Screen Resolution

[Beau10]

Hi Channan, this is RDM (it's free):

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/vi9yf/set_your_retina_macbook_pros_resolution_to

It's old, but it works fine for me on 10.11.4. You don't need to load it unless you want to switch to a higher resolution - once switched, it will be retained even when the app isn't running... through reboots, even minor OS updates.

 

[BenTrovato]

I like the 1440x900 on my 13" rMBP but it isn't crisp enough to keep it at that, so I use it on the default 1280 and only scale up if I need space for a while.

 

[Kristine]

I use 1920x1200 on my 13" rMBP and have done since I switched from my 15" rMBP last year.

I don't use the RDM, I just added an extra line in the resolution settings for the display file.

 

[bfid111]

I use 1920x1200 on my 13" rMBP and have done since I switched from my 15" rMBP last year.

I don't use the RDM, I just added an extra line in the resolution settings for the display file.

how do you do that?

 

[Kristine]

how do you do that?

There are a couple of ways you can go about it, but I have just stuck to this way since I have never had an issue. You need to know your DisplayProductID to make sure you are working on the correct file (mine is a029 so that is in the example below). I am running El Capitan and follow these steps:

1. Find the DisplayProductID-a029 in /System/Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides/DisplayVendorID-610 folder and copy to the desktop
2. Put <data>AAAPAAAACWAAAAAB</data> at the bottom of the <array> section and save the file
3. Reboot into recovery mode and open up the Terminal
4. Type in the following mv /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Users/Kristine/Desktop/DisplayProductID-a029 /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/System/Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides/DisplayVendorID-610/
5. Reboot
6. Open up System Preferences and choose Displays

 

[pancakesrockyvalley]

I run at the default 1280x800 most of the time. When i am coding or writing an essay where i need to have multiple pages documents open and safari and keyboard viewer all open at the same time i use the 1680x1050 setting for more space.

 

[Channan]

I run at the default 1280x800 most of the time. When i am coding or writing an essay where i need to have multiple pages documents open and safari and keyboard viewer all open at the same time i use the 1680x1050 setting for more space.

I can't switch back and forth. On default, everything looks way too big.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I'm changing my answer... jut picked up a new 27" 5K iMac... and I'm running it "default for display". It's awesome...

 

[Channan]

I'm changing my answer... jut picked up a new 27" 5K iMac... and I'm running it "default for display". It's awesome...

Well that's not fair, because you already have a ton of space on that thing.

 

[MrGimper]

I had a 13" Air that I ran at the default 1440x900. I replaced that with a 13" rMBP at the end of 2014 and have been running that at 1680x1050 since I booted it up for the first time.

 

[Channan]

I had a 13" Air that I ran at the default 1440x900. I replaced that with a 13" rMBP at the end of 2014 and have been running that at 1680x1050 since I booted it up for the first time.

Any desire to try an even higher resolution?

 

[MrGimper]

Any desire to try an even higher resolution?

After reading this thread I tried 1920x1200 and it's too small for me

 

[Channan]

After reading this thread I tried 1920x1200 and it's too small for me

I still haven't tried RDM yet. Gotta get around to doing that. Does everything start to look pixelated at that resolution, or does it just look tiny?

 

[Beau10]

I still haven't tried RDM yet. Gotta get around to doing that. Does everything start to look pixelated at that resolution, or does it just look tiny?

It looks super smooth to me. But that's pretty much true of anything HiDPI. Whether or not this works for one's eyesight is of course a personal thing.

I will restate that 1) I am a 40 year old software developer who can spend upwards of 12 hours a day in front of this screen and it works fine for me and 2) years ago I had a work laptop that was 15" @ 1920 x 1280 and it was eyestrain city. Even though it's a scaled setting on a smaller screen and I'm about 10 years older -- HiDPI, a higher pixel density, and a generally very good IPS display makes this a pretty big leap forward in usability. If your immediate inclination is things are too small, try to at least spend a few hours with it first.