafine 4k, it is a really good monitor. Coming from a 27" display it feels a little cramped, but image quality is superb. the native resolution is 4096 x 2304 but in the default settings it displays 2048 x 1152 at HiDpi mode which gives you less realstate but text is super sharp. if you set the native resolution text is very small to be used on daily basis.
it charges your macbook trough USB-C (one cable for charging and display data)
The dell gives you a Native Resolution of 3840 x 2160 on a 27" but if you enable HiDpi it will give you 1920 x 1080 or use adjusted resolution but text won't be as crisp as the LG´s

the best if is on you budget or you can stretch it would be to get the LG 5k display it is the same 27" and the same quality as iMac/ iMac PRO.

You would need to carge your computer using your macbook´s brick and acquire an adapter since delis is not USB-C.

There have been several posters on the forums I frequent here on macrumors who have bought 27" 4K monitors (the ones they mention were all UHD monitors - 3840x2160, not the "true" 4K - 4096x2304 monitor) without actually seeing it in person and who were livid (really, they were livid) that 4K 27" monitors, in native resolution, was too small for their purposes. They find HiDPI ("Retina mode", explained in post #2) too big with not enough screen real estate. They also have found scaling options outside of the "Retina mode" which are available in the recent macOS versions unacceptable. So I would say that you too will find 27" too small in native resolution. If 2048x1152 or 1920x1080 (depending on the monitor) is acceptable, then the 27" monitors will be OK. Reiterating what was said in post #2, when you do 2048x1152 or 1920x1080 in these monitors, you're still seeing the actual pixels of the native resolution (4096x2304 or 3840x2160). The content of what appears on the screen is the same as a display with 2048x1152 or 1920x1080 resolution, but with better quality because the OS manipulates the extra pixels to produce that better quality.

Thank you guys for dumbing this down for me so that I could understand!

I ended up purchasing 2 x LG 4k ultrafine monitors for a dual setup. Hopefully I can have 3 or 4 windows open at a time with this setup. Now I may need to buy a bigger desk to support this setup haha, the spending never ends.

 

[conancn]

Thank you guys for dumbing this down for me so that I could understand!

I ended up purchasing 2 x LG 4k ultrafine monitors for a dual setup. Hopefully I can have 3 or 4 windows open at a time with this setup. Now I may need to buy a bigger desk to support this setup haha, the spending never ends.

Hi monojet, just wonder how you setup up your 2 TB3 ports MBP with two ultrafine 4K. Were both TB3 ports occupied or did you use any dock?