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Studio Display XDR Impressions

Chancha said:
Currently the only Mac that can output to 3 displays at 5k120 HDR is the M3 Ultra Mac Studio, and it requires “splitting across port groups” so none can be chained.

We will have a clearer picture when the Mac Studio gets M5 Ultra update this year, it will then include the new (Apple flavour) TB5 controllers.
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You're not reading the find print finely enough.
 
iamFredT said:
Well. I think you are talking about Pro Display and not Apple Studio Display XDR.
I have bought an Apple Studio Display XDR and I have not received the polishing cloth and Apple’s website doesn’t state it as included in the box.
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I'm talking about a Pro Display XRD. The non-nano texture Pro Display XDR came with the cloth and the non-nano-texture Studio Display XDR doesn't. I'm saying BOTH versions should come with it. Given the cost, anyway
 
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Chancha said:
Currently the only Mac that can output to 3 displays at 5k120 HDR is the M3 Ultra Mac Studio, and it requires “splitting across port groups” so none can be chained.

We will have a clearer picture when the Mac Studio gets M5 Ultra update this year, it will then include the new (Apple flavour) TB5 controllers.
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Bummer. At least the newer Macs can push two.
 
AbeLincoln1984 said:
You're not reading the find print finely enough.
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Do you mean I got the part on daisy-chaining wrong?
Seriously Apple's wording is quite difficult to parse. The only alternative I can see is the M3 Ultra can chain up to 2 5k120, these are regardless of port groups; only the 3rd one is required to be split to other port groups (while we are at this, Apple's doc does specify what "port groups" precisely mean, but does not relate this when chaining is in the mix).
 
Chancha said:
Do you mean I got the part on daisy-chaining wrong?
Seriously Apple's wording is quite difficult to parse. The only alternative I can see is the M3 Ultra can chain up to 2 5k120, these are regardless of port groups; only the 3rd one is required to be split to other port groups (while we are at this, Apple's doc does specify what "port groups" precisely mean, but does not relate this when chaining is in the mix).
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I see port groups discussed for these machines:
- Mac Pro (2023) with M2 Ultra
- Mac Studio (2025) with M3 Ultra
- Mac Studio (2023) with M2 Ultra

I think this means port groups is an Apple Silicon Ultra concept. Ultra is basically two Max chips fused together. I suppose each Max die of Ultra has its own port group and would have similar limits as a single Max chip.

Anything that is not Ultra only has one port group.
 
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I was watching the latest For All Mankind S05E01 in HDR 2160p on the Studio Display XDR (in default P3-2000nit, Adaptative framerate). I'm noticing heavy and imho very eye straining flickering everytime there is some large panning of the camera. A great example from @13:00 → @13:23 (especially visible @13:18). Can somebody relate? I'm not sure if it is an issue with the screen per se or just the low framerate of the file I am playing (23.976025). I didn't notice such flickering on my old DELL 1080p 24" that is over a decade old. I suppose the SDXDR has less blur, or better blur management that is overdoing its job. Is there a way to attenuate this?
 
joevt said:
I see port groups discussed for these machines:
- Mac Pro (2023) with M2 Ultra
- Mac Studio (2025) with M3 Ultra
- Mac Studio (2023) with M2 Ultra

I think this means port groups is an Apple Silicon Ultra concept. Ultra is basically two Max chips fused together. I suppose each Max die of Ultra has its own port group and would have similar limits as a single Max chip.

Anything that is not Ultra only has one port group.
Click to expand...
These are the words on Apple doc on Mac Studio display capabilities in question:

"Mac Studio (2025) with M3 Ultra has two port groups that each support up to four displays. An 8K (7680 x 4320) at 60Hz or 4K (3840 x 2160) at 240Hz display connected over HDMI uses the resources of two displays in that port group.
  • Port group 1: The two Thunderbolt ports on the front and the HDMI port on the back
  • Port group 2: The four Thunderbolt ports on the back"
And then on three displays:

"Supports three external displays in any one of these configurations:
  • Three displays up to a native resolution of 8K (7680 x 4320) at 60Hz, 5K (5120 x 2880) at 120Hz, or 4K (3840 x 2160) at 240Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI (requires splitting across port groups)"
At first I took it to mean the 3 (XDR) displays need to be plugged discretely (ie. not chained at all). But after reading thrice, I can go back and see there are no more than 2 groups, clearly the 3rd one need to be in the same group as either. And a chain of 1+1 displays of course also need to originate from a single port thus in the same group. What is still not clear is if the daisy-chain limit further reduces what can be done:

"Using a supported hub or daisy-chaining displays can enable up to 2 displays over a single Thunderbolt port"

That's why I thought it would take the M5 Ultra to make it clear, the M3 Ultra wouldn't be able to chain a 3rd display regardless of bandwidth anyway, but the M5 Ultra should be able to, as we can deduce from the M5 Max.
 
