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Using your MacBook with the new LG UltraFine 4K display (USB-C)

I wonder if the Late 2014 mini using Thunderbolt2 -> DP would output 4K @ 60hz with this monitor? Assuming you're running 10.12.1, which does some trickery on the display outputs.

EDIT: never mind, I'm talking about doing this with the LG 27UD88.
 
A question

According to Intel, the 2015 MacBook's GPU (HD5300) only supports 2560x1600@60Hz via the DisplayPort interface.
http://ark.intel.com/products/84666/Intel-Core-M-5Y31-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-2_40-GHz

How does it manage to output 4K UHD @ 60Hz with LG 27UD88?

My theory is that since HD5300 supports up to 3 displays, GPU uses 2 of these connections (or streams, I don't know how to call it) to overcome the limitation. Please tell me if I am wrong, thanks.

ps: The reason I ask this question is that this LG UltraFine 4K is a true 4K display (4096x2304), but again, according to Intel, the 2016 MacBooks's HD515 only supports up to 3840x2160@60Hz. So I wonder if it will work perfectly.
 
neil218 said:
A question

According to Intel, the 2015 MacBook's GPU (HD5300) only supports 2560x1600@60Hz via the DisplayPort interface.
http://ark.intel.com/products/84666/Intel-Core-M-5Y31-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-2_40-GHz

How does it manage to output 4K UHD @ 60Hz with LG 27UD88?

My theory is that since HD5300 supports up to 3 displays, GPU uses 2 of these connections (or streams, I don't know how to call it) to overcome the limitation. Please tell me if I am wrong, thanks.

ps: The reason I ask this question is that this LG UltraFine 4K is a true 4K display (4096x2304), but again, according to Intel, the 2016 MacBooks's HD515 only supports up to 3840x2160@60Hz. So I wonder if it will work perfectly.
Click to expand...

You are right. MacOS tricks the display sending 2 images that COMBINED produce 4K.

Apple use this trick in the retina MacBook as well as the 5k iMac and the new MBP with 5K display capabilities
 
Just got my LG UltraFine 4K Display. Hooked it up to my 2015 rMB 1.1Ghz, and it works great! Very very nice display, super sharp and clear. I'm using macOS 10.12.1, and am currently running scaled resolution 2048x1152 @ 48Hz. The other resolutions available in display preferences are 2560x1400, 2304x1296, 1680x945, and 1280x720.
 
mathpunk said:
Just got my LG UltraFine 4K Display. Hooked it up to my 2015 rMB 1.1Ghz, and it works great! Very very nice display, super sharp and clear. I'm using macOS 10.12.1, and am currently running scaled resolution 2048x1152 @ 48Hz. The other resolutions available in display preferences are 2560x1400, 2304x1296, 1680x945, and 1280x720.
Click to expand...

are you getting any UI lag with this setup at all? not while doing anything intensive like editing but if you're playing a video or just switching from safari to other screens etc
 
blesss said:
are you getting any UI lag with this setup at all? not while doing anything intensive like editing but if you're playing a video or just switching from safari to other screens etc
Click to expand...

No noticeable lag to speak of. I'm mostly writing at the moment and using Safari. Scrolling in Safari shows no lag so far, and the UI feels the same as on the built-in 12" display. I haven't had time to try out any video, too busy working right now...
 
Mine came-in about an hour and a half ago. I'm using 2015 Macbook to drive it, love not having extra adapters or cables!

The monitor doesn't seem to have any buttons anywhere. Compared to Macbook display, there may be some lag - you'll find it if you really look for it, but it's not noticeable during regular use. (I don't plan on gaming.)

The display quality is amazing, I'm in-love, great purchase, especially at the price-point. Although may not be for everyone since some people do want bigger displays.

One thing I can't figure out is how to *easily* control the brightness. I'm able to control the brightness via control System Preferences/Display, but not via fn keys.

Cheers
 
MacUser58249 said:
Mine came-in about an hour and a half ago. I'm using 2015 Macbook to drive it, love not having extra adapters or cables!

The monitor doesn't seem to have any buttons anywhere. Compared to Macbook display, there may be some lag - you'll find it if you really look for it, but it's not noticeable during regular use. (I don't plan on gaming.)

The display quality is amazing, I'm in-love, great purchase, especially at the price-point. Although may not be for everyone since some people do want bigger displays.

One thing I can't figure out is how to *easily* control the brightness. I'm able to control the brightness via control System Preferences/Display, but not via fn keys.

Cheers
Click to expand...
That's my only concern, the size. I know I'd be good with 24", I had an 27" TB monitor but want more room on my desk....I'm hoping the 21.5" will be fine and as beautiful as it should be (the screen....not the ugly body it comes in).
 
I wonder if 2016 MB and MBP can drive it at 60Hz.

