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

New Macbook Pro Retina 15" & 4K external display?

K

kanelbulle

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 24, 2013
1
0
I'm an amateur photographer & videographer using primarily Aperture, Photoshop and FCP X. I'm on the market for a new Mac & a large display (27"-30"), and I would like this set-up to be a good future proof investment - both in terms of processing power as well as display quality that will cope with the current technology trends (>40 Mpix full-format sensors, 4K video, etc...)

I initially purchased a brand new maxed-out iMac 27", a beautiful and powerful machine indeed - which I eventually returned because I was disappointed by the screen pixel density (small text looked fuzzy and uncomfortable to read)... I guess I got used to the Retina standard :)

So I'm left with 2 options, which shall be based a better display than the currently available iMac/Thunderbolt display:
- Maxed-out 15" rMBP 2.6GHz with Iris Pro & GT 750M + 4k display
- MacPro + 4K display

The MacPro setup is for sure ideal, but it is going to be very expensive - and maybe over-speced for my needs.

So I'm leaning towards the maxed-out rMBP setup, and my question is: will the Iris Pro + GT 750M GPU combo be powerful enough to drive a 4k display via Thunderbolt 2 - and still run Aperture/Photoshop/FCPX swiftly?

From what I read about the Iris Pro and the Nvidia 750M, it seems like it should be OK, but Apple doesn't officially confirms that. They do mention the ability to drive the Retina Screen at full native resolution + up to 2 external displays at 2560x1600. Should be enough to drive one 4K display? But again, would the apps still run quickly & smoothly?

Moreover, the inclusion of Thunderbolt 2 is almost an implicit confirmation that rMBP should be able to drive a 4K display?

And by the way, do we know if & when Apple is supposed to upgrade their Thunderbolt display to a 4K version (Retina at this size seeming very unlikely)? In December together with the MacPro?

Thanks in advance for your feedback & advices!
 
Last edited:
Same question about 4k support, but for 13 rMBP

Since the Mac Pro announcement of Thunderbolt 2, I have been thinking that Apple would introduce a TB2 4K display when the Mac Pro ships. It would make great sense if the new TB2 rMBPs would both support such a display.

You would have both an incredible high-res notebook and a great desktop.
 
I'm in the same situation as you - deciding whether to upgrade to the macbook pro or mac pro for use with a 4K monitor down the road (I have a 30" apple cinema display now). From this page it seems that the macbook pro will only power a 4K display at 30Hz which is not that great. Reviews of the last generation macbook pro with 4K display seen here reveal that to be an ill pairing. Although I feel that the macbook pro will ultimately be "able" to do it, I do not think it will do it well. As in, it won't play nicely with me editing 30MB raw image files in aperture that can now display almost every pixel of the camera raw image. If you hear anything please post.
 
You need thunderbolt 2 (NOT HDMI 1.4) to run the screen at 60Hz though which is a basic necessity if you don't want to see lag in aperture. One thing I don't get is why the retina macbook pro, although it support thunderbolt 2, doesn't support mini display port 1.2 technology (the tech that is built into thunderbolt 2 that allow 4K displays to run at 60Hz).
 
jbg232 said:
One thing I don't get is why the retina macbook pro, although it support thunderbolt 2, doesn't support mini display port 1.2 technology (the tech that is built into thunderbolt 2 that allow 4K displays to run at 60Hz).
Click to expand...

Is that fixable via software/firmware update?
 
jbg232 said:
One thing I don't get is why the retina macbook pro, although it support thunderbolt 2, doesn't support mini display port 1.2 technology (the tech that is built into thunderbolt 2 that allow 4K displays to run at 60Hz).
Click to expand...

That's seriously lame. Maybe the 750m just can't handle pushing that many pixels around? Pretty unfortunate though.
 
bbapps said:
Is that fixable via software/firmware update?
Click to expand...

Possibly. It depends what Display Port IC's they used. I'm going to assume it doesn't do 4K at 60Hz and never will until the next hardware revision. I think they would have stated it did 4K@60Hz in the specifications or at-least listed it sd "Coming soon with OS X 10.9.1" or something like that. The fact they don't mention it at all indicates to me it will never do 4K @ 60Hz over Thunderbolt.
 
retina was jsut introduced last year for the macbooks, were not gonna see this 4k display u speak of anytime soon
 
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