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Who uses their 4K monitor at 2560x1440?

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bigpoppamac31

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Aug 16, 2007
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Canada
So I have an LG 27UD58 4K monitor and so far it's great. Takes getting used to the physical size. But right now I'm using it at 1920x1080 resolution. Not 1080p though which is also an option. But that looks horrible. But if I try to use it at 2560x1440 which I'd prefer the text isn't as sharp and clear as it is when using it at 1920x1080 or even 3840x2160. I'd never use the full 4K resolution though as everything is very tiny. But I love the 2560x1440 option. Especially using spit screen mode. If I'm using it at 1920x1080 the refresh rate is max 30hz but if I select 2560x1440 then the refresh rate option is greyed out but is says 60Hz (NTSC). Full 4K says 30Hz. Using it at 2560x1440 seems like I'm just using a display that maxes at that resolution. So it's usable but not super clear. The text looks soft. If I try to sharpen it then it looks harsh. Anyone else use their 4K monitor at 2560x1440?

Here is my display preferences window. "Default for display" is 1920x1080.

Screen Shot 2017-05-06 at 6.14.33 PM.png
 
I think many people run their 4K monitor at 2560x1440. The reason why it's not as sharp on a 27" is because it's 1.5X scaling rather than the traditional 2X retina scaling. Basically 4K isn't enough for 2X scaling on a 27" monitor.

To get 2X scaling, you would have to run it at 1920x1080, but text would be on the large side. This is why Apple has a 4K 21" iMac. They deemed 21" to be the perfect size for 4K.

Running it at the default or 2560x1440 resolution is up to you. If you're getting 30hz, it may be the cable or your MBP. Check out Apple's support page to verify if your model can run 4K @ 60hz. As for the cable, make sure you're using Displayport.
 
MrX8503 said:
I think many people run their 4K monitor at 2560x1440. The reason why it's not as sharp on a 27" is because it's 1.5X scaling rather than the traditional 2X retina scaling. Basically 4K isn't enough for 2X scaling on a 27" monitor.

To get 2X scaling, you would have to run it at 1920x1080, but text would be on the large side. This is why Apple has a 4K 21" iMac. They deemed 21" to be the perfect size for 4K.

Running it at the default or 2560x1440 resolution is up to you. If you're getting 30hz, it may be the cable or your MBP. Check out Apple's support page to verify if your model can run 4K @ 60hz. As for the cable, make sure you're using Displayport.
Click to expand...

I'm using the DisplayPort on my 2014 rMBP 13". But it's only at 30hz. Maybe that's the issue. Would 2560x1440 be any sharper on a 24" 4K display? There's an ASUS one that looks really good. Has height and swivel adjustments as well.
 
bigpoppamac31 said:
I'm using the DisplayPort on my 2014 rMBP 13". But it's only at 30hz. Maybe that's the issue. Would 2560x1440 be any sharper on a 24" 4K display? There's an ASUS one that looks really good. Has height and swivel adjustments as well.
Click to expand...

It looks like you're limited by your MBP and not the cable or monitor.

I'm not sure if 2560x1440 will be sharper on a 24", but text will certainly be smaller than what you're seeing.
 
To the Original Poster:
make sure the following setting is enabled on your LG:
HDMI ULTRA HD Deep Color

I had to enable this setting to get 4k @ 60hz on my newer MacBook pro's that support 4k@60..> Your MacBook Pro Def only supports 4k@30 over HDMI:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

Have you tried using the HDMI out of your MacBook, rather than an Adapter?
 
MrX8503 said:
It looks like you're limited by your MBP and not the cable or monitor.

I'm not sure if 2560x1440 will be sharper on a 24", but text will certainly be smaller than what you're seeing.
Click to expand...

Yeah that is true. But this 27" is quite big. Going from a 13" rMBP to this is quite the adjustment. This is the 24" I was considering. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DHS30O...lid=3UE25CKFF25IF&coliid=I2BXRQO6QTL7AC&psc=1

gthompson20 said:
To the Original Poster:
make sure the following setting is enabled on your LG:
HDMI ULTRA HD Deep Color

I had to enable this setting to get 4k @ 60hz on my newer MacBook pro's that support 4k@60..> Your MacBook Pro Def only supports 4k@30 over HDMI:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

Have you tried using the HDMI out of your MacBook, rather than an Adapter?
Click to expand...

I have the Deep Colour option turned on. I have used the HDMI as well. Picture seems to look the same. Is the why the other resolution options say "low resolution" beside them?
 
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bigpoppamac31 said:
Yeah that is true. But this 27" is quite big. Going from a 13" rMBP to this is quite the adjustment. This is the 24" I was considering. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DHS30O...lid=3UE25CKFF25IF&coliid=I2BXRQO6QTL7AC&psc=1

I have the Deep Colour option turned on. I have used the HDMI as well. Picture seems to look the same. Is the why the other resolution options say "low resolution" beside them?
Click to expand...

