STUDIO DISPLAY <> MAC PRO 6 (late 2013)

[SimplySimple]

Feeling a bit sad that my box fresh Studio Display is possibly unsupported by my Mac Pro 6 ( Late 2013) Trash Can.
Please can anyone suggest anything simple, or is t at T2 issue?
I have tried HDMI <> T3
T3 <> adapter <> T2
I’m unable to change my Mac Pro, as it being Intel, it supports my Promise R8 storage, which wouldn’t happen if I switched to a new Mac Studio.
Please help!?

 

[chrfr]

Feeling a bit sad that my box fresh Studio Display is possibly unsupported by my Mac Pro 6 ( Late 2013) Trash Can.
Please can anyone suggest anything simple, or is t at T2 issue?
I have tried HDMI <> T3
T3 <> adapter <> T2
I’m unable to change my Mac Pro, as it being Intel, it supports my Promise R8 storage, which wouldn’t happen if I switched to a new Mac Studio.
Please help!?

There’s already a thread here about this: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/studio-display-with-mac-pro-2013.2337049/

In short, the 2013 Mac Pro cannot drive a display at 5k resolution with a single cable. Because the Studio Display has only one input cable, the best you’ll get is 4k resolution on the Studio Display.
You will need a Thunderbolt 1 or 2 cable, and Apple’s Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter, and your computer will need to be running macOS 12.3 or later.
Given the limitations involved, I’d just return the Studio Display and get a much more reasonably priced 4k display.

 

[xraydoc]

^^Agreed

Get yourself two killer 4K displays (likely for the same price as one Studio Display) and call it a day.

 

[SimplySimple]

Thanks for your comments. That's good advice but I hope to upgrade someday. I only need one screen and I need a camera for Zooms. It's upselling on a horrible level by Apple.

 

[chrfr]

Thanks for your comments. That's good advice but I hope to upgrade someday. I only need one screen and I need a camera for Zooms. It's upselling on a horrible level by Apple.

I don't see this as upselling. It's technical limitations that existed when the Mac Pro was announced over 10 years ago. The LG 5k display won't work at full resolution with the Mac Pro at full resolution either.
If you don't have a computer upgrade planned right now, I don't think it makes sense to buy the current Studio Display at this point. The camera isn't particularly great and the whole display seems unnecessarily complex. I hope that a 2nd generation product is a bit better featured.

 

[xraydoc]

Agreed. It's not really upselling.

There may be a way to make 5K work on the Thunderbolt 2 Mac Pro, but it'll require using SwitchRes to reduce the refresh rate to something like 48Hz. Google might turn up some discussions. Otherwise, TB2 just can't carry the bandwidth -- 5K @ 60Hz is over 23Gbps (not including any additional for the webcam, audio, USB) whereas TB2 tops out at 20Gbps.

 

[Seiko4169]

If you really want to use the studio display look out for a used black magic egpu. That will drive the studio display with minimal fuss.

 

[SimplySimple]

If you really want to use the studio display look out for a used black magic egpu. That will drive the studio display with minimal fuss.

Thanks Seiko, wow The eGPU is big.
Was this my only option to run the Studio Display from the Mac Pro 6? I was hoping a male to male Thunderbolt 2 to a Mac Adapter would do the trick?
Thanks to you all. I am not a tech savvy person as you can probably tell, so this is very helpful.

 

[SimplySimple]

Agreed. It's not really upselling.

There may be a way to make 5K work on the Thunderbolt 2 Mac Pro, but it'll require using SwitchRes to reduce the refresh rate to something like 48Hz. Google might turn up some discussions. Otherwise, TB2 just can't carry the bandwidth -- 5K @ 60Hz is over 23Gbps (not including any additional for the webcam, audio, USB) whereas TB2 tops out at 20Gbps.

Okay, thank you. Could I just run it as a 4K until I upgrade to Mac?

 

[chrfr]

Okay, thank you. Could I just run it as a 4K until I upgrade to Mac?

Probably, but again, if you're not buying a new Mac for a while, I suggest that you wait and see if Apple addresses some of the complaints about this display rather than buy the first generation of it.
Also keep in mind that Apple Silicon Macs do not support the use of an eGPU, so you'd be unable to use that eGPU with any future computer.

 

[Seiko4169]

Thanks Seiko, wow The eGPU is big.
Was this my only option to run the Studio Display from the Mac Pro 6? I was hoping a male to male Thunderbolt 2 to a Mac Adapter would do the trick?
Thanks to you all. I am not a tech savvy person as you can probably tell, so this is very helpful.

No sorry, you’ll need an egpu to drive the 5K native. I don’t think the Sonnet breakaway which is much smaller than the black magic can drive the 5K display but it is definitely worth checking out. I use the black magic and next to the 6’1 it’s very similar in size and is also whisper quiet.

Btw, the EGPU will also save you working the inbuilt gpus cards so in theory prolong the life of the 6’1.