The LG UltraFine 5K has a 2560 x 1440 60Hz timing (234.590 MHz) which should work. Try connecting it after the computer boots?
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LG UltraFine 5K - Owners Thread
- Thread starter iBrooker
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I assume you tried the Mirror Displays option and went through all of the Scaled resolutions.
trojans10
macrumors newbie
I just tried - the monitor stays black - although my 2012 macbook pro knows I'm connected. LG manager says software is all up to date as well. Just seems my monitor doesn't power on when I connect my thunderbolt cable to my laptop. I'm open to ideas. Would love to get this to work in the interim 🙂 Its a mid 2012 macbook pro.
The macbook is essentially on when I connect to the monitor. I just plug my thunderbolt cable and it should technically turn the monitor on. What happens is, my macbook pro recognizes the monitor, but it doesn't display anything. Stays black. Whereas when I plug the 2019 in, it recognizes it, and the monitor displays.
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ZMacintosh
macrumors 68000
on your screenshot, in the left image with the UltraFine 5K display settings, can you check the Best for LG UltraFine 5K button? You have it selected on your MacBook display settings, but that can be set to whatever resolution you want the MacBook internal display to be set to.
If you have an external keyboard and mouse, shut the lid of the MacBook with the LG UF5K connected and try.
Apple's compatibility is somewhat vague but states that any MacBook Pro with a thunderbolt 2 port with the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter should work.
I am thinking about getting the UltraFine 5K and I read about the different model numbers of the current version here. If I buy the display directly from Apple, am I guaranteed to get the latest model of the 5K line (e.g. the 27MD5KL-B, if I am not mistaken)?
Is there anything else I need to know about the display before buying it? I am looking for the most seamless Mac integration, so this is the one display I was always lead back to.
Is there anything else I need to know about the display before buying it? I am looking for the most seamless Mac integration, so this is the one display I was always lead back to.
ZMacintosh
macrumors 68000
Use the LG UltraFine 5K Display with your Mac or iPad Pro ...support.apple.com › en-us
You definitely should get the latest version from Apple, outside of the model number, the newer UltraFine's 23" and 27" contain a USB-C cable for use with iPads and MacBooks, which would be another indicator.
trojans10
macrumors newbie
Curious, just bought the new macbook pro 13in. I got the top of the line version. It says on the website that the new 13 only supports one 5k monitor at a time, or 2 4ks. If I were to couple another monitor with my 5k (as my main monitor) does anyone have any good suggestions? And will it work having a 5k + another monitor? If so, any suggestions? Mainly would use it for web dev, coding, and busy work. I'm assuming any monitor would work as long as its not 5k, if i'm not mistaken.
Thanks!
Thanks!
The 5K monitor it is referring to is a LG UltraFine 5K or similar which uses two DisplayPort signals (one for the left half and one for the right half of the display) over Thunderbolt.
The Intel graphics only supports 3 displays including the internal display, so only two external displays are supported (or one if it is the LG UltraFine 5K or similar).
The new MacBook Pro 13" has gen 11 graphics (make sure you're getting the 10th gen CPU), so it can support DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC so it should be able to support two XDR displays at 6K 60Hz except that it might be too many pixels for the iGPU (the tech specs say it is not supported).
The Iiyama Prolite 5120x2880 display has the same number of pixels as the iMac Retina display or LG UltraFine 5K. It supports DisplayPort 1.4 (HBR3) for 8 bpc RGB color (dual HBR2 of DisplayPort 1.2 has more bandwidth than single HBR3 so the LG and iMac can support 10 bpc RGB). Anyway, since the Iiyama is a single cable display, it might let you connect two of them, or one of them and a 4K. But maybe 5K is too many pixels to allow another display (Apple needs to make a distinction between dual link SST 5K display and single link SST 5K display).
There are single link 5120x2160 (more pixels than 4K but less than 5K) or 5120x1440 (less pixels than 4K) displays. They could not work with earlier gen Intel graphics but may be able to work with the gen 11 graphics of 10th gen CPU. I don't know if they'll allow a second display because the tech specs are unclear. It is electrically possible since the displays only require a single DisplayPort signal (maybe the hardware cannot do it because the extra width requires more bandwidth/resources).
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I tried two 5Ks on the 2020 MacBook Air. Only one would come up. Work-around is to run them at 4K but is not reliable. I used two TB2-TB3 adapters in series on one to force it to 4K. If that one came up first then the second one to connect would also do 4K.
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I tried the Planar IX2790 27" 5K (equivalent to the Ilyama) and sent two back as one was DOA and the other had hundreds of stuck pixels. Word has it that both Planar and Ilyama use Apple's rejects and it shows.
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I tried the Planar IX2790 27" 5K (equivalent to the Ilyama) and sent two back as one was DOA and the other had hundreds of stuck pixels. Word has it that both Planar and Ilyama use Apple's rejects and it shows.
I guess you need four TB2-TB3 adapters to make sure both come up as 4K (or connect one at a time which is what you want to avoid by using the TB2-TB3 adapter). Cheapest option is to use a USB-C cable that does not allow 40 Gbps Thunderbolt (I think long USB-C cables are limited to 20 Gbps).
