LG UltraFine 5K - Owners Thread

[iBrooker]

Does the shielding issue concern you?

I've had several of these monitors now and the best one is still the first one.

I have another due on Monday, but I doubt it will be better than this original one. The shielding does not concern me, and nobody should really be putting their wifi transmitter that close to themselves.

 

[Majikthese42]

Does the shielding issue concern you?

I've had several of these monitors now and the best one is still the first one.

I have another due on Monday, but I doubt it will be better than this original one. The shielding does not concern me, and nobody should really be putting their wifi transmitter that close to themselves.

No, the fact that it was retrofitted with the shielding after it was produced concerns me.

I would be concerned if I learned that my brand-new car had had its motor replaced. My impression has been that my car dealer generally breaks one or two things for every problem that he fixes. Is the quality control of the LG retrofitting shop identical to the quality control at the factory?

 

[craig1410]

If you don't need the 5K and want a 27 inch display that is "head and shoulders" above the LG in panel quality, aesthetic design, warranty (5 years) and has a rich matte screen and is made in Japan using high quality components (versus China for the LG) check out the Eizo EV2750, EV2780 or CS2730. I returned my flawed LG Ultrafine 5K and bought the Eizo EV2750. Very glad I passed on the LG.

Here is a review of the Eizo EV2750:

The Eizo 2750 comes in black which coordinates well with my 15" Space Grey late 2016 MBP and also in white as shown in the video review.

Perhaps you could explain why this display is "head and shoulders" above the LG? I've just had a look at the specs and it's pretty "meh" from what I could see. It's got just 25% of the pixels of the LG and is only 70% as bright. It also only supports 8-bit colour compared to 10-bit on the LG.

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware of Eizo's reputation and I'm sure this is a decent display but I can't imagine many people going back to a 2560x1440mdisplay once they've experienced a Retina display at this size.
[doublepost=1491083238][/doublepost]

No, the fact that it was retrofitted with the shielding after it was produced concerns me.

I would be concerned if I learned that my brand-new car had had its motor replaced. My impression has been that my car dealer generally breaks one or two things for every problem that he fixes. Is the quality control of the LG retrofitting shop identical to the quality control at the factory?

It might well be better QC than at the factory.

Typically only a small percentage of units going through a manufacturing process will receive a full quality inspection. This percentage will tend to start higher and then gradually reduce as the overall quality indicators improve. So it might start out at 50% but reduce to 10% or even 5% as the production process matures and is improved.

With a third party rework, especially one for a high profile customer such as Apple, the QC inspection rate is likely to have started at 100% because essentially this would be treated as a brand new production process. A lot depends on the 3rd party involved in the rework but having previously (1997-2001) been the process engineer in charge of repairing LCD displays for Apple, IBM, Compaq, HP and various others, I have some insight into the QC levels expected. They were pretty high back around 2000 and I expect are even higher today.

My advice is simply to carefully inspect the display and satisfy yourself that it is cosmetically and functionaly in order.

 

[MNJohn]

Perhaps you could explain why this display is "head and shoulders" above the LG? I've just had a look at the specs and it's pretty "meh" from what I could see. It's got just 25% of the pixels of the LG and is only 70% as bright. It also only supports 8-bit colour compared to 10-bit on the LG.

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware of Eizo's reputation and I'm sure this is a decent display but I can't imagine many people going back to a 2560x1440mdisplay once they've experienced a Retina display at this size.
[doublepost=1491083238][/doublepost]
It might well be better QC than at the factory.

Typically only a small percentage of units going through a manufacturing process will receive a full quality inspection. This percentage will tend to start higher and then gradually reduce as the overall quality indicators improve. So it might start out at 50% but reduce to 10% or even 5% as the production process matures and is improved.

With a third party rework, especially one for a high profile customer such as Apple, the QC inspection rate is likely to have started at 100% because essentially this would be treated as a brand new production process. A lot depends on the 3rd party involved in the rework but having previously (1997-2001) been the process engineer in charge of repairing LCD displays for Apple, IBM, Compaq, HP and various others, I have some insight into the QC levels expected. They were pretty high back around 2000 and I expect are even higher today.

My advice is simply to carefully inspect the display and satisfy yourself that it is cosmetically and functionaly in order.

In short, my purchase of the Eizo versus the LG 5K is the same reason I chose to purchase a Mercedes rather than a simiar Hyundai with more HP, chrome, etc; excellence in engineering, materials and manufacture.

