Sorry for the slow reply.
It’s hard to say because I can’t compare them directly, but the software brightness controls make the screen look slightly greyer and desaturated I think.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Samsung Viewfinity S9 — Official Details from Samsung
- Thread starter pisarn
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It’s hard to say because I can’t compare them directly, but the software brightness controls make the screen look slightly greyer and desaturated I think.
Just tested mine and it took 2.5 seconds from pushing the touchID button to on.
Has anybody been able to get it working correctly on an intel MBP?
When connected to my i9 2019 16” MacBook Pro it’s displaying at 30hz with bad text rendering and huge input lag. Bettermonitor reports that it’s running at 60hz with native res, but there’s no way that’s true. I had to turn HDR off to get the monitor to display an image at all.
When connecting an M1 Max MBP everything is working correctly out of the box.
When connected to my i9 2019 16” MacBook Pro it’s displaying at 30hz with bad text rendering and huge input lag. Bettermonitor reports that it’s running at 60hz with native res, but there’s no way that’s true. I had to turn HDR off to get the monitor to display an image at all.
When connecting an M1 Max MBP everything is working correctly out of the box.
I don't have the Samsung S9 but I was thinking of buying it.
Have you tried connecting your 2019 MBP to the monitor with the Mini DisplayPort input?
I think the reason it won't work is because the Samsung monitor uses TB4 and your Intel mac has TB3. (Not sure though).
I tried, it doesn't work using a USB-C-> DP 1.4 adapter with the included DP -> DP Mini cable.
USB-C to DisplayPort Adapter - 8K Ready
Cable Matters USB-C to DisplayPort 1.4 Adapter connects a thin laptop with a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port to a monitor with DisplayPort.
Strange. I would have thought that would work...Maybe your laptop isn't powerful enough to drive 5k 60hz or maybe MacOS has a built in Displayport limitation so they force you to buy the Thunderbolt equipped Studio Display or LG Ultrafine 5k.
For the bad text rendering, have you read this ? : https://notsidney.medium.com/samsun...itor-if-it-had-reliable-software-2fed3667cc8d
Apparently it needs calibrating or turning off HDR and switching to the ECO setting to fix bad text rendering.
As for the input lag issue, I have no clue. Try to see if there is a game mode option in the monitor and see if that makes any difference.
For the bad text rendering, have you read this ? : https://notsidney.medium.com/samsun...itor-if-it-had-reliable-software-2fed3667cc8d
Apparently it needs calibrating or turning off HDR and switching to the ECO setting to fix bad text rendering.
As for the input lag issue, I have no clue. Try to see if there is a game mode option in the monitor and see if that makes any difference.
1. It’s a 2019 16” MBP i9 w/dgpu. It should handle multiple 5K displays just fine.
2. The ViewFinity S9 is a thunderbolt monitor. It’s worth noting that there’s no real difference between TB3 and TB4: TB4 is simply making a bunch of things that were optional in TB3 mandatory.
3. As mentioned, the monitor is working with my M1 Max MBP fine.
Fwiw, my Intel MBP is stuck on Monterey due to work IT. It’s possible the DP DSC fixes that Apple implemented in Sonoma would fix this issue. Going to try to convince IT to allow me to upgrade, I’ll post an update if it resolves.
Also considering getting a displaylink adapter and just calling it a day.
Thinking about getting one of these and doing some prelim research,
For those who have it and use it, does it look ok with brightness set down to a reasonable level. Reasonable level is different for different people, but Im usually hovering around 100-115cd/m2 on my monitor. I know some newer montiors are only usable at high brightness, so wanted to see if anyone has experience on this front
thanks!
For those who have it and use it, does it look ok with brightness set down to a reasonable level. Reasonable level is different for different people, but Im usually hovering around 100-115cd/m2 on my monitor. I know some newer montiors are only usable at high brightness, so wanted to see if anyone has experience on this front
thanks!
Update: DisplayLink adapter didn't work. Unless I missed something, DisplayLink adapters only support 5k via dual-DP connections. The S9 does not support dual-DP input.
Trying to get the laptop updated to Sonoma, I'll update again if anything changes.
Trying to get the laptop updated to Sonoma, I'll update again if anything changes.
Selous13
macrumors newbie
Hi there. I just unboxed mine and I'm facing weird issues: MBPro M1 is only detected using the last TB4 port (the one that is the furthest from the power cable). USB-C flash drives are detected on all ports (!).
Do all your ports detect your laptop?
Another problem I’m facing with a OWC 11-Port Thunderbolt Dock:
When I connect the MacBook directly to the new monitor, everything is ok… well, considering the point above. (I tried multiple cables to validate).