In theory, DisplayPort 1.2a doesn't provide enough bandwidth, but with that trick of macOS, I don't understand why it's not possible.
 
mathpunk said:
Just got my LG UltraFine 4K Display. Hooked it up to my 2015 rMB 1.1Ghz, and it works great! Very very nice display, super sharp and clear. I'm using macOS 10.12.1, and am currently running scaled resolution 2048x1152 @ 48Hz. The other resolutions available in display preferences are 2560x1400, 2304x1296, 1680x945, and 1280x720.
Click to expand...

I guess you choose the scaling because everything would be too small otherwise? If you compare to the MacBooks screen, is everything smaller than that at full resolution?



MacUser58249 said:
Mine came-in about an hour and a half ago. I'm using 2015 Macbook to drive it, love not having extra adapters or cables!

The monitor doesn't seem to have any buttons anywhere. Compared to Macbook display, there may be some lag - you'll find it if you really look for it, but it's not noticeable during regular use. (I don't plan on gaming.)

The display quality is amazing, I'm in-love, great purchase, especially at the price-point. Although may not be for everyone since some people do want bigger displays.

One thing I can't figure out is how to *easily* control the brightness. I'm able to control the brightness via control System Preferences/Display, but not via fn keys.

Cheers
Click to expand...



And - the big question to both of you, is your 2015 MacBook capable of running it at full resolution in 60Hz?
 
appeLappe said:
I guess you choose the scaling because everything would be too small otherwise? If you compare to the MacBooks screen, is everything smaller than that at full resolution? And - the big question to both of you, is your 2015 MacBook capable of running it at full resolution in 60Hz?
Click to expand...

The rMB treats this external monitor as a Retina display, just like the internal display. The 4K LG is _always_ running at the full 4096x2304 resolution. The idea with the scaling resolution is mostly how text is rendered. For example, if you open a PDF with Preview, it will look the same at full screen (rendered at 4096x2304) no matter what scaling resolution you choose. If you open a Terminal window, however, it will be bigger (with fonts scaled to be physically larger) at lower scaling resolutions, and smaller (with fonts scaled to be physically smaller) at higher scaling resolutions. As for the refresh rate, there is no way to change it without modifying the configurations either with a third party app or editing plist files, but it seems 48Hz is the max for the 2015 rMB, which is fast enough for what I use it for.
 
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Good info here. I have the 2015 and my girlfriend has the 2016 rMB. Glad to know we could both use this display despite slight refresh rate differences.
 
FuNGi said:
Good info here. I have the 2015 and my girlfriend has the 2016 rMB. Glad to know we could both use this display despite slight refresh rate differences.
Click to expand...
4K@60Hz on the 2016 model, it's awesome. Thank you so much for confirming the refresh rate. I am going to order this display.
 
I just hooked mine up. To both the '16 MBP (non-touch) and '16 MBr m5. Both work just fine. I was hoping I could run this display at 2560x1440 like I did my TB 27". However, the text is so tiny like this it's almost worthless. 2304x1296 is where it's at now and it's just okay. Still squinting a bit. 2048x1152 is what it comes with out to the box as "standard". This is very easy on the eyes and is beautiful. The idea isn't just "bigger" but MORE space to work with. Not sure why the 21.5"....24" would have made more sense for a smaller version. Probably wanted to match what the iMac's are.

This one may be going back, plus the "hub" feature is TOTALLY worthless...it's USB 2.0. I didn't notice that when I ordered. I knew it's wasn't TB3, but figured it would at least be USB 3.0 with decent speed. Nope, like a turtle. It's only good for hooking up a webcam or a keyboard. I want to hook up external drives to the thing and have it be functional. Not sure why it's crippled with 2.0? Maybe it's so the MBr 12" can use it at 60 instead of 30, but that makes it such a compromise I can't see the point. Especially when the MBr is plugged in the ONLY way (without a second external USB-C hub) to plug anything in is through the worthless 2.0. I haven't bought anything 2.0 in years. All of my newer external drives are 3.0 if they are mass storage (>4TB) or SSD's up to 1TB. Argh.

My main photo SSD drive on both Mac's plugged in directly reads at 450+mbps. Through the "hub" on the monitor 37mbps....at that rate, it's unusable for anything but text files and spreadsheets. I had thought I would be able to plug in my USB 3.0 hub from my old Mac, with the dongle, and be good to go. Nope. What a shame they ruined this monitor.

On positive note, the 12" '16 MBr m5 connects at 2560x1440 @ 60 Hz and I currently have it set for 2304 x 1296 @ 60 Hz....this is the same as the MBP and I don't notice anything different compared to the MBP vs. Mar. The screen itself is stunningly beautiful and matches the MBP's new P3 :).

I'll give this monitor a try for a while. It's just a shame the ports not the back can't really be used for ANYTHING. That means if I keep it, I ditch the 12" since it's the lone connector and I don't want to buy a fairly expensive dock to replace a dock that should be. At least with the Pro, I could still plug in the SSD and / or the USB 3.0 hub I have and get some great/useable speeds.
 