LG makes great OLED TVs, I own two, but their LCD TVs are "meh" to be generous. Unfortunately, in my experience, their monitors (4K and 5K) seem to be a step below that.

And 2560x1440 is pretty much the sweet spot for a 27 inch display...5K resolution not so much.

 

[craig1410]

In short, my purchase of the Eizo versus the LG 5K is the same reason I chose to purchase a Mercedes rather than a simiar Hyundai with more HP, chrome, etc; excellence in engineering, materials and manufacture.

LG makes great OLED TVs, I own two, but their LCD TVs are "meh" to be generous. Unfortunately, in my experience, their monitors (4K and 5K) seem to be a step below that.

And 2560x1440 is pretty much the sweet spot for a 27 inch display...5K resolution not so much.

Ah so you bought it for the badge - I understand. 😛

As the owner of a BMW 535d and an i3, and as someone who built his own road legal sportscar (not from a kit), I understand engineering pretty well. Unfortunately I think the Mercedes you speak of was lost a few decades ago but I take your point. There is a counterpoint though, in that part of the "price" of a well known branded product is purely for the badge. Personally I'd rather have the substance than the marketing, especially for a brand which is IMO trading on past performance.

Unfortunately in the world of LCD displays there are very few manufacturers of panels and LG is one of the main players. The quality of the panel they provide comes down to the economics of the product it will be fitted to. In this regard, LG have much more scope to include a high-end LCD panel in a $1300 product than Eizo have in a product which is around 60% of that figure. No doubt there is a bit of a premium in the LG product due to the uniqueness of it at this point, but I think the LG panel is excellent. I also far prefer the look of the back of the LG display compared to the Eizo which looks like a bit of a dog's dinner to be honest, with exposed metalwork around the clunky connectors. If you care about good engineering then I'm sure you appreciate the importance of the bits you don't look see everyday as well...

On your final point, 2560x1440 logical resolution is indeed the sweet spot for 27" but the 5K monitor allows you to use 4 physical pixels for every logical pixels which is what gives the retina display its gorgeous image quality.

Anyway, glad you like your Eizo as much as I like my LG 5K's. Win-win.

 

[MNJohn]

Ah so you bought it for the badge - I understand. 😛

As the owner of a BMW 535d and an i3, and as someone who built his own road legal sportscar (not from a kit), I understand engineering pretty well. Unfortunately I think the Mercedes you speak of was lost a few decades ago but I take your point. There is a counterpoint though, in that part of the "price" of a well known branded product is purely for the badge. Personally I'd rather have the substance than the marketing, especially for a brand which is IMO trading on past performance.

Unfortunately in the world of LCD displays there are very few manufacturers of panels and LG is one of the main players. The quality of the panel they provide comes down to the economics of the product it will be fitted to. In this regard, LG have much more scope to include a high-end LCD panel in a $1300 product than Eizo have in a product which is around 60% of that figure. No doubt there is a bit of a premium in the LG product due to the uniqueness of it at this point, but I think the LG panel is excellent. I also far prefer the look of the back of the LG display compared to the Eizo which looks like a bit of a dog's dinner to be honest, with exposed metalwork around the clunky connectors. If you care about good engineering then I'm sure you appreciate the importance of the bits you don't look see everyday as well...

On your final point, 2560x1440 logical resolution is indeed the sweet spot for 27" but the 5K monitor allows you to use 4 physical pixels for every logical pixels which is what gives the retina display its gorgeous image quality.

Anyway, glad you like your Eizo as much as I like my LG 5K's. Win-win.

Check out the crash test results, and reliability, of a current BMW vs. Mercedes.....

 

[craig1410]

Check out the crash test results, and reliability, of a current BMW vs. Mercedes.....

I honestly don't care about artificial crash results and my 535d is still going strong after 8 years and 130k miles having been maintained by myself since 72k miles. The i3 is stunningly well engineered. Check out the videos on youtube of "BMW i3 production" if interested.

I wasn't suggesting BMW was better than Mercedes by the way as BMW was always branded as a drivers car and Mercedes was supposed to be premium quality. That was true in the 1990's and before perhaps but not recently.

Have a look at: http://www.reliabilityindex.com
Merc have 4 models in the bottom 10, including the S-Class! Only 1 in the top 10 which puts them level with Hyundai of all things. BMW are only a couple of places ahead of Merc according to this chart with plenty of other manufacturers above both of them: http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

Anyway, getting off topic a bit so we should probably restrain ourselves from further car discussion. Thanks for the chat.

