What resolution do I set my monitor too to get 5K?

[questionwonder]

I have a MB Pro M1 14" and a brand new LG UltraGear evo 27GM950B-B 5K monitor (same panel as the Apple XDR)

The only resolution that looks good that isn't too small is 1920x1080, anything bigger looks too small.

Is this normal or should I expect to set the resolution higher, say something like 2560x1440? At this resolution text looks a little too small!

I went to the Apple store and looked at the XDR monitor and they had the resolution on the monitor in the store set to 2560x1440, but that looked too small too!


Am I not understanding something about scaling and resolutions when using a 5K monitor?

I just want to ensure that I get my money's worth and that I'm utilizing 5K if I just spent $1K+ on a monitor.
For some reason I thought that when I plugged in a 5K monitor, I would see the display resolution set to 5120x2880 and the text on screen would be scaled properly and look good?

FYI - I keep getting a message box pop up on my monitor (LG message, not MB OS message) that says I'm not set to the proper resolution and should be set to 5120x2880, so this message is confusing me into thinking I have something not set correctly or not being utilized correctly.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Sounds like the Mac isn't putting out the resolution your monitor wants. Could be a variety of reasons for that.
Is this the only external display connected?
How is it connected - HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C?

 

[PaulD-UK]

What port on the MBP M1 do you have connected from Mac to the monitor?

What does System Settings > Displays offer as available resolutions?
Set it to show the full output List view.

With an M1 Mac the HDMI port can only support 4K.

 

[questionwonder]

Sounds like the Mac isn't putting out the resolution your monitor wants. Could be a variety of reasons for that.
Is this the only external display connected?
How is it connected - HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C?

No I bought two of the LG monitors, but when I have jsut one plugged in, I see the same resolutions in display settings.
The monitor is connected via USB-C TB4

 

[questionwonder]

What port on the MBP M1 do you have connected from Mac to the monitor?

What does System Settings > Displays offer as available resolutions?
Set it to show the full output List view.

With an M1 Mac the HDMI port can only support 4K.

When I display all resolutions in 3840x2160, but when I select it, everything on the screen in super tiny! Is that normal?

 

[PaulD-UK]

That is only 4K, and 1920x1080 is the default HiDPI retina resolution.

Running a 5K monitor at full 5/4K will give tiny text.

It is normal to use the default Retina setting of half that - 2880 x 1440 for 5K screen.
That way any graphics on screen are still 5K, but the Menus are scaled up to a normal size.

Because a retina 5K screen is so sharp it’s normally used closer to the seating position.

 

[questionwonder]

That is only 4K, and 1920x1080 is the default HiDPI retina resolution.

I guess my concern or question is, can I keep the resolution at 1920x1080 or something a little higher like 2560x1440 and still get my money's (1K) worth out of this monitor?

 

[questionwonder]

That is only 4K, and 1920x1080 is the default HiDPI retina resolution.

Running a 5K monitor at full 5/4K will give tiny text.

It is normal to use the default setting of half that - 2880 x 1440 for 5K screen.

I'm new to scaling and resolutions, so my question is am I getting my money's worth out of this $1K 5K monitor if I have the display resolution set somewhere between 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, even though the max display resolution showing in display settings is 3840x2160?

 

[PaulD-UK]

If you are running it at a HiDPI retina resolution then graphics and video will still be 5K, but the Menus will be scaled up to be the normal size.

 

[questionwonder]

If you are running it at a HiDPI retina resolution then graphics and video will still be 5K, but the Menus will be scaled up to be the normal size.

I don't have any HIDPI options in display settings. Would that be something to configure on the monitor itself?
Or does the monitor automatically adjust using HIDPI on a certain resolution?

 

[PaulD-UK]

I think with an M1 Mac you have to select 60Hz to get 5K.
This is the same as a Studio XDR display.

Until you get a 5120 x 2880 option you are only showing 4K.

 

[questionwonder]

I think with an M1 Mac you have to select 60Hz to get 5K.
This is the same as a Studio XDR display.

Until you get a 5120 x 2880 option you are only showing 4K.

On my MB Pro M5 I see 5120 x 2880 on one monitor but only 3840x2160 on the other monitor. Both are the same monitors using the same USB-C TB4 cable. I wonder if there is a M5 limitation still even though this is the most power MB?

 

[PaulD-UK]

5K/60 for both is normal with a base M5 Mac.
It’s best to have an M5 Max Mac for two Thunderbolt 5K/120 monitors.

I don’t know how the USB-C connection of the LG monitors will work out in practice when using two.

Edit: As you have posted elsewhere, try a good quality USB-C to 8K DP adapter cable.
It sounds like these monitor work best with the DP input.

 

[questionwonder]

5K/60 for both is normal with a base M5 Mac.
It’s best to have an M5 Max Mac for two Thunderbolt 5K/120 monitors.

I don’t know how the USB-C connection of the LG monitors will work out in practice when using two.

I have the mid tier (pro chip)

 

[Ben J.]

You just use the resolution that suits your screen size, viewing distance, and personal preference. I'm perfectly happy with 1920 x 1080 on both my 55" TV used at a distance, and a 32" sitting closer.

Are you getting your moneys worth? Yes. Even with a low resolution, if you switch to full screen view of a video or broadcast, the mac will provide all the available resolution of the video to fit the screen's 'native resolution'.