When I connect the OWC 11-Port Thunderbolt Dock to the S9 monitor, power passthrough and ethernet work… but MacBook is not detected anymore. I tried different sequences for cabling, switching on/off, etc… Nothing works.
I contacted Samsung support… it’s a joke! I’m waiting for OWC response… but any clue?
I am having a perhaps similar issue with this monitor (Samsung 27" Viewfinity S9). When connecting my 2018 Intel Mac Mini over a USB-C → Mini DisplayPort cable (third-party cable not included with the monitor), I did only get 30 Hz unless running at 1920x1080 where it could do 60 Hz. However, using the same USB → Mini DisplayPort cable with a M2 MacBook Pro allows me to use 60 Hz at 4K or perhaps even 5K (I don't recall the max resolution at the moment unfortunately).
My thread on this: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ini-displayport-monitor-with-4k-60-hz.2419519
I was assuming that the problem is the cable itself, or the Mini DisplayPort implementation on the 2018 Mac Mini, but it is curious because I can use an LG 32" 4K monitor at 4K60 Hz over DisplayPort with the Mac Mini.
So perhaps there is actually an issue with Intel Macs? I will test my 2018 Intel Mac Mini with the Thunderbolt 4 cable included with the Samsung 27" monitor and report back (this weekend) in order to understand if I have the same issue on Thunderbolt 4 as I do with USB-C → Mini DisplayPort.
Reporting back on my previous post:
I tried connecting the display to an 2018 Mac Mini over the Thunderbolt 4 cable. I am only getting 30 Hz for 4K/5K, and again, only at 1920x1080 will it display 60 Hz. As I mentioned, I thought this was due to the third-party USB-C → DisplayPort Cable I tried using initially, but I'm having this issue with the original cable supplied with the display.
It seems unfortunately like some or all Intel Macs are practically not really supported at 60 Hz (only 30 Hz) with Samsung 27" Viewfinity S9 at the moment, unless there is a firmware or software fix. Of course, I cannot confirm that this afflicts all users, but this is worrisome.
I can also confirm that, per the blog post below, it seems like, there is artificial sharpening applied per default on the display (Sharpness setting 10, instead of 0). When Sharpening is set to 0, text becomes blurry. So unless "10" actually means "No Sharpening" and "0" means "Blur the screen", it seems like this display is not doing a good job at rendering text in MacOS.
https://notsidney.medium.com/samsun...itor-if-it-had-reliable-software-2fed3667cc8d
Additionally, I am now getting coil whine from the Thunderbolt 4 cable/display when they are connected. Another issue is that my Mac Studio keeps crashing intermittently when it goes to sleep while the display is connected, causing a kernel panic (this issue is related to the Mac itself, and not the display per se), requiring me to disable sleep mode on the Mac.
I was not intending to use the Samsung 27" Viewfinity S9 as my main display, but all in all I am reconsidering my purchase. If you are serious about getting this as your main display, it is probably better to choose Apple Studio Display instead. The Viewfinity is looking more like a dud product. The included "Smart TV" functions are just annoying to be frank and the privacy settings implies that users are being tracked for advertising data. The power brick is ridicilously large.
The only redeeming quality I can think of right now, is the cheaper price than the Apple Studio Display, that there is an extra Mini DisplayPort, and that the stand can be pivoted. A word of warning though, the pivoting isn't very smooth at all, and the display sinks in height when performing the pivoting, and a cable was even disconnected at one point. I also find the stand kind of wobbly.
Last edited:
Update: Was able to update my 2019 Intel MacBook Pro 16” to Sonoma. The ViewFinity S9 is now working correctly at 5K @ 60Hz.
I guess this confirms there was a bug in macOS, likely related to DisplayPort HBR 2 or DSC.
I guess this confirms there was a bug in macOS, likely related to DisplayPort HBR 2 or DSC.
Did you use a version of MacOS other than Sonoma previously?
I had this issue on Sonoma, but it's possible that it's fixed as of MacOS Sonoma 14.4.1, which I believe was supposed to fix some issues relating to peripheral devices such as USB hubs and the like, and perhaps also displays. I have not tested the ViewFinity S9 with my Intel Mac Mini yet, so I can't confirm on my end currently.
xraydoc
Contributor
That sucks. Can you borrow a friend's MacBook to make sure it's not your machine's TB port?
I found this monitor at a good price.
Now I have an HP M24 full hd, I'm happy with it but I would like more.
Can you let me know if I can connect an Xbox Series S to it? if so, with which adapter?
Now I have an HP M24 full hd, I'm happy with it but I would like more.
Can you let me know if I can connect an Xbox Series S to it? if so, with which adapter?