 

[Brookzy]

Anyyyyywayyyyyyy...

The prices have indeed gone up on the LG displays and all other USB-C accessories from Apple.

But looking online for other retailers and at second hand prices, there appears to be sellers around who have bulk purchased refurbished UltraFine 4K and 5K displays from LG and are reselling for cut down prices - more than 50% off compared with the new prices.

I have contacted one seller, and they say that they've had the Wi-Fi shielding retrofitted.

With this in mind, recall that many posters have commented in various threads that they recently bought displays direct from Apple and received unsealed boxes - i.e. probably retrofitted stock.

I would think it highly likely that this is from identical stock sources as is available from the bulk refurb sellers.

I've took a punt on a second 4K monitor for myself, considering the low price. Will report back on the quality. If it is any good, I might pick up one or two 5K displays, too, in anticipation of updated iMacs.

Worth considering for anyone still in the market.

 

[Majikthese42]

It might well be better QC than at the factory.

Typically only a small percentage of units going through a manufacturing process will receive a full quality inspection. This percentage will tend to start higher and then gradually reduce as the overall quality indicators improve. So it might start out at 50% but reduce to 10% or even 5% as the production process matures and is improved.

With a third party rework, especially one for a high profile customer such as Apple, the QC inspection rate is likely to have started at 100% because essentially this would be treated as a brand new production process. A lot depends on the 3rd party involved in the rework but having previously (1997-2001) been the process engineer in charge of repairing LCD displays for Apple, IBM, Compaq, HP and various others, I have some insight into the QC levels expected. They were pretty high back around 2000 and I expect are even higher today.

My advice is simply to carefully inspect the display and satisfy yourself that it is cosmetically and functionaly in order.

If LG modifies the displays after they are built, but prior to delivery to the customer, they are not considered refurbished units? How does Apple handle the same scenario? I checked Apple's refurbished store and they did not list any displays for sale at all. What became of the two displays that I returned?

Just to muddy the waters further, my car dealer who generally breaks at least one item for every one that he fixes is (of course) a BMW dealer. My wife and daughter are saner people who drive Hondas and the dealer never seems to create additional problems but those cars rarely need to go back to the dealer. The BMW's additional cost and problems are worth it on most days (to me) because of the BMW is more fun to drive, but this is a computer display we're talking about.

I was using a 27 inch Thunderbolt display alongside my first two LG 5Ks and when they were up and running correctly and for my purposes I couldn't tell too much difference.

Still, I'd feel better about it if the warranty on the LG were 3 years or 5 years instead of 1 year.

Plan to leave it in the shipping carton for now. I might wait out some of the 2 week return period and see if I can exchange it for a 703 or 704 at the Apple Store.

 

[MNJohn]

?....I also far prefer the look of the back of the LG display compared to the Eizo which looks like a bit of a dog's dinner to be honest, with exposed metalwork around the clunky connectors. If you care about good engineering then I'm sure you appreciate the importance of the bits you don't look see everyday as well...

Sorry, I just caught this and had a bit of a chuckle. The aesthetics I generally compare are the fronts of the displays since that is generally the way I view the display.

 

[craig1410]

Sorry, I just caught this and had a bit of a chuckle. The aesthetics I generally compare are the fronts of the displays since that is generally the way I view the display.

Is that how you view your Mercedes? The best bits of engineering are the bits you can't see. Anyway...

If LG modifies the displays after they are built, but prior to delivery to the customer, they are not considered refurbished units? How does Apple handle the same scenario? I checked Apple's refurbished store and they did not list any displays for sale at all. What became of the two displays that I returned?

Just to muddy the waters further, my car dealer who generally breaks at least one item for every one that he fixes is (of course) a BMW dealer. My wife and daughter are saner people who drive Hondas and the dealer never seems to create additional problems but those cars rarely need to go back to the dealer. The BMW's additional cost and problems are worth it on most days (to me) because of the BMW is more fun to drive, but this is a computer display we're talking about.

I was using a 27 inch Thunderbolt display alongside my first two LG 5Ks and when they were up and running correctly and for my purposes I couldn't tell too much difference.

Still, I'd feel better about it if the warranty on the LG were 3 years or 5 years instead of 1 year.

Plan to leave it in the shipping carton for now. I might wait out some of the 2 week return period and see if I can exchange it for a 703 or 704 at the Apple Store.

