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What resolution do you run your 4k monitor at?


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rm5

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 4, 2022
3,174
3,644
United States
Just curious to know what resolution y'all run your 4k monitors at. I personally run mine (right now at least) in 1440p (2560x1440). Reply below with any observations, questions, etc.!
 
On an M2 with Benq PD3205 3008x1692.
Would have preferred this resolution 3360x1890 higher, but unfortunately that is not available on the Benq :(
 
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When my 32" 4K was connected to my Mac, I ran it at 3008x1692. Anything lower produced text that I found too big at 32".
 
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When my 32" 4K was connected to my Mac, I ran it at 3008x1692. Anything lower produced text that I found too big at 32".
Did you see any performance dip due to the non integer scaling? Also, was the text blurry or grainy?
 
Did you see any performance dip due to the non integer scaling? Also, was the text blurry or grainy?
Virtually no performance hit when I had my MacBook on the 4K display (M1 MBA).

Currently run two Studio Displays on an M1 Pro MBP, each at one step higher than default (so, scaled resolutions), also with no perceptible performance hit. Not for office-style applications, anyway. Can't tell you for 3D accelerated games and such.

Text obviously wasn't as pixel-perfect as it is when it's an even 4x scaling, but it was more than good enough. On my Studio Displays, text also looks fabulous on my 2880x1620 scaling.
 
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Back when my 27" 4K was my main monitor, I would primarily use it at 2560x1440 and switch it to 3360x1890 when I needed additional screen real estate for web work or office tasks. No performance issues on my Mac Studio but I had issues with a 2016 MBP where it would get a bit laggy with the mouse so I had to use 1x or low resolution mode for that one.
 
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just curious why people don't run it at native resolution (sorry I am Mac newbie but is this the resolution they run it in Apple stores (their 5k monitors?)
 
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just curious why people don't run it at native resolution (sorry I am Mac newbie but is this the resolution they run it in Apple stores (their 5k monitors?)
I don't run it at the native resolution because the text is too small for me. I can see 2560x1440 or 3008x1692 just fine
 
What resolution is it at the Apple Store then?
It is and isn't the native resolution depending on what you are focusing on. Pretty much every Mac display is ~220 DPI. In most cases MacOS defaults to an effective resolution that is 1/2 of that, though with some machines (the MB Air, I think) it's a non-integer scaling. The difference between the effective and actual resolution isn't "wasted," it is used for more detail on vector elements and bitmaps. Honestly, I mostly understand it but struggle to explain it. This is probably the go-to explanation.
 
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