4K, 5K, 6K - al those number refer to the approximate number of horisontal pixels:
2K - 1920 x 1080 - full HD
3K - around 3200 x 1800
4K - around 3840 x 2160 - Ultra HD
etc.

All this hype around high resolution is just that - hype. Why should I get a 4 or 5K monitor? Well, I shouldn't - unless I have a good reason. You just found how monitor resolution works. Too many pixels just means that everything gets smaller.

Now, if you had a 150 inch screen, maybe those extra pixels would be useful…

 

[rb2112]

You just use the resolution that suits your screen size, viewing distance, and personal preference.

This.

For me, my 32" 4K is set at 3200x1800 HiDPI 60Hz(using SwitchResX) and my secondary is 24.5" is set to 2560 x 1440 HiDPI 144Hz. To figure this out, I had to put up all my usual applications and windows and monkey around with the sizes to find out what worked best. This also included setting font sizes in web browser and preferences in each application for text size. I also have a few optional (lower) resolutions I can switch to if I am using certain applications whose UIs just don't scale well with everything else. I'm not sure this process can get easier because of the application independence, but it only takes 10-20 minutes, and you'll realize later that day if something is off and needs to be adjusted.

Good luck!

 

[questionwonder]

You just use the resolution that suits your screen size, viewing distance, and personal preference. I'm perfectly happy with 1920 x 1080 on both my 55" TV used at a distance, and a 32" sitting closer.

Are you getting your moneys worth? Yes. Even with a low resolution, if you switch to full screen view of a video or broadcast, the mac will provide all the available resolution of the video to fit the screen's 'native resolution'.

4K, 5K, 6K - al those number refer to the approximate number of horisontal pixels:
2K - 1920 x 1080 - full HD
3K - around 3200 x 1800
4K - around 3840 x 2160 - Ultra HD
etc.

All this hype around high resolution is just that - hype. Why should I get a 4 or 5K monitor? Well, I shouldn't - unless I have a good reason. You just found how monitor resolution works. Too many pixels just means that everything gets smaller.

Now, if you had a 150 inch screen, maybe those extra pixels would be useful…

Thanks for the advice! I do get the PPI aspect and want to have a retina level monitor (218ppi), but the main issue I'm having is that one of my two monitors isn't scaling to 5120 x 2880 in display settings. The max res. it shows is 3840 x 2160, despite having two identical monitors, same USB-C TB4 cables and try all the different USB-C ports on the MB Pro M5 with the pro chip. Even if I close the lid and just use thw two external monitors and no laptop screen, I still don't get the second monitor to scale in display settings to 5120 x 2880. So I'm trying to determine if it's a hardware limitation, which I don't think it is, or some firmware issue with either the MB or LG monitors? I've talked to both APPle and LG tech support and neither can help!

 

[MacCheetah3]

Foremost:

You just use the resolution that suits your screen size, viewing distance, and personal preference. I'm perfectly happy with 1920 x 1080 on both my 55" TV used at a distance, and a 32" sitting closer.

Are you getting your moneys worth? Yes. Even with a low resolution, if you switch to full screen view of a video or broadcast, the mac will provide all the available resolution of the video to fit the screen's 'native resolution'.

4K, 5K, 6K - al those number refer to the approximate number of horisontal pixels:
2K - 1920 x 1080 - full HD
3K - around 3200 x 1800
4K - around 3840 x 2160 - Ultra HD
etc.

All this hype around high resolution is just that - hype. Why should I get a 4 or 5K monitor? Well, I shouldn't - unless I have a good reason. You just found how monitor resolution works. Too many pixels just means that everything gets smaller.

Now, if you had a 150 inch screen, maybe those extra pixels would be useful…

I also agree, lots of the clamoring is just hype or, more accurately, people stroking egos.

I went to the Apple store and looked at the XDR monitor and they had the resolution on the monitor in the store set to 2560x1440, but that looked too small too!

For macOS, at least, the ideal/optimal GUI or displayed resolution is half of the monitor’s native/actual resolution, referred to as HiDPI. This results in four physical dots (on the monitor) representing one (software) pixel displayed.

Which monitor should I pick for Mac mini M4? (2K vs 4K confusion)

I came across this doing research on another thread and it does a decent job explaining HiDPI.

forums.macrumors.com

Any semi-recent version of macOS will ‘force’ HiDPI anyway:

For LG OLED users: Mac mini M4 does not support HiDPI 4k over HDMI 2.1

I’m not sure about the base M4 but otherwise: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/which-monitor-should-i-pick-for-mac-mini-m4-2k-vs-4k-confusion.2467831/?post=34194784#post-34194784 P.S. For anyone who might comment, it’s also possible at 120 Hz.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[PaulD-UK]

@questionwonder
If you swap the 5K monitor's cable over to the 4K monitor, and connect it to the M5 Pro MBP on it's own, does is then connect at 5K?

Cable performance problems are the usual reason that only 4K can be obtained.
A USB-C to DP 8K adapter cable may give better performance, using the monitor's DP input.

The other help in trouble shooting is an app from GitHub called Better Display, which shows details of what setting you have, and can sometime force a change. The free version is OK for this.

 

[N3ur0n79]

Quite simply, I’m reading this as the OP wants to run the native resolution and just needs to increase the scaling of the UI. On the PC it is a common display settings tic box to check “225% scaling” or whatever is recommended for the resolution. Is this not an option because I’m seeing so many answers suggesting to use resolutions lower that subjectively are viewed as the best compromise and that makes no sense to then ever buy a high resolution display!?