Thunderbolt Display or LG 5K

[ThirteenXIII]

I have a mix of MacBooks, 2015 15-inch MBP Retina and 2016/17 13-inch MBP with TouchBar

If there was an opportunity to go fro an Apple Thunderbolt Display for an LG 5K, is that a good investment? have all the kinks been ironed out for the LG displays?

I notice at the Apple store the LG screens seem more yellow then the iMac displays they have.


Would you trade your Thunderbolt display for a LG 5K?

 

[LorenK]

I've never owned a Thunderbolt display, but I do have my my MacPro 5,1 hooked up to both a 32" Vizio TV, which I use as my monitor and my 65" LG OLED TV, and I have no complaints. The question that everyone will have is what are you using the monitor for? I don't use my MacPro for any design work, but do for watching movies, so I can say that the LG is great for that, no reason to complain at all about colors or anything, and black is never "just" black, you get the detail that is missing in anything other than an OLED. Unless your use depends on extremely accurate color reproduction, then save your money, you can tweak most TVs and monitors you use to get the color you want.

 

[campyguy]

My vote is neither. I wanted a display to go with my new iMP that's able to realistically in a practical sense view 4k content, since I can simply dial in "5k" on my iMP now. I agree with seeing issues with LG 5k panels (we demoed a few for my company and sent them back, they were all a bit yellow-biased IMO and I can find 1440p displays that are far less costly, the "native" resolution for the LG 5k and my iMP). I still use Dell P2715Q and BenQ BL2711U displays at my offices, but the elements of the GUI are just too small at 4k but look great at their "native" HD resolution due to the high DPI, also much less costly then the LG 5k and with 3-year warranties (compared to the 1-year warranty of the LG).

I settled for, and am happy with an LG 32UD59 that I bought at Costco. VA panel, UHD, decent control/customization options and color, pretty decent matte coating. Costco sells it at around $100 less than anyone else, buying with my Costco card and at Costco adds another 4 years of guarantees onto the 1-year warranty, and waited until LG added a $150 rebate that Costco automatically applies. Not bad for $350, delivered to my front door. It'll tide me over until the next thing comes out... FWIW, LG's already superseded it with the LG 32UD60, just a slightly faster refresh rate.

 

[ThirteenXIII]

really the only thing is comparing between the two. Upgrade the Thunderbolt Display to a LG 5K or would a Thunderbolt Display be a better investment?

Movies, photos, design, general use, etc.

 

[mroy16]

Are you considering swapping your current Thunderbolt Display for a 5K vs. keeping your Thunderbolt display? Or are you purchasing a second monitor and deciding between the two? It's not clear to me.

If you're just considering an upgrade, just think about whether your current display does everything you want. If it does, why worry about what else is out there? Nothing wrong with saving money and using hardware that still works fine.

 

[ThirteenXIII]

Well I have two thunderbolt displays, one that was purchased a little less than a year ago from apple's refurb site and it has been having some display panel issues (looks like a spill), so apple offered to swap it with a 5K since they don't repair or sell them.

So that leaves the 2nd Thunderbolt Display, do I match them up or just resell them both and find something better? Which is why I've only focused on the 2 models instead of others. I like the simplicity of the TBD and what the 5K may offer in that single cord charging/hub

 

[mroy16]

Why not wait until you get the first 5K display and see how you like it? Maybe it will work out just fine with your Thunderbolt display. Maybe you'll love it and want a second. Maybe you'll hate it and want something else. I don't see a reason to make a decision just yet.