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Recommended 27" monitor for rMBP 13"

G

gr4z

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 7, 2010
318
48
England
Hi guys

I was just about to purchase a 27" 4k monitor for my 13" rMBP (Dell P2715Q) and then found out it cannot drive it at 60hz (only 52 with the hack). I am worried that this won't work too well. I am only using it for docs, web, emails etc no gaming.

Can anyone recommend an alternative that will work at high res similar 4k? Or has anyone got a 4k screen working well with 13" rMBP?

Thanks
 
gr4z said:
Hi guys

I was just about to purchase a 27" 4k monitor for my 13" rMBP (Dell P2715Q) and then found out it cannot drive it at 60hz (only 52 with the hack). I am worried that this won't work too well. I am only using it for docs, web, emails etc no gaming.

Can anyone recommend an alternative that will work at high res similar 4k? Or has anyone got a 4k screen working well with 13" rMBP?

Thanks
Click to expand...

StE823 said:
i would like to know too, if i can't find any i might just stick with the TBD....
Click to expand...

Why not just skip 4k until you've got machines that can drive that amount of pixels properly? The next Macs you buy will probably have strong enough GPUs. Until then, accept that your machines weren't built with that use case in mind.
 
I am currently also looking into externals and I find the 4k screens available to be underwhelming. I also don't see that much difference between 2560x1440 and 4k myself. I'd prefere better color reproduction and brightness. i really like the regular imac screens.
The difference between 30Hz and 60Hz however is huge!
 
Mikael H said:
Why not just skip 4k until you've got machines that can drive that amount of pixels properly? The next Macs you buy will probably have strong enough GPUs. Until then, accept that your machines weren't built with that use case in mind.
Click to expand...

Because I don't want to buy two separate monitors if I know it will work? I didn't want the 15" because I travel a lot for work, if 4k display works with my 13" it will be a bonus.

Meanwhile I am still debating between iMac 5k or Mac Pro with 4k monitor(s).
 
get mac pro, with the 5k imac, after couple of years your monitor will still be of use but the cpu and gpu is gonna feel sluggish and obsolete. another reason why i don't like all in ones.
 
ilikewhey said:
get mac pro, with the 5k imac, after couple of years your monitor will still be of use but the cpu and gpu is gonna feel sluggish and obsolete. another reason why i don't like all in ones.
Click to expand...

CPUs don't change that fast these days. Your only real option would be to find a used 12 core when servers of that generation start to hit retirement. The gpus are not likely to see any aftermarket options. I don't really like the imacs either, but your solution doesn't solve much.

Mikael H said:
Why not just skip 4k until you've got machines that can drive that amount of pixels properly? The next Macs you buy will probably have strong enough GPUs. Until then, accept that your machines weren't built with that use case in mind.
Click to expand...

It's a driver thing. GPUs that fully support the displayport 1.2 spec can drive 4K displays at 60hz. It still won't help you with 5K, which Apple chose for pixel doubling reasons. It's hard to tell how long you would wait on that. Displayport 1.3 included specifications for resolution as high as 8K, but it covers a wide range of hardware. Displayport 1.2 came out at the end of 2009, so it could be a while.
 
These upcoming monitors might be good alternative while waiting for 4k to become mainstream. Should be good value for price, easy to drive @2560x1440 and good pixel density.

https://pcmonitors.info/asus/asus-vx24ah-23-8-inch-wqhd-model/
https://pcmonitors.info/benq/benq-bl2420pt-with-23-8-inch-wqhd-screen/
https://pcmonitors.info/dell/dell-u2515h-with-25-inch-2560-x-1440-panel/

All should be available very soon, Dell is already available on Dell Chinese website, usually stateside a few weeks after.
 
ra004e said:
These upcoming monitors might be good alternative while waiting for 4k to become mainstream. Should be good value for price, easy to drive @2560x1440 and good pixel density.

https://pcmonitors.info/asus/asus-vx24ah-23-8-inch-wqhd-model/
https://pcmonitors.info/benq/benq-bl2420pt-with-23-8-inch-wqhd-screen/
https://pcmonitors.info/dell/dell-u2515h-with-25-inch-2560-x-1440-panel/

All should be available very soon, Dell is already available on Dell Chinese website, usually stateside a few weeks after.
Click to expand...

