ascender
macrumors 603
I've had one of these now too...
Not entirely sure how the Mac and XDR combination can be getting less stable days after running the firmware and OS updates.
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Studio Display XDR Impressions
- Thread starter gsilver
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Not entirely sure how the Mac and XDR combination can be getting less stable days after running the firmware and OS updates.
Received mine today. Have to say that I am very picky when it comes to screen uniformity (2 years ago returned five studio displays for that reason) and the Studio XDR has the best uniformity I've seen so far.
It's not perfect though – I also have a slight vignetting around the edges that I immediately saw. It's not as strong as on my Macbook Pro M4, which is good, but I wish it wasn't there at all. Also, there are 'grainy' parts around the edges but only if you look very closely. I also saw that the first time I checked the display at the Apple store, and there it was worse than I have on the unit I received today.
There's also slight blooming when the UI is primarily black but has some light elements present (I opened X on web in dark mode and noticed that).
I think I'll keep it, as my LG 5K Ultrafine started to noticeably degrade
It's not perfect though – I also have a slight vignetting around the edges that I immediately saw. It's not as strong as on my Macbook Pro M4, which is good, but I wish it wasn't there at all. Also, there are 'grainy' parts around the edges but only if you look very closely. I also saw that the first time I checked the display at the Apple store, and there it was worse than I have on the unit I received today.
There's also slight blooming when the UI is primarily black but has some light elements present (I opened X on web in dark mode and noticed that).
I think I'll keep it, as my LG 5K Ultrafine started to noticeably degrade
lgsoltek
macrumors newbie
I agree on everything. My left side is a little bit warmer than my right side though.
I see Apple have now reduced the price of the Studio Display XDR with the VESA mount option by 400 dollars / pounds. Makes it a bit more palatable.
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This really should have been done from the get go. I have been VESA'ing my main displays even iMac 5K for years, then this XDR pricing when released basically made me eat up the cost of going VESA for no gain. Conversely the price of the VESA version now has become a bit more attractive.
Apparently some folks have been contacting Apple to complain and getting a refund of the price difference, may be worth a shot? I have a nice monitor mount from when I tried a Ben Q, I thought the arm was better then the screen lol, very nice white sturdy one. So I would be pretty tempted to save some cash and get the VESA option, or if needed the nano texture one and still come under the price of the one with the stand.
Yea I saw the reddit thread, someone used Apple online chat and got the $400 refund. My company has an Apple Business rep I can't imagine they would give us trouble.
Almost all the displays in our studio / office are mounted on hydraulic arms, this clears the entire under-display desk space, and let you position the screen at the most ergonomic position.
ascender
macrumors 603
My M4 Max Mac Studio arrived this morning and, as expected, both XDRs are working fine at 120Hz when daisy-chained.
Let's see if they're any more stable than when using the M5 MacBook Pro.
One of the reasons I say that is I wonder if memory pressure has been an issue in the crashes. I had none on a 64GB Mac mini, but quite a few on a 24MB M5.
Let's see if they're any more stable than when using the M5 MacBook Pro.
One of the reasons I say that is I wonder if memory pressure has been an issue in the crashes. I had none on a 64GB Mac mini, but quite a few on a 24MB M5.
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ascender
macrumors 603
Yeah, I decided not to go VESA this time round as it was the same price. That'll teach me 🙂
Probably wanted to make sure they sold the minimal number of slightly different stands for the XDR model. ( The refreshed SD is using same old stand. It is already past minimum. 🙂 ). Relatively minor differences so likely didn't need much past the initial demand bubble.
Additionally, it skews more folks to the stand model so easier to judge what the initial production mix should be. Now that they have sales data that order ratio can be tweaked to match the demand better. ( VESA will likely go up a bit but probably have a know 'floor' for the nominal rate now. )
LiE_
macrumors 68000
£2,509 for the XDR with VESA on Education site. Tempting.
I like how in the picture it's just levitating.
I've done both. Vesa is awesome. It's funny we even need a term for it, standards, while apple as usual just does whatever.
I did take a display in to the apple store to have it converted to vesa; the apple guy acted like it was open heart surgery.
Just one of those things. If you're at all curious or tempted, go vesa mount. Freedom is nice.
Locked 120Hz = more frames = more power/heat
Adaptive Sync = smarter, only uses what's needed
The only caveat is that if your content consistently runs at 120fps (like a game), the power difference becomes negligible.
