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Spungoflex

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 30, 2012
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I’d like to pick up one of these devices, but options for 4K external displays under 27” are very limited.

While saving for the LG 24” 4K Ultrafine, I’d be using the Mac with a 21.5” 1080p display.

With the removal of subpixel antialiasing, just how bad does text look? I find text on Windows looks bad, so I can’t even imagine MacOS.
 
Is this something exclusive to M1 Macs or just Big Sur? I have an Intel Mac with. 21.5 1080p screen and it looks the same on a Big Sur as past OSes.
 
I’d like to pick up one of these devices, but options for 4K external displays under 27” are very limited.

While saving for the LG 24” 4K Ultrafine, I’d be using the Mac with a 21.5” 1080p display.

With the removal of subpixel antialiasing, just how bad does text look? I find text on Windows looks bad, so I can’t even imagine MacOS.
You can get a pretty good 24" 4K display for about $300. I use this one:
LG 24UD58-B 24-Inch 4K UHD IPS Monitor

Plan on buying a VESA mount though because the included stand is garbage. I bought a monoprice one for $25.
 
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You can get a pretty good 24" 4K display for about $300. I use this one:
LG 24UD58-B 24-Inch 4K UHD IPS Monitor

Plan on buying a VESA mount though because the included stand is garbage. I bought a monoprice one for $25.
I can’t seem to find it anywhere in Canada. I planned on getting the Dell P2415Q, but they’ve recently discontinued that model.
 
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It’s actually not bad. A tiny bit blurry. although, that’s subjective.

I’m not sure if this will give you a fair depiction:
Web-page_Safari_FHD-1080p.png
I’ve been considering a 32” UHD, however, I’m not willing to pay $1,000 (USD) or more and I’ve come to prefer the curved monitors. There are some choices, though reviews aren’t helpful as all of the models I’ve found in searches have nearly 10% of 2 and 1-star ratings.
 
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I can’t seem to find it anywhere in Canada. I planned on getting the Dell P2415Q, but they’ve recently discontinued that model.
Probably related to the ongoing electronic parts shortage. Too bad. I like mine enough that I sold my 27” Thunderbolt Display (which was somewhat blurry on Big Sur).
 
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It’s actually not bad. A tiny bit blurry. although, that’s subjective.

I’m not sure if this will give you a fair depiction:
View attachment 1789011
I’ve been considering a 32” UHD, however, I’m not willing to pay $1,000 (USD) or more and I’ve come to prefer the curved monitors. There are some choices, though reviews aren’t helpful as all of the models I’ve found in searches have nearly 10% of 2 and 1-star ratings.
Thanks.

That does look quite a bit worse than my Windows PC, which I'm already having a hard time with after using my iPhone with retina display. It's hard to unsee the blurriness once you are used to high DPI screens.
 
The definite answer is: Yes! I'm writing this on a 1080p monitor attached to my M1 Air and all text is blurry. Since Apple removed sub pixel antialiasing, any monitor under 4K suffers from this problem and there is no solution. If you want your text to be crisp, you need to go 4K.
 
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