I think we've had enough car anecdotes today so I'll skip that bit. Actually what I would say is think about maintaining your car yourself, especially as it gets older. That's what people used to do and it's still perfectly possible. It can be fun and you save yourself quite a bit of money at the same time.

If you have an LG 5K display sitting in a box, why not just get it out of the box and use it for 14 days instead of wondering if it might or might not be okay? If it's not okay then send it back. If it is okay then keep it. If you're not going to even try it then save some time and send it back now. You don't lose anything by giving it a try.

Oh, and if LG apply a rework to a display which has not been shipped to a customer then I don't think that constitutes a refurbished unit. In fact it is an upgraded unit which has never been sold or owned.

 

[MNJohn]

If LG modifies the displays after they are built, but prior to delivery to the customer, they are not considered refurbished units? How does Apple handle the same scenario? I checked Apple's refurbished store and they did not list any displays for sale at all. What became of the two displays that I returned?

Just to muddy the waters further, my car dealer who generally breaks at least one item for every one that he fixes is (of course) a BMW dealer. My wife and daughter are saner people who drive Hondas and the dealer never seems to create additional problems but those cars rarely need to go back to the dealer. The BMW's additional cost and problems are worth it on most days (to me) because of the BMW is more fun to drive, but this is a computer display we're talking about.

I was using a 27 inch Thunderbolt display alongside my first two LG 5Ks and when they were up and running correctly and for my purposes I couldn't tell too much difference.

Still, I'd feel better about it if the warranty on the LG were 3 years or 5 years instead of 1 year.

Plan to leave it in the shipping carton for now. I might wait out some of the 2 week return period and see if I can exchange it for a 703 or 704 at the Apple Store.

I agree. If I'm paying full retail, I want product that left the factory correct, not a sub-standard version retrofitted by an unknown third party.

 

[ZMacintosh]

Oh, and if LG apply a rework to a display which has not been shipped to a customer then I don't think that constitutes a refurbished unit. In fact it is an upgraded unit which has never been sold or owned.

To me that is essentially one side of refurbishment. If not entirely a meaning to refurbishing a device. It is modified of the original manufacturing process and not a unit manufactured to spec.

 

[samven582]

Hello LG 5k owners. I just got mine a few days and love it. However, I am thinking about exchanging mine because it suffers from a yellow tint on the bottom and upper left corner. Has anybody else experience this issue?

 

[Brookzy]

Anyyyyywayyyyyyy...

The prices have indeed gone up on the LG displays and all other USB-C accessories from Apple.

But looking online for other retailers and at second hand prices, there appears to be sellers around who have bulk purchased refurbished UltraFine 4K and 5K displays from LG and are reselling for cut down prices - more than 50% off compared with the new prices.

I have contacted one seller, and they say that they've had the Wi-Fi shielding retrofitted.

With this in mind, recall that many posters have commented in various threads that they recently bought displays direct from Apple and received unsealed boxes - i.e. probably retrofitted stock.

I would think it highly likely that this is from identical stock sources as is available from the bulk refurb sellers.

I've took a punt on a second 4K monitor for myself, considering the low price. Will report back on the quality. If it is any good, I might pick up one or two 5K displays, too, in anticipation of updated iMacs.

Worth considering for anyone still in the market.

Update: Display arrived and it's great - just as good as the one I got straight from Apple. Unfortunately it came with a Thunderbolt 3 cable rather than a USB-C cable by mistake. Hopefully the seller will send me the correct cable. But, at better than half price, it seems a no brainer. The 5K beckons...

 

[alFR]

Update: Display arrived and it's great - just as good as the one I got straight from Apple. Unfortunately it came with a Thunderbolt 3 cable rather than a USB-C cable by mistake. Hopefully the seller will send me the correct cable. But, at better than half price, it seems a no brainer. The 5K beckons...

Any chance of a link to one or more of the places selling these?
Edit: found 2 on Ebay here and here, but the item description is just a cut and paste from apple.com and if you check the seller details they are different names but have the same address in Runcorn, looks a bit dodgy to me.

 

[Brookzy]

Any chance of a link to one or more of the places selling these?

I think a direct link might be against the forum rules, however it is easily found (in the UK that is) on a certain well-known auction site.