They might be garbage, but were you able to get two of them to work at 5K with the MacBook Air 2020.
The MacBook Pro 13 inch has the same Gen 10 CPU with 11th gen graphics as the MacBook Pro 13 inch except the MacBook Pro 13 inch is faster (and higher power?). 10.15.4 has AppleIntelICLLPGraphicsFramebuffer.kext driver (ICL = Ice Lake) which I guess is used by the MacBook Air 2020 and I guess LP stands for Low Power. Does the MacBook Pro 13 inch use the same one or is there an HP (high power) version (not included in 10.15.4)?
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ZMacintosh
macrumors 68000
If you are sticking with LG UltraFine's one 5K and one 4K should work, plugged in on each side.
c0ppo
macrumors 68000
I've promised to post here if X1E (2nd gen) works with LG Ultrafine 5K. So I've booted into ubuntu, and it works like a charm. No additional settings or messing around needed. It just works as intended. Now I really do have an awesome setup 🙂
I’m also thinking about buying an LG UltraFine 5K Display for my MacBook Pro 2017 with i7.
can this setup work? Especially performance wise? I wanna use it in ClamShell Mode and don’t wanna suffer huge performance drops like I read on other sites/forums
any advice?
can this setup work? Especially performance wise? I wanna use it in ClamShell Mode and don’t wanna suffer huge performance drops like I read on other sites/forums
any advice?
Use the LG UltraFine 5K Display with your Mac or iPad - Apple Support
Learn about the LG UltraFine 5K Display and how to use it with your Mac or iPad.
That model is supported. I use it with a 2018 MBP 13" and the 2017 has a similar GPU, so you should be fine. I run clamshell all the time with no issues.
Close to zero. LG updated the line last year and this is a low volume product for them. Apple has their XDR display and doesn't seem interested in creating any new Mac peripherals.
As with all Apple products, it's impossible to say, but there have not been any rumors that I have seen about a new monitor or refresh. As saulinpa said, they just refreshed the UltraFine 5K monitor to support the new MacBook Pro power requirements. Likely a safe time to buy. Enjoy!
bitfactory
macrumors 6502
I loved my LG 5K UltraFine for the last few years, but it's now suffering from the image retention problem. I'm a fullstack iOS dev, so when I'm in Designer mode it's a major annoyance. It started the end of 2019 and it's getting worse.
Not sure what my next move is. I enjoyed this monitor for years -- besides the monitor not always waking up when I would wake the computer (5% of the time, maybe), it's be a good performer. Not sure if I'll buy another (if I can find one), or try something else. It's just gotta have the ppi density that this bad boy had.
I wish Apple would just create a 2000-2500 5K version of the XDR in 27" and get it over with.
Not sure what my next move is. I enjoyed this monitor for years -- besides the monitor not always waking up when I would wake the computer (5% of the time, maybe), it's be a good performer. Not sure if I'll buy another (if I can find one), or try something else. It's just gotta have the ppi density that this bad boy had.
I wish Apple would just create a 2000-2500 5K version of the XDR in 27" and get it over with.
oppastopa
macrumors member
You could see if there is an LG repair center somewhere around your area. I am about to do the same to fix the retention in mine, just need a back up in the meantime. I think they charge something like 150$usd for the fix.
- rob -
macrumors 65816
This is basically what I'm asking about in this thread. It feels like there is not much in the high end consumer side of display tech right now. That's a lot of programmers who have to pick through 4ks. I tried an ultra-wide Dell U3818DW display but the lower PPI was so bad I sent it back the same day. I just boxed it back up and was like yeet!
What machine do you pair with the Ultrafine for iOS dev? I hope you can get it repaired.
I like this site's ranking of PPI on desktop monitors. I also write software (enterprise SaaS apps) and PPI is king for me. I've been using the P2715Q for several years and it is really amazing, it is still #15 on the PPI list even though it was released in 2014! I think there's a review of the P2715Q on Amazon that describes it as an instant classic.
It is very weird how slow display tech has moved forward. Almost like we're on the verge of a complete shift in interaction. Here's looking at you unreleased Apple glasses.
Even with some next-gen head mounted display tech, it is almost hard to believe it will be better than a large 5k flat screen for many hours or programming.
And having upgraded so much of my workstation, I'm ready to take the monitor up to 5k, and am near pulling the trigger on a brand new UltraFine 5k, possibly direct from Apple.
I do wish Apple would sell their own branded monitor like the Cinema but 5k. Essentially a true Apple version of this LG screen without the Mac attached. I would pay much more for an Apple-designed product.
Hien Nguyen
macrumors newbie
it's great. I have x1 E gen 2 and I'm wondering to buy a LG 5k. Does the fan on the laptop turn like crazy when you connect to the LG 5k monitor? How is the temperature of GPU and CPU ?
c0ppo
macrumors 68000
Doing just regular tasks, fans don't spin up at all. But I've undervolted by 127mv, and I'm using Ubuntu.
By pushing laptop hard, fans spin up regardless. Can't speak for under Windows 10. CPU is around 55c, GPU is around 52. Without LG 5K connected, GPU is around 45, and CPU is around 52c. So a mild increase in GPU, but nothing major.