Amazing! Thanks!
 
Thanks chaps. In the end I bought a Samsung S27D850T which gives me 1440p loveliness.
 

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Thank you!

ra004e said:
These upcoming monitors might be good alternative while waiting for 4k to become mainstream. Should be good value for price, easy to drive @2560x1440 and good pixel density.

https://pcmonitors.info/asus/asus-vx24ah-23-8-inch-wqhd-model/
https://pcmonitors.info/benq/benq-bl2420pt-with-23-8-inch-wqhd-screen/
https://pcmonitors.info/dell/dell-u2515h-with-25-inch-2560-x-1440-panel/

All should be available very soon, Dell is already available on Dell Chinese website, usually stateside a few weeks after.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this. I am trying to decide whether to switch from my trusty 24" ACD to a different monitor for my new 2013 MBP Retina (last year's model on closeout), and can't quite stomach the Thunderbolt Display, even at the Refurb store price. (The issues with the MagSafe-MagSafe2 converter don't provide much encouragement.) The Dell would be perfect, particularly with the build-in USB3 hub. Hopefully it's here soon (and then goes on sale....).
 
It's a big mistake to spend money on non-4K display at this stage.

Any Mac with Thunderbolt 2 running latest Yosemite 10.10.1 will have no problem driving 3840 x 2160 resolution at 50Hz. There is a number of 4K (well "UltraHD" to be more precise) available at reasonable price. Why waste money on anything less?
 
Recommended 27" monitor for rMBP 13"

ctyrider said:
It's a big mistake to spend money on non-4K display at this stage.



Any Mac with Thunderbolt 2 running latest Yosemite 10.10.1 will have no problem driving 3840 x 2160 resolution at 50Hz. There is a number of 4K (well "UltraHD" to be more precise) available at reasonable price. Why waste money on anything less?
Click to expand...


Any suggestions for a 4K monitor?

I actually stopped by Best Buy today and was blown away by the 5K iMac. Was originally going to throw in the towel and buy a Thunderbolt Display but seeing that resolution in the flesh has me interested in the non-apple alternatives.
 
ctyrider said:
It's a big mistake to spend money on non-4K display at this stage.

Any Mac with Thunderbolt 2 running latest Yosemite 10.10.1 will have no problem driving 3840 x 2160 resolution at 50Hz. There is a number of 4K (well "UltraHD" to be more precise) available at reasonable price. Why waste money on anything less?
Click to expand...

I want a non-4K/UtraHD monitor for the same reason I use Display Zoom on my iPhone 6. My eyes are nowhere near they used to be, and despite all the tricks one can use to make icons, text, menus, etc. bigger on an UltraHD monitor, from I can see from screen shots, everything is just too small for comfort. I guess I could pick a lower resolution, but why not just pay less for a monitor with a lower native resolution. I'm perfectly happy with the resolution of my 24" ACD.
 
dmbadict04 said:
Any suggestions for a 4K monitor?
Click to expand...

I don't own a 4K screen right now (waiting for MacBook Air with TB2 update), but people have had good experience with Dell P2715Q. That's what I'd likely go with, if I was in a market for a new display right now.

JulesK said:
I want a non-4K/UtraHD monitor for the same reason I use Display Zoom on my iPhone 6. My eyes are nowhere near they used to be, and despite all the tricks one can use to make icons, text, menus, etc. bigger on an UltraHD monitor, from I can see from screen shots, everything is just too small for comfort. I guess I could pick a lower resolution, but why not just pay less for a monitor with a lower native resolution. I'm perfectly happy with the resolution of my 24" ACD.
Click to expand...

