Which 27/28" monitor for 16-inch Macbook Pro M1? UHD, 4K, or 5K?

[Elise-K]

Seeking recommendations, please.
Making a computer upgrade to the 16" MB Pro M1 or M1 Max Having read dozens of reviews and recommendations online, I am now thoroughly confused as to which monitor I should get. I spend about 85% of time working with multiple windows/tabs open in Safari, MS Word/Excel, and Filemaker relational databases; and about 15% working with Adobe Acrobat for desktop publishing and GraphicConverter for editing images and illustrations.
Does a 5K monitor seem an excessive investment given this usage profile? Seems I'd be working most of the time in a lower ppi space, and the rest of my time either cranking up the System Preferences for viewing high res images on the monitor or simply using the MB Pro screen for image work. Have read about resolution issues for text, which I need to be super crisp.
Many thanks in advance and if this is not the correct forum for asking this kind of question, a pointer to another would be appreciated, please?
cheers, Elise

 

[Amethyst1]

Have read about resolution issues for text, which I need to be super crisp.

If you want text to be as “crisp” as possible, you want the highest pixel density you can get. For 27”, that means a 5K (5120×2880) monitor with 219 pixels per inch (ppi). The LG UltraFine 5K is the only 5K monitor still available AFAIK.

 

[Elise-K]

Pricey, which is another reason I was asking, but if needs must (for the sake of my older eyes). Thank you for the comment.

 

[Amethyst1]

Well, there’s lots of cheaper 27”/28” “4K” monitors around, which have around 160 ppi. They’re not as crisp as a 5K monitor, and scaling (if you need more than the equivalent of 1920×1080 screen estate) introduces additional blurriness due to how macOS handles scaling.

I have both 28.2” “4K” and 27” 5K monitors side-by-side, and while the 5K is noticeably sharper and just perfect, I find the “4K” still acceptable. Everyone is different though, so YMMV.

 

[Basic75]

Pricey

The cheapest option is a 27" with 2560x1440 pixels which has exactly the pixel density that macOS is designed for @1x (non-retina).

 

[Amethyst1]

The cheapest option is a 27" with 2560x1440 pixels which has exactly the pixel density that macOS is designed for @1x (non-retina).

If you’re fine with awful text rendering.

 

[Basic75]

Are you happy with the size of the menu bar and other UI elements on your 24" display? Are you running it at native 1920x1200?

 

[Basic75]

If you’re fine with awful text rendering.

It's not the sharpest or nicest, but cheap and pixel perfect (unless you use scaling, which you probably wouldn't). Everybody needs to choose their trade-offs.

 

[Amethyst1]

Everybody needs to choose their trade-offs.

That’s right of course. I still have a 27” 2560×1440 monitor and find macOS’ text rendering to be awful on it.

 

[Elise-K]

Are you happy with the size of the menu bar and other UI elements on your 24" display? Are you running it at native 1920x1200?

Though it was a good non-Apple purchase 10 years ago, the current display is now only "just alright." When I work in GraphicConverter, I drag the image over to the MB Pro to what it really looks like, and I'm prepared to do that again. Mainly, I need a larger work space, but do not have room for a 32-inch display.

 

[Elise-K]

It's not the sharpest or nicest, but cheap and pixel perfect (unless you use scaling, which you probably wouldn't). Everybody needs to choose their trade-offs.

Sorry, I hit "reply" by mistake and now can't delete this. No reply intended.

 

[Basic75]

That’s right of course. I still have a 27” 2560×1440 monitor and find macOS’ text rendering to be awful on it.

I find it ... acceptable for my frequently used fixed-width font applications where one doesn't expect much beauty anyhow.

 

[Basic75]

Though it was a good non-Apple purchase 10 years ago, the current display is now only "just alright." When I work in GraphicConverter, I drag the image over to the MB Pro to what it really looks like, and I'm prepared to do that again. Mainly, I need a larger work space, but do not have room for a 32-inch display.

For the best image and text quality you'll need a 27" with 5K resolution. If you run a 4K at "looks like" 1920x1080 you'll have less real estate than on your 24", albeit at much better quality and magnified onto a larger screen. Not sure what other scaled resolutions are available that would give you more layout pixels than FHD on a 4K, perhaps somebody with a 4K display can chime in.

 

[Basic75]

PS: Note that a 27" with 5K used at native retina resolution (@2x) will render everything slightly smaller than your 24" with 1920x1200 since the 27" has more than twice the ppi.