Nugget
macrumors 68020
Apple is proactively refunding VESA purchases. I got an email this afternoon about mine.
btrach144
macrumors 68040
Adaptive sync will match the frame rate of your software. So in a video game, you might be getting between 60-90 FPS. The monitor will match the refresh rate. As a result, every refresh has a dedicated frame.
If the monitor was locked to 120hz but FPS was only 60, that means the same image would be displayed for 2 refreshes. This can create a jarring effect that makes the game/app seem less fluid.
ascender
macrumors 603
That's a full day of use with a 64GB M4 Max and no crashes so far.
When I go with my works laptop to test on the Apple Store with the monitor, is it worth me taking my M3 Max 14" MacBook Pro as well? Or is it a given it'll work just fine with it?
ascender
macrumors 603
I don't think there's any issues at all with laptops supporting a single XDR and whatever refresh rate the Tech Specs page says.
Where the waters get muddied is adding a second monitor.
No harm in taking your laptop and trying it though.
I'm using the SD XDR with my MacBook M1 Pro. I have a powered USB hub with several peripherals connected.
When I plug the hub's USB cable into my MacBook, it connects no problem. But when I plug the hub's USB cable into one of the USB ports on the back of my XDR, my MacBook can't see the peripherals. This kind of ruins the "one cable" connection between my MacBook and the XDR, because now I have to plug in two cables. (My external keyboard plugged into the XDR works fine.) Can anyone figure out what's happening? TY!
When I plug the hub's USB cable into my MacBook, it connects no problem. But when I plug the hub's USB cable into one of the USB ports on the back of my XDR, my MacBook can't see the peripherals. This kind of ruins the "one cable" connection between my MacBook and the XDR, because now I have to plug in two cables. (My external keyboard plugged into the XDR works fine.) Can anyone figure out what's happening? TY!
@jr5x "I'm using the SD XDR with my MacBook M1 Pro."
There never was a MacBook (12" 2015-19) with an M1 Pro SoC.
So, assuming you have a MacBook Pro M1...
"...when I plug the hub's USB cable into one of the USB ports on the back of my XDR, my MacBook can't see the peripherals."
Apple's Tech Specs for M1 MBPs say:
"Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for:
DisplayPort
Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)"
EDIT:
I think maybe with the earlier Apple Silicon Macs, the ASD or ASD XDR will run using two channels of TB 3 data, each uncompressed stream covering half the screen, left or right.
When in this mode I don't think there is enough bandwidth for any USB 3.x data to pass down the cable.
If the video data IS being sent compressed, using DSC, another factor may be that at start-up the Mac is pre-allocating enough bandwidth allow 5K120 settings for the ASD XDR, (even though it can't be run from an M1 at more that 60Hz), so that a TB3 stream hasn't got enough to also send USB 3.x...
They do say M1 Macs are compatible (at 60Hz for the XDR), so it's all a guess, but it fits the circumstances you describe. 😵💫
Your keyboard, being USB 2, will work fine, because the USB 2 signals have their own separate wires in a USB-C or TB3/4/5 cable, so will always work.
As an afterthought, if your USB Hub self powered? Because if it's trying to take too much power from the ASD port, then that would be problematic...
There never was a MacBook (12" 2015-19) with an M1 Pro SoC.
So, assuming you have a MacBook Pro M1...
"...when I plug the hub's USB cable into one of the USB ports on the back of my XDR, my MacBook can't see the peripherals."
Apple's Tech Specs for M1 MBPs say:
"Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for:
DisplayPort
Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)"
EDIT:
I think maybe with the earlier Apple Silicon Macs, the ASD or ASD XDR will run using two channels of TB 3 data, each uncompressed stream covering half the screen, left or right.
When in this mode I don't think there is enough bandwidth for any USB 3.x data to pass down the cable.
If the video data IS being sent compressed, using DSC, another factor may be that at start-up the Mac is pre-allocating enough bandwidth allow 5K120 settings for the ASD XDR, (even though it can't be run from an M1 at more that 60Hz), so that a TB3 stream hasn't got enough to also send USB 3.x...
They do say M1 Macs are compatible (at 60Hz for the XDR), so it's all a guess, but it fits the circumstances you describe. 😵💫
Your keyboard, being USB 2, will work fine, because the USB 2 signals have their own separate wires in a USB-C or TB3/4/5 cable, so will always work.
As an afterthought, if your USB Hub self powered? Because if it's trying to take too much power from the ASD port, then that would be problematic...
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Anker USB 3.0 SuperSpeed 10-Port Hub Including a BC 1.2 Charging Port with 60W (12V / 5A) Power Adapter [VIA VL812-B2 Chipset and updated Firmware 9081] AH231