LG Ultrafine 6K announced

[the future]

German review:

Test LG UltraFine evo 32 Zoll 6K: Günstige Alternative zum Pro Display XDR, oder das bessere Studio Display?

Mit dem UltraFine evo 32 Zoll 6K bietet LG einen 32“-Monitor an, der sich als günstige Alternative zu Apples Pro Display XDR anbietet. Oder als Steigerung zum Apple Studio Display mit 27“. Aber kann der 2.000-Euro-Monitor diesen Anspruch auch erfüllen? Der REWIND-Praxistest klärt auf.

www.mactechnews.de

Power utilization:

View attachment 2579905

The LG 6K consumes much, much less power during sleep vs. the Apple Studio Display, but much more power in use.

In the comments to that review, it was clarified that the 12W for the sleeping Studio Display is a bug that was introduced with a recent macOS update, so there is hope it will be fixed.

 

[thenewepic]

The iPhone 17 Pro doesn’t support Thunderbolt either, and the hub does work with USB 3

your Macbook doesn't work with the hub at all, even simple usb ports don't work? Which macOS version is installed there?

 

[EugW]

your Macbook doesn't work with the hub at all, even simple usb ports don't work? Which macOS version is installed there?

The 2017 12" MacBook does work with that Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 hub, albeit only in USB 3 mode. It's running Ventura. For example, my USB 3 Lexar 256 GB flash drive shows up fine through the hub, as does my Samsung T7 external SSD.



However, neither USB-C->DisplayPort nor USB-C->HDMI work through the hub to the LG 6K even though the same hub works for those with my iPhone 17 Pro. Oh well, no big loss. I rarely use that laptop with external screens, and it can't output more than 4K anyway.

 

[EugW]

SSD tests - Qwiizlab AS Media 2464PD chipset enclosure with Samsung 990 Pro SSD
Machine is M4 Mac mini, with Plugable Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 hub, and LG 6K monitor connected through Thunderbolt 4.

SSD directly connected to M4 Mac mini via Thunderbolt 4. SSD detected as USB 4, runs higher power. Fastest speed.

View attachment 2574677

View attachment 2574680

SSD connected through Plugable Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 hub. SSD detected as Thunderbolt 3, runs lower power. A bit slower.

View attachment 2574678

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SSD connected through LG 6K via Thunderbolt 4. SSD detected as USB 4, runs higher power. Half speed write, full read.

View attachment 2574679

View attachment 2574681

I wonder if the write performance would be better if the monitor were connected to a Thunderbolt 5 Mac.

Interesting. For that Thunderbolt output port, if you substitute in the LG-supplied USB-C cable instead of their Thunderbolt 5 cable or a Thunderbolt 4 cable, it appears to be able to support Gen 2x2 20 Gbps, which I didn't think Macs generally supported (without an external hub). Caveat: I'm not sure what the difference is between USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps and USB 4 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps.

The drive is still seen as USB 4 but without 40 Gbps speeds, and for my external SSD, measured power utilization is lower.





In my previous post you'll if I used a Thunderbolt cable, the read speed was ~3100 MB/s.

 

[thenewepic]

The 2017 12" MacBook does work with that Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 hub, albeit only in USB 3 mode

ok, that's expected.

However, neither USB-C->DisplayPort nor USB-C->HDMI work through the hub to the LG 6K

but this is something I wouldn't expect. The Macbook supports only DP 1.2 and there are only two (out of 4) lanes of HBR2 available to use simultaneously with USB 3. Thus, 4K60 is not possible but 4K30 or 1080p60 should work. Is there some issue with particular monitor model? We can only guess...

if you substitute in the LG-supplied USB-C cable instead of their Thunderbolt 5 cable or a Thunderbolt 4 cable, it appears to be able to support Gen 2x2 20 Gbps, which I didn't think Macs generally supported (without an external hub)

it's not USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps, it is USB4 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps. Built-in USB ports on Macs don't support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 but USB4 Gen 2x2 is a part of USB4 standard so it is supported by every USB4-compatible device.

I'm not sure what the difference is between USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps and USB 4 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps

it's complicated. Basically, USB 3 and USB4 are very different standards. The "4" in "USB4" is not even a version number anymore, it's a part of the standard's name. USB4 even with speed of 20 Gbps supports the same features as "full speed" USB4: PCIe and DisplayPort tunneling, networking, TB compatibility etc.

 

[EugW]

but this is something I wouldn't expect. The Macbook supports only DP 1.2 and there are only two (out of 4) lanes of HBR2 available to use simultaneously with USB 3. Thus, 4K60 is not possible but 4K30 or 1080p60 should work. Is there some issue with particular monitor model? We can only guess...

There is a DP 1.2 compatibility mode on the LG 6K monitor, but I hadn't bothered to try it since I want at least DP 1.4 on that DisplayPort input for 6K support with my more recent hardware. And switching from DP 2.1 compatibility mode to DP 1.4 compatibility mode makes no difference in behaviour for any of my machines.

it's complicated. Basically, USB 3 and USB4 are very different standards. The "4" in "USB4" is not even a version number anymore, it's a part of the standard's name.

Are the speeds of the cables chip-identified?

I want to buy a couple of cables to run as USB 4, but at 20 Gbps. I specifically do NOT want them to run at 40 Gbps. IOW, if I buy USB-IF certified 20 Gbps cables, will they be capped at 20 Gbps? The reason I ask is because some USB 4 / Thunderbolt SSD enclosures can run warm at 40 Gbps, especially with the higher performance SSDs. Capping them to 20 Gbps is an easy way to limit heat production while still maintaining adequate speed for some usage scenarios.

USB4 even with speed of 20 Gbps supports the same features as "full speed" USB4: PCIe and DisplayPort tunneling, networking, TB compatibility etc.

This is great, because USB 4 is far more stable on macOS than USB 3 for external drives. With some USB 3 drives, I would occasionally get issues with wake from sleep, with error messages telling me after wake up that the drive was not ejected properly. This issue has completely disappeared with 40 Gbps USB 4 and Thunderbolt, and so far it appears it's also a non-issue with 20 Gbps USB 4 too. Also I don't know if USB 3 SSDs support TRIM yet in macOS.

 

[thenewepic]

I want to buy a couple of cables to run as USB 4, but at 20 Gbps. I specifically do NOT want them to run at 40 Gbps

just buy a 24-pin USB 3 cable, they usually labeled as USB 3 10Gbps or USB 3 20Gbps.

Are the speeds of the cables chip-identified?

I believe 40+ Gbps needs a chip for identification, but 20 Gbps should work with any decent 24-pin cable. I even have basic no-name full pin cable labeled as USB 3 10Gbps and it works in USB4 20Gbps mode with my Apple devices.