Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Macbook Air 2020 - 4K Screen?

I

iandk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 10, 2019
162
65
Hi,

Has anyone tried running an external 4K monitor with the 2020 MacBook Air? I‘m thinking about the i5/8GB model.
Ideally in a scaled mode.


Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saul Giordani
I run mine on a Dell 27" 4K display at 2560x1440. I haven't seen any issues with it or any fan spin because of it. I have the i7 16GB version. One thing I'm not clear on with Intel GPU's is if the new G7 uses shared memory from RAM in MacOS If so, is there a performance difference between 8GB and 16GB. Hopefully some others will be able to answer that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KPOM
rklaver said:
I run mine on a Dell 27" 4K display at 2560x1440. I haven't seen any issues with it or any fan spin because of it. I have the i7 16GB version. One thing I'm not clear on with Intel GPU's is if the new G7 uses shared memory from RAM in MacOS If so, is there a performance difference between 8GB and 16GB. Hopefully some others will be able to answer that.
Click to expand...

How is your experience running 4k scaled w/ the MacBook Air? Are there any stutters or performance issues? And is the image quality really sharp or can you notice jaggies w/ the scaling?
 
iandk said:
Hi,

Has anyone tried running an external 4K monitor with the 2020 MacBook Air? I‘m thinking about the i5/8GB model.
Ideally in a scaled mode.


Thanks!
Click to expand...
Yes. It works fine. I bought a 15.6” 4K monitor for my (hopefully temporary) home office. I used it with my MacBook Air (i7) over the weekend and it worked as well, if not better than my Windows PC (HP EliteBook with 8th gen i7 28w processor).
[automerge]1586222902[/automerge]
SwizaMilitia said:
How is your experience running 4k scaled w/ the MacBook Air? Are there any stutters or performance issues? And is the image quality really sharp or can you notice jaggies w/ the scaling?
Click to expand...
Scaling is excellent on macOS. That’s a key strength over Windows X. On the latter, I still have issues with dialog boxes having tiny text. With macOS the retina scaling is flawless.
 
SwizaMilitia said:
How is your experience running 4k scaled w/ the MacBook Air? Are there any stutters or performance issues? And is the image quality really sharp or can you notice jaggies w/ the scaling?
Click to expand...

Nope, no stuttering or performance issue. The image quality looks the same as my 15in MBP. However I mostly ran it mirrored. This will change since I start a class tonight over Zoom in which case I'll switch it over to run both screens. I'll report back if there are any issues.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dopestar
So I definitely rode the Air hard today (IMO). 36 people on a Zoom class and the same people including myself all modifying content in Mural, which is a browser based collaborative whiteboard ( I was using Safari). The little fan was singing when we started using Mural but was mostly silent during the Zoom portion. There was some stuttering while in Mural but this was my first time using it, so it very well could have been because so many people were using it. It crashed on some peoples machines which leads me to believe some of it could have been the tool itself. The OS was responsive the entire time. In my book I think it did well. I think this would have spun up my MBP's fans.
 
I feel my MBA 2020 is hotter when driving a 4K LG external monitor compared to using the MBA alone.
 
Curious if anyone has connected the mba with 2 4K monitors and what the performance was like - specifically with the i7 processor
 
Dopestar said:
Curious if anyone has connected the mba with 2 4K monitors and what the performance was like - specifically with the i7 processor
Click to expand...

Very interested in this. I have the 4K LG Apple monitor that connects vis TB3 and a 4K tv that I will occasionally use as a 2nd screen.
 
Dopestar said:
Curious if anyone has connected the mba with 2 4K monitors and what the performance was like - specifically with the i7 processor
Click to expand...
I’ve used it with one 4K monitor and it was fine. I can try doing that and streaming to my 4K TV. Is this in addition to the built in display or in clamshell mode?
 
iandk said:
Hi,

Has anyone tried running an external 4K monitor with the 2020 MacBook Air? I‘m thinking about the i5/8GB model.
Ideally in a scaled mode.


Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm using my 2020 air with a 4k display via the USB-C to HDMI adapter every day for work.

I have no issues except the audio seems to stop working and require the adapter to be unplugged and plugged occasionally.

No fan noise to speak of is incurred due to the external display (either clamshell or open), I get 4k60hz just fine.

Performance is fine for desktop stuff. No stutters etc. to speak of.

I have the i7 model with 16 GB of RAM.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacBoy-HH, Jayderek and Dopestar
throAU said:
I have no issues except the audio seems to stop working and require the adapter to be unplugged and plugged occasionally.

No fan noise to speak of is incurred due to the external display (either clamshell or open), I get 4k60hz just fine.
Click to expand...

i have the same problem with loss of audio sometimes that requires restart of MBA. i connect to the USB C port on my LG monitor though.

fan does not spin if not doing intensive task but definitely warmer than without using external monitor.
 
Hello !

I have macbook air 2020 i3 8GB RAM - connect to 4k60 monitor via usb-c display port cable.
Idle temps are 40-45 C and if I connect to monitor - 65 C

What is your temperatures in idle (10-20 minutes doing nothing) with and without 4k60hz external monitor ?

With Fullhd or 1440p monitor temps are lower (cca 50-55C) because push less pixels.

1920 x 1080 - 2 Million pixels
2560 x 1440 - 3,69 Million pixels
2560 x 1600 - 4 Million pixels
3840 x 2160 - 8,3 Million pixels

I know that Intel Air 2020 has poor cooling system, but i found several issues with Pro 2017-2020 connected to 4K60 e.g.

What causes heating ? Thunderbolt 3 in Intel SoC ? Is TB3 controller included in Intel Soc or somewhere near ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back