The new Dell U2718Q 4K monitor

[tair]

Which Mac do you use to connect Dell? Maybe you mentioned it but I'm lazy to read. I had some experiments with Mac minis 2012 and 2014 with 10.11/12/13 and yes all the time U2718Q was at 3840x2160 with tiny elements/symbols as default for the display. No way to get HiDPI picture unless 1920x1080. Rest of upper resolutions are fuzzy.

I tried with MacBook Pro 15'' mid 2015. Actually, easy to just switch to a good scale in Display Preferences, but then the UI becomes laggy, and I wonder why? The default scale on UP2414q was ok and didn't lag so badly

 

[andrewembassy]

Glad to know one more happy user of this display. Though I'm still waiting for my Plugable USB-C to HDMI 2.0 cable to decide: DP or HDMI.

I just purchased my new U2718Q and the first cable I used was a USBC->HDMI cable. The colors were definitely off, with reds feeling more orange and greens feeling weirdly muted. I got a USBC->DP cable an they feel much better, although I am now experiencing the greens issue.

I'm curious about your experience with the USBC->HDMI cable Miric, I wonder if you'll see the weird colors I did as well.

I don't really know how I'm going to get the .exe file to run; I ran Parallels at one point on my Mac a long time ago but I remember it being a pain. I have an old PC that I think runs Windows 8; any ideas if that would work?

 

[mehdijobs]

Hi, I got a 15" Retina Macbook Pro (with iris) Mid 2014, I need to get a new monitor as my Apple Thunderbolt Display no longer works.
Do I have any options out of all the 4K monitors? Is the Dell ok? or or would it become laggy?
Sorry if the question is too broad for this forum...

 

[miric]

I tried with MacBook Pro 15'' mid 2015. Actually, easy to just switch to a good scale in Display Preferences, but then the UI becomes laggy, and I wonder why? The default scale on UP2414q was ok and didn't lag so badly

I tested it on my wife's MacBook Pro 13 Early 2015. Worked well as for me but I did not test it for a long time. I suppose feeling of lags appears after some regular using. I suspect the reason is Mac has to render larger than 4K image by resolution. For example if you setup 2560x1440, Mac renders 5120x2880 (just make a screenshot and check its dimensions) which is obviously larger than 3840x2160. But 2015's MBP is pretty good gear to be obsolete in terms of hardware as for me.
[doublepost=1516881386][/doublepost]

Hi, I got a 15" Retina Macbook Pro (with iris) Mid 2014, I need to get a new monitor as my Apple Thunderbolt Display no longer works.
Do I have any options out of all the 4K monitors? Is the Dell ok? or or would it become laggy?
Sorry if the question is too broad for this forum...

Hard to say. It's all subjective. I don't remember if it is capable of 60Hz. If not you may notice some lags in UI. Also as far as I know Intellij developer products have some issues on scaled resolutions of external displays and become slow even when you type a text.

 

[ARK]

Would this work with both my wife's 2015 12" MacBook and my late 2013 15" MacBook Pro? Seems like it has the necessary capability to do so.

 

[Tex-Twil]

Hi,
I'm about to get a 4K as well and I'm hesitating between the P2715Q and the U2718Q. Can anybody confirm that the firmware update of the U2718Q fixes all its issues?

cheers

 

[Alex27]

Hi,
I'm about to get a 4K as well and I'm hesitating between the P2715Q and the U2718Q. Can anybody confirm that the firmware update of the U2718Q fixes all its issues?

cheers

Hi all, I have the same question. Am also wondering if the latest shipment of the U2718Q might have the problems fixed and not require the firmware update?

Thanks!

 

[jozero]

I have a dell U2718Q since last fall. I notice an overall dullness with the colours and brightness. Does the firmware fix this? The whites seem specially "dead". Not sure how to describe it

 

[thaifood]

Dell just announced new P series monitors. Releasing in June with an USB C model coming in July.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/A-bev...ections-and-65-W-power-delivery.299856.0.html

 

[tadasZ]

Dear rulo. Recently Dell released a firmware update (m2b101 to m2b102, .exe file, though I run it in Win 7 on my Parallels Desktop without a problem) which is about that green color issue on Dell U2718Q through mDP/DP port. Now I find colors more accurate.

OMG thank you! It's 3:30 AM here and I can confirm that new firmware version fixes green colour problem (it is much better).

Parallels Desktop + Trial version of windows + firmware exe file mounted as iso = i'm officially fully happy with my U2718Q monitor.

 

[Stable Entropy]

Using one of these with a 2015 15" MBP w/ R9 M370X and absolutely love it. I'm running 1440p HiDPI with no issues.

