Question about new Macbook Pro & Dell U2713HM

[rmathes]

alright, I got the 24" Dell 4k monitor, purchased this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PC9HFNY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Running at 1080, wow, the size of everything is perfect, and the clarity is awesome. It's absolutely beautiful. The display seems richer and clearer than the 27" I was testing at the higher resolution.

I do wish I could get everything exactly the same AND get the display at 27", but at this point I think I can be very happy with this. my only other option would be to go to a 28" monitor and hope that the higher resolution would give me a text size I'm happy with, and that's a roll of the dice.

The tech on this monitor is a great value. Again, I'm not savvy about this technology but from what I've read, getting IPS performance at this price point is a really good thing. And again, it's just a beautiful display.

The 27" is definitely getting returned. I'll use this for a few days and see if I remain happy with it or want to see how a 28" stacks up. For my needs, I think this will be great. I'm not a graphic artist or a coder. I just use it to run my business and my life. I spend most of my time in email, web browsers and then apps like Evernote, OmniFocus, BusyCal, Skype, iTunes, iPhoto, and the like.

I really appreciate the advice I got on this thread. You guys rock. I'll follow up in a few with what I ended up deciding.

 

[rmathes]

one other question: if I do decide to try a larger monitor at the higher resolution, any other suggestions?

I am concerned that 32" would be too big, 8" larger than what I'm trying now. But I found this one, seems to have excellent user reviews at a reasonable price:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-WQHD-32-Inch-Monitor-S32D850T/dp/B00L3KNOF4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I'm thinking if I only went up from 27" to 28" that the high resolution wouldn't increase sufficiently in size. But man, 32" would be a big monitor.

 

[Stetrain]

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-WQHD-32-Inch-Monitor-S32D850T/dp/B00L3KNOF4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I'm thinking if I only went up from 27" to 28" that the high resolution wouldn't increase sufficiently in size. But man, 32" would be a big monitor.

24" running at 1920x1080 (or 4k with the default scaling) gives you 91 points-per-inch.

27" running at 2560x1440 (or 4k running at the scaled '2560x1440' setting) gives you 108 points-per-inch.

28" running at 2560x1440 (or 4k running at the scaled '2560x1440' setting) gives you 104 points-per-inch.

32" running at 2560x1440 (or 4k running at the scaled '2560x1440' setting) gives you 91 points-per-inch.

(higher points-per-inch means smaller text/UI)

So the closest match to your current monitor but in a larger size would be either:

1) a 32" QHD (2560x1440) display like the one you linked, which would be less sharp than your 24" 4k, or
2) a 32" 4k/UHD (3840x2160) display running at the scaled '2560x1440' setting.

 

[M5RahuL]

I've been using the 28" UHD Samsung monitor for a while with the 15rmbp @1440 resolution and its perfect! The fonts are sharp and very readable and my dad (68 now) finds it very easy on his eyes.

This is the monitor : http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-28-In...420956559&sr=1-1&keywords=samsung+uhd+monitor

Its a TN panel but PQ is amazing, and it does 4K @ 60Hz via the DisplayPort, if anyone cares about it..

 

[rmathes]

24" running at 1920x1080 (or 4k with the default scaling) gives you 91 points-per-inch.

27" running at 2560x1440 (or 4k running at the scaled '2560x1440' setting) gives you 108 points-per-inch.

28" running at 2560x1440 (or 4k running at the scaled '2560x1440' setting) gives you 104 points-per-inch.

32" running at 2560x1440 (or 4k running at the scaled '2560x1440' setting) gives you 91 points-per-inch.

(higher points-per-inch means smaller text/UI)

So the closest match to your current monitor but in a larger size would be either:

1) a 32" QHD (2560x1440) display like the one you linked, which would be less sharp than your 24" 4k, or
2) a 32" 4k/UHD (3840x2160) display running at the scaled '2560x1440' setting.

Awesome, that is EXACTLY the kind of info I needed. Thank you for taking the time to lay that out. My suspicion was that going to a 28" would make things a bit bigger, but not meaningfully enough to provide a satisfying result.

Also interesting that a 32" QHD would be less sharp than the current 24" 4k. I wondered about that, too.

when I look at 4k 32" displays, I just can't justify that expense. Maybe if I did CAD/CAM work, or a lot of photo/video editing. The cheapest good 32" 4k monitor I found was from BenQ, and it's $1,100. I gotta think on this.

One question: I'm just curious why his 24" 4k display I'm using now sets 1920x1080 as "best for this display"? How does the OS interact with the monitor and determine which resolution is the default "best"? Is that a preset of some kind with the monitor? With the 27" non-4k, it defaulted to the 2560x1440 resolution. On this 24" one, I can go scaled and select from 5 other resolutions, but it considers 1080 "best". Just wondering how that works.

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I've been using the 28" UHD Samsung monitor for a while with the 15rmbp @1440 resolution and its perfect! The fonts are sharp and very readable and my dad (68 now) finds it very easy on his eyes.

This is the monitor : http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-28-In...420956559&sr=1-1&keywords=samsung+uhd+monitor

Its a TN panel but PQ is amazing, and it does 4K @ 60Hz via the DisplayPort, if anyone cares about it..

It's funny, that's precisely the one I have up on my screen now and was checking out. Looks like it had some issues with MBPs early but those got cleaned up. Regardless, I'm not sure I'd get enough text increase going up the 1" from the prior 27" display. Also kinda sucks that the stand is just fixed and not adjustable in height or angle. I gotta give it to Dell, their stands are really good. Solid, stable, and very easily adjustable in multiple planes.

