Pro Display XDR With PC?

[Pezimak]

Hi, I have a M3 Max MB Pro and a works supplied Windows 11 Dell laptop. Both have Thunderbolt 4 ports on them, I have commented in this forum on my interest to get a 6K 32” monitor.
I have found a second hand Pro Display XDR, it is at a very good price, but it has a slight chip in the edge on the glass, but it doesn’t look too bad.

But, my question is is it worth it if I will use it with my works laptop most of the time? The laptop has an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 with Intel Iris XE graphics, I believe it will support up to 8K or something silly. But if I purchased it, would I be able to set the brightness using my Mac then flip over to Windows and still use the same brightness setting? And would I get the full 10 bit 6K resolution at 60HZ? I have read that Windows PC’s can give various output on the Pro Display XDR, 5K, 20HZ, 8 bit etc.
I took get the Cablematters thunderbolt switch hub to run the two computers on the monitor.

My alternative is LG’s 6K 32” monitor which will be brand new.

 

[enc0re]

Get the LG. You do to want to, and probably won’t even be able to, do the hacky steps needed on a work laptop.

 

[Pezimak]

Get the LG. You do not want to want to, and probably won’t even be able to, do the hacky steps needed on a work laptop.

Yeah, I can‘t load any drivers or any software that’s for sure! It is a locked down business laptop. And my concern is whilst it will no doubt work, what capacity will it work in? Whilst the Pro Display is a good price it is still over 3 grand plus a 2 hour drive to get it, it is collection only.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

The brightness set on your mac will be remembered until it loses power. I tried this same setup to share my Pro Display XDR between my work MacBook and my PC, but I had issues with the Cable Matters USB C Switch and returned it.

The included cable wasn't long enough to reach my PC beneath my desk so I bought a longer cable from Cable Matters -- a longer version of the same cable included with the switch. But with the longer cable connected to the switch I had constant artifacts coming up across the screen that didn't happen when connecting the same cable directly to the PC.

Also the included remote worked only a couple times and then never worked again. They offered to send a replacement but I read many reviews about the same issue.

I would recommend only using the switch if you're ok with the remote not working and if the length of the included cables work for your setup without needing a longer cable.

 

[Pezimak]

So the Dell laptop stopped up to 8K over it’s Thunderbolt 4 ports, it does display port over them too, would the Cablematters USB switch work with both the Mac and Windows laptop over thunderbolt?

20 Gbps USB-C Switch for Sharing a USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Monitor or Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station

Connect two devices to one USB-C monitor or docking station with this USB-C Switch. This USB-C switch lets you share one USB-C monitor with two devices over USB-C. It can also turn a standard USB-C docking station into a USB-C KVM, letting two devices share one USB-C docking station.

www.cablematters.com

 

[Pezimak]

The brightness set on your mac will be remembered until it loses power. I tried this same setup to share my Pro Display XDR between my work MacBook and my PC, but I had issues with the Cable Matters USB C Switch and returned it.

The included cable wasn't long enough to reach my PC beneath my desk so I bought a longer cable from Cable Matters -- a longer version of the same cable included with the switch. But with the longer cable connected to the switch I had constant artifacts coming up across the screen that didn't happen when connecting the same cable directly to the PC.

Also the included remote worked only a couple times and then never worked again. They offered to send a replacement but I read many reviews about the same issue.

I would recommend only using the switch if you're ok with the remote not working and if the length of the included cables work for your setup without needing a longer cable.

Thanks, how long are the cables that it comes with?

 

[Pezimak]

Just saw this on the LG website:

To access all features, including 96W charging and 6144 × 3456 resolution, your device must support Thunderbolt 5 or USB-C with DisplayPort 2.1.

That rules it out for me, so Pro Display it is.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Thanks, how long are the cables that it comes with?

The included cables are 3 foot, which works great if you have a laptop and PC on the desk. The switch has an adhesive velcro so you can hide it behind the monitor.