I also own an iMac 5K and while that display is definitely more crisp, I find this to be fine and can work for days without feeling like I need to move back to the iMac. Really enjoy the thin bezels and adjustability compared to the iMac.

I bought it from Costco where they had it $70 off for awhile. Manufacture date was in January and it shipped with the new firmware.

 

[LingDingLauPau]

I'm looking to buy 2 Dell U2718Q 4K monitors for my MB Pro 2017 15" 560, a brand new and gorgeous (very thin bezel) 4K monitor (this one). Anyone has already bought it and running on a new 2017 (or late 2016) MBP?

I've read there were some problems with a 2015 MBP (see http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/peripherals/f/3529/t/20017931) so I'm very curious if someone has it already running without problems. TIA for your response!!

I've experienced lag/low refresh rate on both the MacBook Pro 13" & 15" mid 2017 and mid 2018 models, so I would strongly advise against buying this display if you own or plan to buy newer models of the MacBook Pro.

I will try firmware updating them tomorrow...

 

[miric]

I've experienced lag/low refresh rate on both the MacBook Pro 13" & 15" mid 2017 and mid 2018 models, so I would strongly advise against buying this display if you own or plan to buy newer models of the MacBook Pro.

Where I may reproduce it? Which software/use cases? I have a lag with my Mac mini late 2012 which is obviously normal due to max 30Hz support via DisplayPort for Intel HD 4000 graphics. I thought it would be enough for calm usage scenario like Photoshop/Illustrator but find it barely usable with my Wacom tablet. The same time zero problems with Macbook Pro 15 2017.

 

[jlong333]

Where I may reproduce it? Which software/use cases? I have a lag with my Mac mini late 2012 which is obviously normal due to max 30Hz support via DisplayPort for Intel HD 4000 graphics. I thought it would be enough for calm usage scenario like Photoshop/Illustrator but find it barely usable with my Wacom tablet. The same time zero problems with Macbook Pro 15 2017.

Hi Miric / All -- I have a 2016 MacBook Pro with a Radeon Pro 460 -- I have tried mini DP to HDMI, HDMI to HDMI, and USB to HDMI, and I cannot get either of my U2718Q displays to support 60hz refresh. It seems to default to 30 as confirmed by Mac settings when going to About This Mac -> Overview -> System Report -> Displays & Adapters and selecting my graphics card there.

Did anyone else have an issue with getting 60hz to work? It's quite annoying using 30hz when you are used to 60.

FWIW I have also tried factory resetting the display but I have not tried updating the drivers / firmware posted above (but I can because I have parallels... I guess I'll try that next).

 

[miric]

Hi Miric / All -- I have a 2016 MacBook Pro with a Radeon Pro 460 -- I have tried mini DP to HDMI, HDMI to HDMI, and USB to HDMI, and I cannot get either of my U2718Q displays to support 60hz refresh. It seems to default to 30 as confirmed by Mac settings when going to About This Mac -> Overview -> System Report -> Displays & Adapters and selecting my graphics card there.

Did anyone else have an issue with getting 60hz to work? It's quite annoying using 30hz when you are used to 60.

MBP 2016 is supposed to work at 60Hz@4K. I use USB-C to HDMI 2.0 Plugable cable and USB-C to DisplayPort j5create cable. Both are capable of 60Hz@4K. MBP 15 2016, Radeon 560.

 

[jlong333]

Thanks for the quick response - when you go into Displays & Adapters does it say 30hz or 60hz? Just curious

This lag is noticeable and quite horrendous. All of my cables are capable of 60hz and 4k and when I plug it into a Windows box it does 60hz 4k no problem without a need to tweak any settings.
[doublepost=1558469190][/doublepost]Also on the monitor when I go to Others -> Firmware it says I am running M2B103.

 

[miric]

I have to check but I rely on Dell’s OSD menu info. It tells 3840x2160, 60Hz. The same time I know very well how does 30Hz look like visually due to my Mac mini.

 

[jlong333]

But even that is kinda hairy / confusing because it says under Others -> Display Info "Maximum 3840x2160 at 60hz" ... doesn't necessarily mean that's what is being utilized right?
[doublepost=1558469740][/doublepost]Under "Current" in DDM it says 2160p even if I go into scaling and change it to highest setting of 3840 x 2160

 

[miric]

But even that is kinda hairy / confusing because it says under Others -> Display Info "Maximum 3840x2160 at 60hz" ... doesn't necessarily mean that's what is being utilized right?

I don’t exactly remember OSD in details right now but it seems there’s also something called “current”. OK, let’s do this way. Tomorrow I will check all the details at home with Plugable cable and post it here.

