Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which MBP for 1440p Ultrawide monitor?

T

therza001

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 9, 2015
8
0
I'm looking to buy a new laptop for school, and I just got a pretty nifty LG 34UM95 34" 21:9 Ultrawide 1440p monitor on sale. I knew I would want this regardless of which laptop I end up with so I bit on the sale.

The monitor supports thunderbolt, so would the 15" MBP handle this monitor any better than the 13"?

What aspect of computing power determines ability to output to a monitor; is it the graphics card, processing power, RAM? Combo?
 
Honestly any MBP you pick up today will run that fine.

Both the 13" and 15" have Thunderbolt and will power it no problems. I'm sitting here with a 2012 classic MBP and it can run 2 1440p screens and the internal display simultaneously and mine's not the most powerful MBP graphically, even in it's year of release.

One benefit of the 15" is it can come with a dedicated GPU for a little more graphical grunt if you perform a lot of video work or want a little bit of gaming oomph, as well as the typical integrated GPU the 13" range has.

For simply running a 1440p display you'll have 0 issues with any new MBP.
 
Psyfuzz said:
One benefit of the 15" is it can come with a dedicated GPU for a little more graphical grunt if you perform a lot of video work or want a little bit of gaming oomph, as well as the typical integrated GPU the 13" range has.
Click to expand...

By "Graphical grunt", do you mean standard computing will be smoother? Or do you mean that I'll be able to run more intensive programs on the monitor?

I'm a little confused as to the application of the dedicated GPU for my uses, and what it would take for me to notice the difference. Sorry for my naivety.
 
Hi - that' a great display. That's what I have.. and even the new 12" rMB runs it without trouble via HDMI. My 13" rMBP and the 13" MB Air had no trouble running the screen. Interestingly, the rMBP got hotter than the Air running the screen...
 
Romulus said:
Hi - that' a great display. That's what I have.. and even the new 12" rMB runs it without trouble via HDMI. My 13" rMBP and the 13" MB Air had no trouble running the screen. Interestingly, the rMBP got hotter than the Air running the screen...
Click to expand...

That's very strange that the MB Air handled the monitor with less heat output... I wonder why that is
 
therza001 said:
By "Graphical grunt", do you mean standard computing will be smoother? Or do you mean that I'll be able to run more intensive programs on the monitor?

I'm a little confused as to the application of the dedicated GPU for my uses, and what it would take for me to notice the difference. Sorry for my naivety.
Click to expand...

It's fine, don't worry about it :)

There won't be much difference in day to day computing. The way the 15" MBP's work is by relying on the weaker integrated GPU for standard tasks, then switching to the more powerful dedicated GPU if the task calls for it. For standard use you'll spend most of your time with the integrated GPU anyway and the dGPU won't make much difference.

That said, you will be able to deal with more graphically demanding scenarios better with the dedicated GPU. It's up to you whether you think you'd want that or whether you'll be happy with the integrated GPU, which would be able to run your display no problem.
 
Have the same monitor with a base 2015 rMBP 13".

Didn't notice any diff in heat.
Have yet to hear the fan kick on under normal usage.

Even works great with Windows 10 via VMware Fusion.
 
Dan04MCS said:
Have the same monitor with a base 2015 rMBP 13".

Didn't notice any diff in heat.
Have yet to hear the fan kick on under normal usage.

Even works great with Windows 10 via VMware Fusion.
Click to expand...

Does it get hot with extended use?
 
Psyfuzz said:
For simply running a 1440p display you'll have 0 issues with any new MBP.
Click to expand...

- Definitely true. But let's be strict about our resolutions: 1440p is a name for a 16:9 aspect ratio resolution which is 1440 pixels vertically (meaning it's 2560 pixels horizontally).

3440x1440 is not 1440p. Still, there should be no issues running it on any recent MBP.
 
therza001 said:
Does it get hot with extended use?
Click to expand...

This thread got me curious so I installed iStat.

When docked, 3440x1440, using thunderbolt connection.
Just normal stuff, internet, mail, youtube etc .....
Micro controller coding, compiling, etc ...
CPU GFX core, 120-127 degrees, fan speed 0

Full screen movie
CPU GFX core, 180-182 degrees, fan speed 1300
I never watch movies on my rMBP.
Have a home theater for that....

With the rMBP undocked
CPU GFX 132 degrees, fan speed 0
Full screen movie
CPU GFX 132, fan speed 0

Re dock it and the temp drops back down to 117-123 degrees for normal usage.
I'm using a Henge Dock.

Compare to:
http://www.intelmactemp.com/list?v_model=macbook-pro&sort=dateadded
 
Dan04MCS said:
Have the same monitor with a base 2015 rMBP 13".

Didn't notice any diff in heat.
Have yet to hear the fan kick on under normal usage.

Even works great with Windows 10 via VMware Fusion.
Click to expand...

Hi sorry if replying to old thread. But curious that are you able to play games with rmbp 13 2015 and this screen? Simple game like tf2..
 
Psyfuzz said:
It's fine, don't worry about it :)

There won't be much difference in day to day computing. The way the 15" MBP's work is by relying on the weaker integrated GPU for standard tasks, then switching to the more powerful dedicated GPU if the task calls for it. For standard use you'll spend most of your time with the integrated GPU anyway and the dGPU won't make much difference.

That said, you will be able to deal with more graphically demanding scenarios better with the dedicated GPU. It's up to you whether you think you'd want that or whether you'll be happy with the integrated GPU, which would be able to run your display no problem.
Click to expand...

MBP`s with dGPU once connected to an external monitor will use the dGPU by default, the system will run hotter as a result.

Q-6
 
I have a 2012 macbook air that runs this monitor without breaking a sweat. The fan will turn on watching a 1440p youtube video though...
 
Queen6 said:
MBP`s with dGPU once connected to an external monitor will use the dGPU by default, the system will run hotter as a result.

Q-6
Click to expand...
Ah perfect, never had a look myself but always worth knowing.

Cheers mate :)
 
gman36 said:
Are you 100% sure? I run my 15in MBPR with a 650M on this monitor, and it says it is using integrated graphics.
Click to expand...

All portable Mac`s with discrete GPU will automatically switch once you plug in an external monitor, thats how the work, the Intel GPU will be disabled. Unless Apple have changed something recently, right now I am in the field with 12" & 13" Retina`s, 15" is at home so I am not able to check directly.

Q-6
 
gman36 said:
I have a 2012 macbook air that runs this monitor without breaking a sweat. The fan will turn on watching a 1440p youtube video though...
Click to expand...

How about playing simple game like tf2? Can u play tf2 with ur mba on this monitor? What is the resolution that can make this game playable?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back