You'd have to test out if 24" is best for you.

Don't use HDMI, it's inferior to DP in almost every way. Besides, the HDMI port on the MBP isn't 2.0.
 
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MrX8503 said:
Yep
Click to expand...

Okay. Well the LG monitor included a DisplayPort cable. Neither end is mini. Would it be better to get a cable with one end that's mini or get an adapter. I'd want one that supports 60hz even if I don't yet have a Mac which does 4K at 60hz.
 
bigpoppamac31 said:
Okay. Well the LG monitor included a DisplayPort cable. Neither end is mini. Would it be better to get a cable with one end that's mini or get an adapter. I'd want one that supports 60hz even if I don't yet have a Mac which does 4K at 60hz.
Click to expand...

I'd get the cable, but that's up to you. The beauty of DP is that it's guaranteed to support 4K @ 60hz.
 
MrX8503 said:
I'd get the cable, but that's up to you. The beauty of DP is that it's guaranteed to support 4K @ 60hz.
Click to expand...

Okay great. The annoying thing of this monitor though is that it will bring up a warning if you're not using the supplied cables. You can choose not to show the warning again but it's still annoying.
 
I am using a 32" 4K Benq monitor and change between 2560x1440 and the next one up depending on how tired my eyes are. Both look great to me. Perhaps not quite as pin sharp as native 2x but not enough to worry me.
 
UHD is 4 times the resolution of 1080P that is why it scales nicely on your monitor while scaling to 2560x1440 is blurry because you are not scaling evenly.
 
4k UHD 3840x2160 is best run, natively, on a 32" or larger monitor. Then you don't scale. 32" (which I have) is still a bit small for some screen elements, but you can adjust many programs to increase their text and display sizes to accommodate. I think a 36"-38" monitor would be ideal for true, unscaled 4k. The extra screen real estate at 4k is fantastic.
 
I have Same Monitor LG 32UD59-B 4K & LG 32UD60 but I have Something strange, I believe it's with these two models or maybe all of LG monitors, I have been tested "Dell" monitors and "view sonic" and "BenQ" they didn't have this issue. I will explain with a Picture took it from my system "macOS Catalina":-

LG 32'' showing 27" on system profile. same result when I connected with Real mac mini 2018 (UHD 630) & Hackintosh iMac & Hackintosh iMac Pro.
I don't have a Macbook pro to test it.
This for sure has an effect on the scales and apple logo size when mac system loading.
did anybody notice that? did anybody have an explanation for that?
and by the way, I have connected with sapphire Vega 64.


Screen Shot 2020-01-02 at 12.32.27 PM.png
 
Last edited:
I never use a different resolution but always scaling which doesn't seem to be supported by your mac or cable... if the cable is supplied by the manufacturer it should support the full resolution.
 
mishealgo said:
I have Same Monitor LG 32UD59-B 4K & LG 32UD60 but I have Something strange, I believe its with these two models or maybe all of LG monitors, I have been tested "Dell" monitors and "view sonic" and "BenQ" the didn't have this Issue. I will explained with a Picture took it from my system "MacOS Catalina" :-

LG 32'' showing 27" on system profile . same result when I connected with Real mac mini & Hackintosh iMac & Hackintosh iMac Pro.
I don't have Macbook pro to test it.
This for sure has effect on the scales and apple logo size when mac system loading.
did anybody notice that ? did anybody has explanation for that ?


View attachment 886281
Click to expand...
My LG 24" also shows as a 27". macOS does not scale itself according to screen size so there's no difference in functionality. Only screen resolution is relevant to the operating system.
 
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You should be using SwitchResX and then you can select 1440p in HiDPI mode. That will give you the crisp text you are looking with the right scaler.
 
By the way, I guess you know the 2014 rMBP doesn't fully support 4K @60hz right? Just 30hz. Maybe that's also why Apple removed the scaling options since that costs more processing power. You can try @Nomad110 solution with SwitchResX.
 
Successful Sorcerer said:
By the way, I guess you know the 2014 rMBP doesn't fully support 4K @60hz right? Just 30hz. Maybe that's also why Apple removed the scaling options since that costs more processing power. You can try @Nomad110 solution with SwitchResX.
Click to expand...
You can get 4k/60Hz using the Mini Displayport connection; the HDMI port is limited to 30Hz.
 
4K @27” is just a terrible idea. I don’t know who ever came up with this... must have been windows oriented engineers.
 
chrfr said:
My LG 24" also shows as a 27". macOS does not scale itself according to screen size so there's no difference in functionality. Only screen resolution is relevant to the operating system.
Click to expand...

that really strange so its only with LG monitor then. because as I said before I have tested other manufacturer like dell 28" 4k, BenQ 32'' and Viewsonic 32'' they show right scales and right size monitors 28,32 and 31.9 as I remembered
 
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