Scaling on external monitor - only sharp/crisp at extremes?

[celasti]

Hi all,

I know this topic gets discussed, a lot. But I'm having trouble finding an answer to a question:

I recently got my hands on a Dell U3219Q for a great price, $500. It's a 4K 32in. I have a baseline MBP 16in. I'm running the U3219Q from my MBP via a usb-c cable - connection/powering is all fine.

My question - when you choose a display scaling option, am I crazy or is the font most crisp at the extremes? I.e., "looks like 1920 x 1080" or "looks like 3840 x 2160" has the clearest text. And while its very clear at the "looks like 3840 x 2160" - I think it's a bit too small for me.

I understand the middle ground options can be a drain on performance - but are they actually not as clear/crisp as well? (There is a real world in which I'm just getting older, too).

I love how crisp this monitor is at "looks like 1920x1080"; however, can't help but feel like it's a bummer because I definitely am "losing a lot of space".

Hard to explain - just didn't know if anyone knows off the top of their head that this is indeed a thing.

Thanks!

 

[Amethyst1]

My question - when you choose a display scaling option, am I crazy or is the font most crisp at the extremes?

You're not crazy. In your case: Looks like 1920×1080 is pixel-perfect 2× scaling. Looks like 3840×2160 is no scaling at all (1×). The options in between employ downsampling which adversely affects sharpness (and performance).

 

[celasti]

I see now where the frustration comes in on "LG Ultrafine, iMac, or XDR" or bust.

 

[Fishrrman]

Have you tried "looks like 1440p"?

Or (as it's also known as) 2560x1440 ?

 

[celasti]

Have you tried "looks like 1440p"?

Or (as it's also known as) 2560x1440 ?

While that is the best option of the middle-ground scaled options, it just isn't as sharp and I can definitely notice a slight fuzziness to the fonts (at least in comparison to default or looks like 1080p). :/

I'm sure for most it would be fine, but I'm just stuck on it.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It's really a shame Apple isn't better on the scaling.

In Windows you can scale to basically anything and it is always sharp, crisp and clear.

 

[Amethyst1]

It's really a shame Apple isn't better on the scaling.

In 10.4 to 10.6, arbitrary scaling (up to 3×) was possible but it's very unfinished and glitchy.

 

[turbineseaplane]

In 10.4 to 10.6, arbitrary scaling (up to 3×) was possible but it's very unfinished and glitchy.

On the 30" I'm using, I'm having great luck with this tool to specify just what I'm looking for:

one-key-hidpi/README.md at master · xzhih/one-key-hidpi

Enable macOS HiDPI and have a native setting. Contribute to xzhih/one-key-hidpi development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[Amethyst1]

On the 30" I'm using, I'm having great luck with this tool to specify just what I'm looking for:

This is 2× scaling (in terms of the assets).

 

[turbineseaplane]

This is 2× scaling (in terms of the assets).

In my situation I'm aware I'm not getting perfect 2x scaling
(which would be only 1280x800 at 30" = everything too huge)

I'm just forcing hidpi and then downscaling to a desired resolution so I get clearer text/graphics at a larger physical UI/text size than native 2560x1600.

My aging eyes are currently enjoying 2160x1350