Last edited:
kwandrews said:
I just hooked mine up. To both the '16 MBP (non-touch) and '16 MBr m5. Both work just fine. I was hoping I could run this display at 2560x1440 like I did my TB 27". However, the text is so tiny like this it's almost worthless. 2304x1296 is where it's at now and it's just okay. Still squinting a bit. 2048x1152 is what it comes with out to the box as "standard". This is very easy on the eyes and is beautiful. The idea isn't just "bigger" but MORE space to work with. Not sure why the 21.5"....24" would have made more sense for a smaller version. Probably wanted to match what the iMac's are.

This one may be going back, plus the "hub" feature is TOTALLY worthless...it's USB 2.0. I didn't notice that when I ordered. I knew it's wasn't TB3, but figured it would at least be USB 3.0 with decent speed. Nope, like a turtle. It's only good for hooking up a webcam or a keyboard. I want to hook up external drives to the thing and have it be functional. Not sure why it's crippled with 2.0? Maybe it's so the MBr 12" can use it at 60 instead of 30, but that makes it such a compromise I can't see the point. Especially when the MBr is plugged in the ONLY way (without a second external USB-C hub) to plug anything in is through the worthless 2.0. I haven't bought anything 2.0 in years. All of my newer external drives are 3.0 if they are mass storage (>4TB) or SSD's up to 1TB. Argh.

My main photo SSD drive on both Mac's plugged in directly reads at 450+mbps. Through the "hub" on the monitor 37mbps....at that rate, it's unusable for anything but text files and spreadsheets. I had thought I would be able to plug in my USB 3.0 hub from my old Mac, with the dongle, and be good to go. Nope. What a shame they ruined this monitor.

On positive note, the 12" '16 MBr m5 connects at 2560x1440 @ 60 Hz and I currently have it set for 2304 x 1296 @ 60 Hz....this is the same as the MBP and I don't notice anything different compared to the MBP vs. Mar. The screen itself is stunningly beautiful and matches the MBP's new P3 :).

I'll give this monitor a try for a while. It's just a shame the ports not the back can't really be used for ANYTHING. That means if I keep it, I ditch the 12" since it's the lone connector and I don't want to buy a fairly expensive dock to replace a dock that should be. At least with the Pro, I could still plug in the SSD and / or the USB 3.0 hub I have and get some great/useable speeds.
Click to expand...
The reason that it's 2.0 is due to a limitation of the DisplayPort 1.2 protocol.

When the USB-C connector operates as a DisplayPort 1.2 connector (DisplayPort Alt Mode), all channels (lanes) that are normally designed to transmit data in 3.0 speed must be taken in order to provide enough bandwidth for 4K@60Hz.

But that's still Apple/LG's problem. I understand that choice, but it would be so cool, if they still included a 3.0 hub. Users can temporarily set a lower resolution (4K@30Hz or 2K) to re-enable the 3.0 speed.
 
Last edited:
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neil218 said:
But that's still Apple/LG's problem. I understand that choice, but it would be so cool, if they still included a 3.0 hub. Users can temporarily set a lower resolution (4K@30Hz or 2K) to renable the 3.0 speed.
Click to expand...

Ok, but how do you do that? 2560x1440 is what I've always thought of as 2K on my old TB monitor. This 4k retina is maxed out displaying 2560x1440 and I'm running it less than that. How does one change to 30? That option is not present as it was with other older monitors.

Also, I was just thinking about my SD card reader that can hook to the monitor, but at USB 2.0 it would be painful to unload 20-40GB at that speed. The more I think about it, it has to be a return unless I get something like the OWC hub.
 
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kwandrews said:
Ok, but how do you do that? 2560x1440 is what I've always thought of as 2K on my old TB monitor. This 4k retina is maxed out displaying 2560x1440 and I'm running it less than that. How does one change to 30? That option is not present as it was with other older monitors.

Also, I was just thinking about my SD card reader that can hook to the monitor, but at USB 2.0 it would be painful to unload 20-40GB at that speed. The more I think about it, it has to be a return unless I get something like the OWC hub.
Click to expand...
If I am not mistaken, hold the option key while clicking "display" in system preferences will show more resolutions. But this display doesn't have 3.0 interface, lower resolution can't do anything.

LG 27UD88 might be a viable choice, 27 inch, 4K UHD, USB 3.0 Hub. I still believe we can set a lower resolution to re-enable 3.0. Can anyone confirm this?
 
Last edited:
neil218 said:
LG 27UD88 might be a viable choice, 27 inch, 4K UHD, USB 3.0 Hub. I still believe we can set a lower resolution to re-enable 3.0. Can anyone confirm this?
Click to expand...

If I can find a deal on a 27UD88, I will pick one up to try.

Re-enabling USB 3.0 might be a tricky proposition, regardless. I know for the CalDigit USB-C hub, there is a firmware you can download to enable support of 4K 60Hz on the DP/HDMI 2.0 outputs, however USB speed is reduced to 2.0. To re-enable USB 3.0 speeds you have to flash the firmware of the dock back, thus eliminating 4K 60Hz.
 
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