 

[Amethyst1]

Not sure what other scaled resolutions are available that would give you more layout pixels than FHD on a 4K, perhaps somebody with a 4K display can chime in.

2048×1152
2304×1296
2560×1440
3008×1692
3200×1800
3360×1890

Note that some of these only appear if holding the [Alt] key while clicking “Scaled” in the Displays preference pane.

 

[Elise-K]

PS: Note that a 27" with 5K used at native retina resolution (@2x) will render everything slightly smaller than your 24" with 1920x1200 since the 27" has more than twice the ppi.

Shouldn't zooming in on a document help? For example, at 125% or 150%? or does this defeat some (mysterious to me) rendering purpose?
Thank you for your comments.

 

[upandown]

I’m also interested this.. I have an LG 32BN880U-B arriving soon. I thought it might be good but I have a feeling I won’t be happy with the text. We’ll see. I’ll update the OP when I get it.

 

[Danfango]

I had one of these until this morning when it decided to drop dead. Lasted 3 years and wasn’t particularly expensive for a monitor. 27” 4k is about right for me. I’m probably going to hold out for a 27 iMac Now though.

My daughter ran off with my Mac mini it was connected to. It is now mostly plugged into an MBA.

ProLite XUB2792UHSU-B1

27’’ IPS panel technology, ultra slim monitor featuring 4K resolution

iiyama.com

(the 4k one not the 1440p one in the summary)

no fuzzy text!

 

[mosylvestre]

I was fiddling around with different monitor sizes and resolutions and found that 27inch and 4k works very well for me (at 2x native resolution setting). Everybody said that 1440p or 5k was best for a 27inch monitor, but for me personally, fonts in menus and apps etc were just too small, whereas they look perfectly sized at "looks like 1920x1080". As a positive "side effect", fonts look crips and performance is superb (though I tried out a 32inch 4k display at "looks like 2560x1440" and performance as well as font rendering were absolutely fine).

I would say that's a personal preference thing, however. 27 4k works for me, because my eyesight is rather bad and the slightly bigger scaling with its magnifying effect has a positive effect on my routines (I also set my 13inch MacBook Pro on "looks like 1280x800", others don't), given that my glasses make everything look smaller in the first place.

So you should definitely try out which font sizes suit you best in person, just trusting other's visual experience might not be the best idea - especially since you were talking about "old eyes" in your case as well.

 

[onlyforbo]

Honestly I love my LG Ultrafine 4k's and they're perfect. That being said with universal control, the new iMac is honestly looking like the best monitor money could buy.

 

[pugxiwawa]

Look no further than LG UltraFine 5K, unless you want to go for 32" XDR, otherwise LG is hard to beat.

 

[Cronbo]

I just got a 32” LG 4K Ergo display (I think it’s the 32UN880) with the ergonomic arm and it’s amazing. $700 new and a few hundred less used. It s a steal IMHO

 

[Basic75]

Shouldn't zooming in on a document help? For example, at 125% or 150%? or does this defeat some (mysterious to me) rendering purpose?

Zooming in on documents is fine, that part is properly resolution independent. The problem is that Apple doesn't let you, say, change the font size of the menu bar, and many other user interface elements that have a fixed size in (layout) pixels.

 

[aleck]

Seeking recommendations, please.
Making a computer upgrade to the 16" MB Pro M1 or M1 Max Having read dozens of reviews and recommendations online, I am now thoroughly confused as to which monitor I should get. I spend about 85% of time working with multiple windows/tabs open in Safari, MS Word/Excel, and Filemaker relational databases; and about 15% working with Adobe Acrobat for desktop publishing and GraphicConverter for editing images and illustrations.
Does a 5K monitor seem an excessive investment given this usage profile? Seems I'd be working most of the time in a lower ppi space, and the rest of my time either cranking up the System Preferences for viewing high res images on the monitor or simply using the MB Pro screen for image work. Have read about resolution issues for text, which I need to be super crisp.
Many thanks in advance and if this is not the correct forum for asking this kind of question, a pointer to another would be appreciated, please?
cheers, Elise

Aim for 4K res on 27/28 - large letters, crips, good colors.

Gigabyte M28U
LG 27GN950 (or newer equivalent)

If Apple ever fixes the DSC in macOS which they broke 1.5 years ago, you'll have 144Hz HDR with DisplayPort. If they don't fix it, you'll have 95Hz non HDR or 60Hz HDR.

 

[karen999]

Honestly I love my LG Ultrafine 4k's and they're perfect. That being said with universal control, the new iMac is honestly looking like the best monitor money could buy.

Can you explain why universal control brings value to the iMac?