 

[Dark-Signature]

Just saw this on the LG website:

To access all features, including 96W charging and 6144 × 3456 resolution, your device must support Thunderbolt 5 or USB-C with DisplayPort 2.1.

That rules it out for me, so Pro Display it is.

Can you explain why exactly you have come to this conclusion?

 

[PaulD-UK]

@Dark-Signature
I think what @Pezimak saw on the LG website is this:
"*Minimum requirements: Intel 12th Gen or later, Windows 11 or later."

Part of the original question in the original post was:
"...is it worth it if I will use it with my works laptop most of the time? The laptop has an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 with Intel Iris XE graphics"

For MacOS use, as well as 'To access all features use TB5', the website says:
"macOS: Display may not work properly on non-Apple Silicon devices depending on the macOS version.
*Minimum requirements: macOS Sequoia (version 15) or later."

This is presumably because AS Macs support DSC (and TB or USB4, which has an Alt-mode DP bandwidth sufficient for 6K when using DSC), whereas Intel Macs don't (as a generalisation).

Whether a TB4 Mac will get HDR out of the LG 6K monitor is still to be determined. It probably should, but in practice it may need TB5...

As @EugW has pointed out in the main LG 6K thread, TB5 is essential to get any useful (beyond USB 2) data rate out of the additional USB-C output ports on the monitor.

 

[Pezimak]

@Dark-Signature
I think what @Pezimak saw on the LG website is this:
"*Minimum requirements: Intel 12th Gen or later, Windows 11 or later."

Part of the original question in the original post was:
"...is it worth it if I will use it with my works laptop most of the time? The laptop has an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 with Intel Iris XE graphics"

For MacOS use, as well as 'To access all features use TB5', the website says:
"macOS: Display may not work properly on non-Apple Silicon devices depending on the macOS version.
*Minimum requirements: macOS Sequoia (version 15) or later."

This is presumably because AS Macs support DSC (and TB or USB4, which has an Alt-mode DP bandwidth sufficient for 6K when using DSC), whereas Intel Macs don't (as a generalisation).

As @EugW has pointed out in the main LG 6K thread, TB5 is essential to get any useful (beyond USB 2) data rate out of the additional USB-C output ports on the monitor.

Bingo Yeap, it won’t work for me. I can’t really badger work for a new Windows laptop with TB5 lol. So I am chasing down a Pro Display XDR currently.
I need the monitor to charge my works laptop whilst using it, and if it has built in speakers I would use those as well. But looks like it needs a high level of computer to work with, my Mac would work fine, and my works laptop will not, should work fine with the XDR though.

 

[Dark-Signature]

Bingo Yeap, it won’t work for me. I can’t really badger work for a new Windows laptop with TB5 lol. So I am chasing down a Pro Display XDR currently.
I need the monitor to charge my works laptop whilst using it, and if it has built in speakers I would use those as well. But looks like it needs a high level of computer to work with, my Mac would work fine, and my works laptop will not, should work fine with the XDR though.

Could you provide the exact model name of your Dell notebook? Is it not possible for you to connect a external TB4-cable to charge the Dell notebook with an extra powerplug, while it is connected to the LG monitor?

 

[Pezimak]

Could you provide the exact model name of your Dell notebook? Is it not possible for you to connect a external TB4-cable to charge the Dell notebook with an extra powerplug, while it is connected to the LG monitor?

Hi it is a Dell Latitude 5430, with an 11th gen Intel Core i5, it supports Display Port 1.4 Alt Mode on its Thunderbolt 4 connection. So it is below the minimum spec to work with the LG monitor.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple displays are always a horrible PITA for usage on anything non Apple.

It's why my last Apple display was the ACD 30" wayyy back when.

 

[Pezimak]

Apple displays are always a horrible PITA for usage on anything non Apple.

It's why my last Apple display was the ACD 30" wayyy back when.

They can be yes, looks like a fair few have got the Pro Display working, but it looks like the LG won’t work with my works laptop?