 

[Stetrain]

One question: I'm just curious why his 24" 4k display I'm using now sets 1920x1080 as "best for this display"? How does the OS interact with the monitor and determine which resolution is the default "best"? Is that a preset of some kind with the monitor? With the 27" non-4k, it defaulted to the 2560x1440 resolution. On this 24" one, I can go scaled and select from 5 other resolutions, but it considers 1080 "best". Just wondering how that works.

That has to do specifically with how OSX handles high-dpi (aka 'retina') displays. Newer versions of OSX and Mac apps include high res graphics at twice the old standard size. On a high-dpi display, OSX draws everything at exactly twice the old standard size. Images are twice as big (both height and width) and font sizes get doubled. Where one graphics point used to be one pixel, it's now a 2x2 square of pixels for layout purposes.

So on a 3840x2160 monitor, everything running at this doubled size will give you a display where everything is the same physical size as if it were running at 1920x1080, but since you have four times the number of total pixels then images, lines, and text can be rendered with much more detail and sharpness.

If you select one of the other scaled modes, this same doubling is going on but the total resolution of the rendered image changes. In the 'Looks like 1920x1080' mode, the rendered image is 3840x2160 which maps perfectly onto a 4k monitor. In the 'Looks like 2560x1440' mode, the rendered image is 5120x2880 which is then downscaled to fit the 4k monitor.

It's possible to turn this scaling off and run a 4k monitor at 3840x2160 without the double size images and text. This of course results in super tiny text and isn't really practical on smaller displays.

 

[rmathes]

ok, so if I'm understanding you correctly, I'm really getting the max resolution but it's being rendered at this size for readability. So, I'm getting the best of both worlds, I get 4k resolution with 1080 sizing. Is that a correct interpretation of your post?

 

[Stetrain]

ok, so if I'm understanding you correctly, I'm really getting the max resolution but it's being rendered at this size for readability. So, I'm getting the best of both worlds, I get 4k resolution with 1080 sizing. Is that a correct interpretation of your post?

Yep! One caveat is that apps or images that haven't been updated for high res screens can appear fuzzier than those that have been updated because they have to be upscaled to the readable size.

This is exactly how the internal display in your retina Macbook Pro works as well, so your internal and external displays work in the same way now.

 

[Freyqq]

ok, so if I'm understanding you correctly, I'm really getting the max resolution but it's being rendered at this size for readability. So, I'm getting the best of both worlds, I get 4k resolution with 1080 sizing. Is that a correct interpretation of your post?

correct

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You can also try this: http://cocoamanifest.net/articles/2013/01/turn-on-hidpi-retina-mode-on-an-ordinary-mac.html

It should let you run a hidpi resolution on a regular 27" screen. Worth a try, but things might be too big. Alternatively, move the monitor closer to your eyes. It sounds like a small thing, but it really helps.

I see that you purchased a 4k screen. That's definitely best option. I'd stick with that, if you are happy with it. It has the sharpest picture, so it is the easiest to read.

 

[rmathes]

Sweet!

I'm going to use this monitor for a few more days and see how things go. Would be great to get this same resolution, clarity and sizing on a modestly bigger display, but I don't think that's possible. I think I'd have to go with such a bigger display to get what I want that it would be both too big and too expensive. Just can't afford a 32" 4k display.

If I went with a 28" 4k display, would it still do what this monitor is doing, ie rendering at the highest resolution but sizing at 1080? Or because it's bigger would it then render at the 1440 sizing? I'm a bit confused on how that works, I guess. For example, that Samsung linked above, that's a 4k display and actually cheaper than this Dell I'm on now.

 

[Stetrain]

If I went with a 28" 4k display, would it still do what this monitor is doing, ie rendering at the highest resolution but sizing at 1080? Or because it's bigger would it then render at the 1440 sizing? I'm a bit confused on how that works, I guess. For example, that Samsung linked above, that's a 4k display and actually cheaper than this Dell I'm on now.

The default setting on a 28" 4k display would be the sized-like-1080 mode. You could choose a sized-like-1440 mode in the display settings. You would have a monitor that's sharper and clearer than a 28" 1440 monitor but with the same sizing.

 

[rmathes]

ok, so the Samsung 4k monitor should theoretically give me a picture quality (all other things being equal, which they never are) comparable to the Dell I've got now, same resolution, clarity and sizing, but with more screen real estate (going from 24" to 28").

That would be nice, but I do wonder if the picture quality would be as good given this Dell is an IPS monitor and the Samsung is a TN. If I knew it would look just as good, but bigger (and a bit cheaper), I'd give it a try.

Could always order it and then return the one I don't prefer, but as I just discovered packing up the original 27" monitor, packing these things up and getting all the packaging back in place is not the most enjoyable way to spend 30 minutes on a weekend. A bit different than returning a pair of shoes that don't quite fit, haha.

Decisions, decisions....

 

[Stetrain]

ok, so the Samsung 4k monitor should theoretically give me a picture quality (all other things being equal, which they never are) comparable to the Dell I've got now, same resolution, clarity and sizing, but with more screen real estate (going from 24" to 28").

Well, it would either give you the exact same image as your 24" but literally blown up to 28" (in the 1080p mode) which you said was too big before when you tried it on the 27", or it would give you an image similar to the 27" at 2560x1440 but with more clarity and very slightly larger.

 

[rmathes]

ah, so the 28" at 1080 would not be the same size text as on the 24" because of the change in DPI. Of course. So it wouldn't just give me the same thing on a bigger screen, the proportions themselves would change. Duh. My bad.

Looks like my best bet is to just stay with what I have then.