 

[jlong333]

Thanks @miric -- would def appreciate that as it will tell me whether or not I need to return both of these displays to Dell.. didn't pay $800 for 30hz

 

[miric]

Well, here is a result of my investigation.

Dell itself informs just "Current is 2160p" and "DP 1.2" which is required for 4K@60Hz. It does not directly mean it runs 60Hz. Now, what about the System Report window (everything on Radeon Pro 560):

DELL U2718Q:
Resolution: 5120 x 2880 (5K/UHD+ - Ultra High Definition Plus)
UI Looks like: 2560 x 1440 @ 60 Hz

I interpret this as it has scaled resolution but displays it at 60Hz.

Let's do more fair and switch to native pixel-to-pixel resolution:

DELL U2718Q:
Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (2160p 4K UHD - Ultra High Definition)
UI Looks like: 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz

As for me, it’s pretty clear now. Feel free to disturb me more until you get a result which will satisfy you 100%

https://imgur.com/wzQIp7x

[doublepost=1558507430][/doublepost]@jlong333, you mentioned you used miniDP to ... I'm just wondering how if MBP 2016+ has only USB Type-C output sockets. This is suspicious.

 

[jlong333]

I'm docking on a Henge docking station which has an input for miniDP, but I get the same results whether I choose to dock the MBP or not.

 

[jlong333]

This is starting to drive me nuts haha. Display 1 below is connected via Display port to mini DP (in the dock) and Display 2 below is 4k HDMI to USB-C (plugged directly into MBP).

Displays:
DELL U2718Q:
Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (2160p 4K UHD - Ultra High Definition)
UI Looks like: 1920 x 1080 @ 30 Hz
Framebuffer Depth: 30-Bit Color (ARGB2101010)
Display Serial Number: 4K8X79150K1L
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Adapter Type: DisplayPort
Automatically Adjust Brightness: No

DELL U2718Q:
Resolution: 7680 x 4320 (8K UHD - 8K Ultra High Definition)
UI Looks like: 3840 x 2160 @ 30 Hz
Framebuffer Depth: 30-Bit Color (ARGB2101010)
Display Serial Number: 4K8X78AC0N1L
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Automatically Adjust Brightness: No
Connection Type: DVI or HDMI
Adapter Firmware Version: e.1d



Same result whether it's docked / undocked / no matter what combination of cables I use.
Is there anything else that I'm not trying that you can think of?


DDM display info says Current: 3840 x 2160, 30 Hz
Maximum: 3840 x 2160, 60hz

(this is the most infuriating part)

Anyway, any help would be appreciated. I am heavily leaning towards just returning these at this point unless there is some solution I'm not thinking of.

 

[cczhu]

This is starting to drive me nuts haha. Display 1 below is connected via Display port to mini DP (in the dock) and Display 2 below is 4k HDMI to USB-C (plugged directly into MBP).

Displays:
DELL U2718Q:
Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (2160p 4K UHD - Ultra High Definition)
UI Looks like: 1920 x 1080 @ 30 Hz
Framebuffer Depth: 30-Bit Color (ARGB2101010)
Display Serial Number: 4K8X79150K1L
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Adapter Type: DisplayPort
Automatically Adjust Brightness: No

DELL U2718Q:
Resolution: 7680 x 4320 (8K UHD - 8K Ultra High Definition)
UI Looks like: 3840 x 2160 @ 30 Hz
Framebuffer Depth: 30-Bit Color (ARGB2101010)
Display Serial Number: 4K8X78AC0N1L
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Automatically Adjust Brightness: No
Connection Type: DVI or HDMI
Adapter Firmware Version: e.1d



Same result whether it's docked / undocked / no matter what combination of cables I use.
Is there anything else that I'm not trying that you can think of?


DDM display info says Current: 3840 x 2160, 30 Hz
Maximum: 3840 x 2160, 60hz

(this is the most infuriating part)

Anyway, any help would be appreciated. I am heavily leaning towards just returning these at this point unless there is some solution I'm not thinking of.

it's probably your dock making the trouble. I connect my MBP to U2718Q via a mDP to USBC cable, 4k@60Hz never had an issue.

 

[jlong333]

Happens whether I'm docked or not.
[doublepost=1558577340][/doublepost]What's ultimately frustrating about this is it seems like you need HDMI to utilize HDR on these Dell displays and I cannot get HDMI to go above more than 30hz... it's not the end of the world but still annoying. Anyway, I'll grab some mdp to usb c cables and test and report back I guess. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a docking station plugging in all these USB C cables straight into the MBP.