Thunderbolt Display?

[JTToft]

I am leaning towards Dell U2515H at this point. It looks like a beautiful 1440p monitor, and quite reasonably priced.

- That is indeed a fantastic monitor! Let me know if there's anything you'd like to know about it that you can't read off a spec sheet.

(I paid just $369 USD for it. It's cheaper over here in Europe for some reason.)

 

[cfedu]

I am leaning towards Dell U2515H at this point. It looks like a beautiful 1440p monitor, and quite reasonably priced.



WQHD (3440x1440) resolution of U3415w may be an issue for rMB / HD5300 GPU. I wouldn't spend any money on this until it's confirmed this resolution is supported by MacBook, at proper 60Hz refresh. QHD/1440p display would be a lot safer bet in my opinion.

It should work as the MB support 3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz which is more than 3 million more pixels to push than the 34". If it does not work it will not be because of the GPU by rather Apple or the monitor.

 

[gglockner]

I own an older 24" Apple Cinema Display that uses DisplayPort. Theoretically, this should work, but it unfortunately requires a franken-cable that simply does not exist yet.

 

[BFW122083]

It should work as the MB support 3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz which is more than 3 million more pixels to push than the 34". If it does not work it will not be because of the GPU by rather Apple or the monitor.

Check this out... https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202856

Says the MB can handle 3840 x 2160 at 30Hz max using HDMI

At least we can hook something up to it!

 

[radioking]

I own an older 24" Apple Cinema Display that uses DisplayPort. Theoretically, this should work, but it unfortunately requires a franken-cable that simply does not exist yet.

https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_displayport_cable

 

[cfedu]

Check this out... https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202856

Says the MB can handle 3840 x 2160 at 30Hz max using HDMI

At least we can hook something up to it!

A few days ago when Apple updated their site they said that the Macbook you do 4K @60 HZ (with DP)they seem to have changed the their site yet again.

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/13/os-x-10-10-3-dell-5k/

 

[AppleTech22]

Could we possibly see a display coming at WWDC?

 

[gooser]

not trying to tick anyone off but this thread just seems silly to me. if you already have a thunderbolt display just get a computer that will support it. and don't get a computer that doesn't support it if you want to use it. seems simple to me. or drive yourself crazy trying to push a square peg into a round hole.

 

[MarvinHC]

Well, AirPlay is designed for casual mirroring to a TV, not for connecting primary monitors. It only supports up to 1920x1080 currently, and it does that far too slowly to be workable for anything other than static images (because of a low refresh rate).
AirPlay simply wouldn't work for higher resolutions. And forget about gaming.

You would need 'such a big bandwidth' because that's simply what modern monitors require to function at their potential.
A resolution of 2560x1440 at 60Hz, which could be considered fairly standard today, requires a bandwidth of 5.9 Gbps. I'd like to see the wireless interface that can reliably transfer at those rates... Not to mention the bandwidths required by 4K and 5K displays. A wired external interface to support 5K resolutions (DisplayPort 1.3) has only just come out and haven't even made its way into any actual products yet. Existing 5K monitors are having to use two cables to get a 5K signal. How might one expect to do wirelessly what currently requires two cables of the fastest wired connection standard available (DisplayPort 1.2)?

If AirPlay mirroring is sufficient for your monitor needs, that's all well and good. It isn't for everyone else's.

Thanks for the detailed answer. I have not yet seen a lag when using Airplay but admittedly mainly used it to stream videos, so this might have gone unnoticed. I trust your calculations on the bandwidth necessary which are indeed challenging, but I nevertheless stand with my opinion that Apple will (have to) come up with a wireless solution to connect to an external display, given that they have omitted any useful ports on the new Macbook and argue with going wireless on everything. Let's see what tricks they have up their sleeves!

 

[JTToft]

Thanks for the detailed answer.

- My pleasure.

 

[Queen6]

not trying to tick anyone off but this thread just seems silly to me. if you already have a thunderbolt display just get a computer that will support it. and don't get a computer that doesn't support it if you want to use it. seems simple to me. or drive yourself crazy trying to push a square peg into a round hole.

Or wait for the next revision of the MacBook with Thunderbolt. Apple haven't abandoned Thunderbolt, the tech simply wasn't available at the time of manufacture, that will all change late this year/early 2016 with Intel`s Skylake CPU with the new "Alpine Ridge" Thunderbolt controller.

Alpine Ridge controller for Thunderbolt 3.0 will increase maximum bandwidth to 40Gb/s per single cable. Thunderbolt will utilise PCI Express 3.0 technology and will be able to charge devices, support two ultra-high-definition displays (4K, 3840*2160 and similar resolutions) by one cable. The new Thunderbolt connector will be just 3mm tall. All sounds a good fit for the MacBook.

Q-6

 

[ZipZap]

There is so much on the market and much variation that would be a hard answer without knowing your needs. Dell ultrasharps are usually a good value and have great support.

Personally I would go for the Dell U3415w ultra wide monitor, you could also go for the samsung or LG 34's but I would choose dell for their support. http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=210-ADTR

Have you driven this monitor off any other Mac's? I have an rMBP.