 

[iBrooker]

Anybody want mine? 😛

I've been given the option to send it back or take a goodwill gesture £50 discount (I am sending my MBP back and waiting 6 to 8 months for Kaby Lake). I was going to keep this monitor but I think I would just prefer 32" (possibly the 32UD99 from LG which is coming out in the next month or so).

I've had 3 of these and this one (the original one) is by far the best - the whites are a 'brilliant white' and the brightness is insane (brighter than the other two I've had). I commented a while back that I thought my box had been opened to manually 'tweak' my unit as it was one of if not the first unit shipped in the UK - it's certainly been significantly better than the other two I've had.

What to do...

 

[jimthing]

Anybody want mine? 😛

I've been given the option to send it back or take a goodwill gesture £50 discount (I am sending my MBP back and waiting 6 to 8 months for Kaby Lake). I was going to keep this monitor but I think I would just prefer 32" (possibly the 32UD99 from LG which is coming out in the next month or so).

I've had 3 of these and this one (the original one) is by far the best - the whites are a 'brilliant white' and the brightness is insane (brighter than the other two I've had). I commented a while back that I thought my box had been opened to manually 'tweak' my unit as it was one of if not the first unit shipped in the UK - it's certainly been significantly better than the other two I've had.

What to do...

How can you return the MBP and 5K and get £50...again and again?
[doublepost=1491260205][/doublepost]BTW, I have a spare LG 5K active Thunderbolt cable available for sale (no others at 2m, 40Gbps, 85w power are available yet).
You can't buy them from LG either – I tried to get one last week, and LG said not selling spares of these.

Anyone want another of these great cables, then let me know asap.

 

[iBrooker]

How can you return the MBP and 5K and get £50...again and again?

First two Macs sent back because I decided to change spec. 3rd and 4th sent back because of issues. 5th one has a tiny mark, slightly rough edges (air vents), HD speed not quite as fast but I could actually live with it, but, because it's taken so long to 'get right' I think I would be mad to keep it now and not wait the 6 months or so for Kaby Lake. I am out most of the summer anyway so it won't get as much use.

Same with monitor - I wanted to see if a replacement would be better, then had another, then they said they would let me hang on a bit until LG sorted out the issue.

He actually offered to take back the monitor as well even without knowing it had been changed and I was still due another change; I think they realise it is a massive outlay (certainly the most I have ever spent on a computer) and they are (rightfully) anxious about leaving any unsatisfied or upset customers. I will buy again at the end of the year so they're not going to lose out 🙂

(PS forgot to say I had to buy two Macs at a time on some occasions as otherwise I'd have been left without a Mac - they can only do replacements for exact spec)

 

[Brookzy]

(no others at 2m, 40Gbps, 85w power are available yet)

[Sorry to be a PITA but CalDigit have had 2 metre 100W 40Gbps TB3 cables available for a while now.]

 

[jimthing]

[Sorry to be a PITA but CalDigit have had 2 metre 100W 40Gbps TB3 cables available for a while now.]

Sure. But that one's had terrible reviews. Hence it's priced at 50-60 quid, rather than around the 120 quid the LG senior rep told me they would be charging in 6-9 months time when they do eventually sell their version of the cable as spares.

I'd offer it for a bit less than that.

 

[Brookzy]

Sure. But that one's had terrible reviews. Hence it's priced at 50-60 quid, rather than around the 120 quid the LG senior rep told me they would be charging in 6-9 months time when they do eventually sell their version of the cable as spares.

I'd offer it for a bit less than that.

If you think you'll get near to £120 for that cable then more power to you, but there is nothing special about it, and it's a bit disingenuous to say no others are available if you were aware of the CalDigit (most of whose reviews are by people wrongly thinking it is a fully-functioning USB-C cable, by the way).

 

[MNJohn]

Sure. But that one's had terrible reviews. Hence it's priced at 50-60 quid, rather than around the 120 quid the LG senior rep told me they would be charging in 6-9 months time when they do eventually sell their version of the cable as spares.

I'd offer it for a bit less than that.

Does GBP120 include a refurbished display? 😉

 

[MrX8503]

And 2560x1440 is pretty much the sweet spot for a 27 inch display...5K resolution not so much.

It's surprising that people don't understand how retina works. 5K retina on a 27" display has the exact same size text as a non retina 1440p 27" screen.

No one is running the LG 5K at native 5K resolution.

With that in mind, 5K is the perfect resolution for a 27" display. With 1440p, it's fuzzy, with 4K you get oddball scaling. Apple has thought this through.