You do realize that Apple now supports HiDPI (aka "retina") modes, don't you? With HiDPI - you can choose a custom resolution where your UI elements are of sufficiently large size, but are drawn with high PPI density. This results in a very crisp and clear UI and text, while still keeping the text & interface elements large enough to be readable.

The 5K iMac is certainly not meant to be run at "native" 5120x2880 resolution - that would be silly. Instead, it runs at 2:1 2560x1440 resolution, where you get the same size of UI as "non-retina" 27" display, but everything is rendered with 4x number of pixels.

Long story short - "everything is just too small for comfort" isn't a good reason to not go with 4K display.
 
gr4z said:
Thanks chaps. In the end I bought a Samsung S27D850T which gives me 1440p loveliness.
Click to expand...

i was in the same situation you were in a couple days ago.

i was deciding between three 1440p monitors:
dell u2713hm
samsung s27d850t
asus pb278q

i ended up going with the asus. ive heard nothing but good reviews about the asus display. hows the samsung treating you?
 
So far very good. Can't quite help wondering if I should of waited for a 4k but then my rMBP 13" was never going to be able to drive it at 60Hz anyway.
 
gr4z said:
So far very good. Can't quite help wondering if I should of waited for a 4k but then my rMBP 13" was never going to be able to drive it at 60Hz anyway.
Click to expand...

That's incorrect. Your rMBP comes with Thunderbolt 2 ports, and is perfectly capable of driving UltraHD resolution at 60hz. Read the numerous threads on this topic - other people are doing that just fine.
 
ctyrider said:
You do realize that Apple now supports HiDPI (aka "retina") modes, don't you? With HiDPI - you can choose a custom resolution where your UI elements are of sufficiently large size, but are drawn with high PPI density. This results in a very crisp and clear UI and text, while still keeping the text & interface elements large enough to be readable.

The 5K iMac is certainly not meant to be run at "native" 5120x2880 resolution - that would be silly. Instead, it runs at 2:1 2560x1440 resolution, where you get the same size of UI as "non-retina" 27" display, but everything is rendered with 4x number of pixels.

Long story short - "everything is just too small for comfort" isn't a good reason to not go with 4K display.
Click to expand...

OK-Thank you. That's very helpful to know. I like my ACD (and would like a Thunderbolt Display even more) because I want to eliminate as many cables as possible. Personal preference. Clearer is better, though.

Hopefully, Apple will release a Thunderbolt2 4K display, but since people have been dying off holding their breathes for an update to the Thunderbolt Display, I'm not going to wait for that. I am willing to wait another year or so for the 4K display market to mature a bit (and get cheaper).
 
ctyrider said:
That's incorrect. Your rMBP comes with Thunderbolt 2 ports, and is perfectly capable of driving UltraHD resolution at 60hz. Read the numerous threads on this topic - other people are doing that just fine.
Click to expand...

Really? I thought the maximum 4k refresh rate with a 13" rMBP is 52Hz?
 
gr4z said:
Really? I thought the maximum 4k refresh rate with a 13" rMBP is 52Hz?
Click to expand...

It is. The 13s can only run 4k @ 52hz (or is it 53?). It can not run it at full 60hz. Only the 15's can....

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202856

----------
Gator Bob said:
Oh but we do NOT notice 30Hz. Our late 2013 MacBook Pro 15" drives our new Dell UP2414Q. It is gorgeous and crisp with Photoshop and spread sheets

We do not game.
Click to expand...

Late 2013 15" rMBP's can do 4K at 60hz. It's the 13's that can't. You sure you aren't running it at 60hz and just never realized it?

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202856

----------
ctyrider said:
That's incorrect. Your rMBP comes with Thunderbolt 2 ports, and is perfectly capable of driving UltraHD resolution at 60hz. Read the numerous threads on this topic - other people are doing that just fine.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. Only the 15"ers are capable of 60hz UltraHD. The 13's have to do a hack to even get to 50hz.
 
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