IMG_0875.jpeg

I am now fully prepared to test my works laptop with the Studio Display XDR next week lol.
 
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thenewepic said:
unfortunately, a cable doesn't matter if the GPU/drivers don't support a certain resolution. But good luck anyway!
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Luckily my works laptop will support 5k 120, but I do not care if it is 5k 30, will be interesting to see what I can get. 4K 60 seems to be the common theme though so far. So I expect to get that at least.
 
In case it is helpful for anyone, I've got three Studio Display XDRs hooked up to a Studio M4 Max. All three must be plugged directly into the computer and the computer must be restarted before all three will work. Two are limited to 60Hz, while the third can be set to up to 120Hz. I personally don't care about the refresh rate for my work, so I have all three set to 60Hz.

There appears to be a bug with negotiating the refresh rates when plugging the displays in one at a time. All the screens need to be connected upon start up for MacOS to pick refresh rates that can be supported. Plugging them in individually leaves too few display generators to support 120Hz, so the display remains black and doesn't show in display preferences. Not an issue for a Mac Studio, but I imagine quite annoying for those trying to connect a MacBook. Hopefully Apple is able to address this in a future update.
 
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thenewepic said:
here.
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I'm not sure I'd take that at face value. It's asserted by them, sure, but I don't see any proof.
Quite the contrary, I see that 1.4a cards like my Nvidia 4080 can only do 5k60Hz, and 2.0a cards like that AMD one in this thread, or that 5090 mentioned earlier in the thread, can do 5k120Hz.

Now is that proof? No, not quite; there might be something more to it, but I think it's a better made case than the assumption in that linked thread.
 
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Alexander Photo said:
In case it is helpful for anyone, I've got three Studio Display XDRs hooked up to a Studio M4 Max. All three must be plugged directly into the computer and the computer must be restarted before all three will work. Two are limited to 60Hz, while the third can be set to up to 120Hz. I personally don't care about the refresh rate for my work, so I have all three set to 60Hz.

There appears to be a bug with negotiating the refresh rates when plugging the displays in one at a time. All the screens need to be connected upon start up for MacOS to pick refresh rates that can be supported. Plugging them in individually leaves too few display generators to support 120Hz, so the display remains black and doesn't show in display preferences. Not an issue for a Mac Studio, but I imagine quite annoying for those trying to connect a MacBook. Hopefully Apple is able to address this in a future update.
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My setup suddenly broke today, and I can't get it working again. I guess that's what I get for boasting about it on the internet.

I now can only get two of the displays to connect. The third is recognized by the computer, but remains black.

I initially had this issue but thought I found a solution by plugging all three directly into the computer and restarting. That's no longer working.

I've been posting about the issue in two Apple Community threads: Mac Studio M4 Max not recognizing third Studio Display XDR and Dual Monitor Studio Display XDR fails on MacBook Pro M3/M4 Pro.

If anyone has a suggestion as to how I could get all three working again, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise I may have to just wait for Apple to fix the issue.
 
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Alexander Photo said:
My setup suddenly broke today, and I can't get it working again. I guess that's what I get for boasting about it on the internet.

I now can only get two of the displays to connect. The third is recognized by the computer, but remains black.

I initially had this issue but thought I found a solution by plugging all three directly into the computer and restarting. That's no longer working.

I've been posting about the issue in two Apple Community threads: Mac Studio M4 Max not recognizing third Studio Display XDR and Dual Monitor Studio Display XDR fails on MacBook Pro M3/M4 Pro.

If anyone has a suggestion as to how I could get all three working again, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise I may have to just wait for Apple to fix the issue.
Click to expand...
Oh, that sucks.
 
Tymscar said:
I'm not sure I'd take that at face value. It's asserted by them, sure, but I don't see any proof.
Quite the contrary, I see that 1.4a cards like my Nvidia 4080 can only do 5k60Hz, and 2.0a cards like that AMD one in this thread, or that 5090 mentioned earlier in the thread, can do 5k120Hz.

Now is that proof? No, not quite; there might be something more to it, but I think it's a better made case than the assumption in that linked thread.
Click to expand...
On Arch my 9070 XT negotiates a 4x HBR3 link with DSC which is sufficient to run 5K 120Hz. DP 1.4 is barely enough, but it’s enough if the driver lets it. If the XDR was a 2.0 sink I’d expect it to drive it without DSC, but alas.
 
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Tymscar said:
I'm not sure I'd take that at face value. It's asserted by them, sure, but I don't see any proof
Click to expand...
I don't understand what proofs do you need? Do you think the poster just made up all the info?
4080 can support 5K@120. 100%. For example, this is data regarding another hi-refresh rate 5K monitor: https://rog.asus.com/support/faq/1056320/
As you can see, NVIDIA's 30-series and 40-series along with AMD 6000-series are capable of 5K 120Hz despite being DP1.4-max GPUs.
 
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