New Mac user here, can someone take a screenshot for me?

[Saberon2014]

I’m wondering if someone can do a small favour for me. Can you set your resolution/scaling to the “smallest” setting and show me what your desktop looks like?

I’m assuming my new iMac can be run at native resolution at 4.5K with no scaling?

Sorry if my terminology is off

 

[casperes1996]

So, instead of relying on the scaling factors there, if you option/alt click the “Scaled” button, you get to pick a numeric resolution instead to scale for That way you can pick 4.5K directly. If you have the box ticked, the ones labeled (low res) are not scaled resolutions but just send a lower resolution signal to the monitor

 

[casperes1996]

On 5K iMac

Regular scaling view:

Extended option-clicked view:

 

[Saberon2014]

Awesome, that’s helpful. For curiosities sake, is the far right “more space” option the same as choosing 5120x2880 in scaling options?

And if possible, can you get your scaling to 5120x2880 and take a screenshot of your desktop so I can get a feel for UI elements etc?

If that’s going to mess things up, don’t worry about it. I appreciate your help so far

 

[Amethyst1]

For curiosities sake, is the far right “more space” option the same as choosing 5120x2880 in scaling options?

Nope. More Space is "looks like 3200×1800".

And if possible, can you get your scaling to 5120x2880 and take a screenshot of your desktop so I can get a feel for UI elements etc?

There you go.

 

[Saberon2014]

It’s glorious 😂. Thank you both for answering my questions. I’m even more excited for my delivery now

 

[casperes1996]

It’s glorious 😂. Thank you both for answering my questions. I’m even more excited for my delivery now

Guess you have better eyes than me, though that's not a high bar, haha

 

[wilberforce]

It’s glorious 😂. Thank you both for answering my questions. I’m even more excited for my delivery now

Scaling to 5120x2880 makes some software barely usable, for example Lightroom and Photoshop, where the text and controls are already pretty small at normal scaling, but at 5120x2880 are extremely tiny and sensitive. But of course, it is personal preference.
btw, there is sometimes a misconception that scaling to "full" resolution of 5120x2880 somehow makes graphical elements or photos display sharper or with higher resolution. They do not. The displayed resolution of graphical elements is exactly the same.

 

[Saberon2014]

That makes total sense, thanks for your reply. I love very small UI elements and tons of screen real estate for browsers etc, but the scaling to 2880p is even more extreme than I expected, but good to know that lots of options exist to find the perfect balance.

 

[Amethyst1]

The displayed resolution of graphical elements is exactly the same.

If you mean images then yep. If you mean the elements that make up macOS' UI, then running at full resolution, e.g. 5120×2880 on a 5K iMac or monitor, will display the normal-sized (non-HiDPI) elements and text. Using any scaled resolution will display the "2×"-sized (HiDPI) elements and text that have been doubled in width and height. The only thing that changs depending on which scaled resolution is chosen is the framebuffer dimensions. I apologise if you know about this already, just wanted to clearify things

 

[DanTSX]

Interesting to see how others use their iMacs. Good thread

 

[gilby101]

Interesting to see how others use their iMacs. Good thread

I think you would find that most Retina iMacs are run at the default settings - that is a 2x scaling. 27" 5K at 2560x1440, 24" 4.5K at 2240x1260. Exceptions would include some developers who want/need to pack more text onto the screen.