Would this 4K monitor be a good match to MacBook Pro?

[nerdynerdynerdy]

Hi there,

Would this LG monitor work well with a top of the line current model MacBook Pro?

http://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Monitors/25+_inch/56604-31MU97?gclid=CIDl_d2Mqc0CFYmCvQod1DwHnw

What cables would I need to buy to make it work?

Any other monitor suggestions?

(to be used for editing, motion graphics and photoshop mainly).

Thanks..

nnn

 

[RandomRazer]

i recomend the apple thunderbolt display if u want it to match..and dont miss 4k

 

[nerdynerdynerdy]

i recomend the apple thunderbolt display if u want it to match..and dont miss 4k

I don't mean a good match in terms of industrial design.

I'd like 4K and am wondering if this is something a MacBook Pro will drive well? I've read some things about MST and SST but it's a bit over my head technically.

 

[jerryk]

I don't mean a good match in terms of industrial design.

I'd like 4K and am wondering if this is something a MacBook Pro will drive well? I've read some things about MST and SST but it's a bit over my head technically.

Which MacBook do you have? And do you have a discrete graphics card?

 

[nerdynerdynerdy]

Top of the line Retina 15 MacBook Pro, current model.

 

[Basic75]

It has 4K resolution on a 31 inch display, that's 150dpi. With OS X (or macOS) everything is designed for 100-110dpi, or with pixel doubling for 200-220dpi. 150dpi is square in the middle, everything will be rather small without, and rather large with pixel doubling. It's the same number of pixels used in the 21inch iMac!

 

[nerdynerdynerdy]

That's an interesting point, I didn't know that. So OS X doesn't just adjust things to suit whatever monitor you run?

Having said that, I'll often be in Avid, Adobe and Davinci, so not sure how that affects the scaling.

If not the LG, is there another decent 4K display that users on here would recommend instead?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I reccomend you get a 5k iMac for that use case it's a far more useful product for you. Desktop class processors, better GPU options, p3 colour gamut, 5k screens allowing full 4K for work with editing tools around the outside.

 

[sunapple]

I use the Dell P2715Q 27" 4K monitor. It's probably the most well-known 4K monitor right now because it was one of the first to offer 4K IPS @60Hz at a decent price. It's a very good buy and I'm really happy with it. Worked perfectly with my 2014 MacBook Pro low-end model, also works great with my current 2015 low-end MacBook on HiDPI 1080p using Apple's Digital AV Adapter with HDMI (only a temporary situation).

 

[Basic75]

That's an interesting point, I didn't know that. So OS X doesn't just adjust things to suit whatever monitor you run?

No, it can only do either native resolution, or pixel doubling where every logical pixel uses four (2x2) physical pixels. That's why the retina screens double the horizontal and vertical resolutions. The 150dpi are exactly between normal and retina resolutions, so neither will be pretty. You'll either have the same content as Full HD, for which it is very large, or four times that, for which it is relatively small.
[doublepost=1465985594][/doublepost]There are some other scaling options, but they don't work the right way and impact quality (and possibly performance).

 

[RandomRazer]

Top of the line Retina 15 MacBook Pro, current model.

sure its ttoally worth 600 dolalrs for th e 1tb SSD

 

[jerryk]

I am ordering the same machine so I will watch this thread with interest to see which way you go and hear about your experience.

I am torn between a couple of 24 inch 4Ks and a 43 inch ultrawide.

 

[nerdynerdynerdy]

sure its ttoally worth 600 dolalrs for th e 1tb SSD

Excellent contribution.

This computer is used in a professional context, so that money is recouped by little more than half a day's invoicing.

It would cost me more in lost income to fanny about learning to build the PC that I suspect you're going to suggest would be better value.

 

[jobs.jdfournier]

I don't mean a good match in terms of industrial design.

I'd like 4K and am wondering if this is something a MacBook Pro will drive well? I've read some things about MST and SST but it's a bit over my head technically.

I have been using the same dell 27" 4k monitor until it just died on me. Now going through the painful Dell warranty repair process. When it was working, the resolution and scaling was great. You need the thunderbolt to displayport cable. I used it with a 13" MacBook pro and it did struggle pushing pixels in some basic browser games and 4k youtube videos.

 

[nerdynerdynerdy]

After doing some research on the LG, it seems some Mac users were having problems with it. Apparently it was listed on Apple's supported displays, and subsequently removed:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

The 27 inch Dell mentioned by a couple of you is also not on the list.

I've decided to go with a Dell that is on the list: the UP3214Q. I figure something officially listed on Apple's website is the most reliable option.

Not sure where that leaves me with the font scaling issue, but as that monitor will largely be used for design work in non-Apple applications, I don't know how relevant this will be.

Thanks to those who made constructive contributions.

 

[RandomRazer]

Excellent contribution.

This computer is used in a professional context, so that money is recouped by little more than half a day's invoicing.

It would cost me more in lost income to fanny about learning to build the PC that I suspect you're going to suggest would be better value.

half days of what? what are you an accountant?

 

[nerdynerdynerdy]

half days of what? what are you an accountant?

Yes, I think I made that pretty clear in my opening post.

 

[MH01]

I reccomend you get a 5k iMac for that use case it's a far more useful product for you. Desktop class processors, better GPU options, p3 colour gamut, 5k screens allowing full 4K for work with editing tools around the outside.

The OP is looking for a monitor for thier laptop. I struggle to carry around my iMac

 

[JTToft]

The OP is looking for a monitor for thier laptop. I struggle to carry around my iMac

- It's not *that* difficult...

 

[makrom]

No, it can only do either native resolution, or pixel doubling where every logical pixel uses four (2x2) physical pixels. That's why the retina screens double the horizontal and vertical resolutions. The 150dpi are exactly between normal and retina resolutions, so neither will be pretty. You'll either have the same content as Full HD, for which it is very large, or four times that, for which it is relatively small.
[doublepost=1465985594][/doublepost]There are some other scaling options, but they don't work the right way and impact quality (and possibly performance).

I don't think the scaled resolutions have these caveats, or at least not to a significant degree.
up/down scaling in OSX is more sophisticated, content is rendered at twice the virtual resolution and then downscaled to the hardware resolution.
From my experience, a virtual resolution of 2560*1440 on a 27" 4k screen works quite well.

 

[Basic75]

I don't think the scaled resolutions have these caveats, or at least not to a significant degree.
up/down scaling in OSX is more sophisticated, content is rendered at twice the virtual resolution and then downscaled to the hardware resolution.
From my experience, a virtual resolution of 2560*1440 on a 27" 4k screen works quite well.

That's not sophisticated at all, rendering at 5K and downscaling to 4K is just a kludge because OS X can't do proper resolution independent rendering directly. Heck, you can't even choose the font size for the menu bar!

 

[robvas]

Scaling works fine. Unlike Windows...

 

[Basic75]

Scaling works fine. Unlike Windows...

Because OS X scaling is just a cheap cop out instead of the real thing, which would be a proper resolution independent interface.

 

[robvas]

Because OS X scaling is just a cheap cop out instead of the real thing, which would be a proper resolution independent interface.

It is. Apple made the choice to scale it down so it looks better.

 

[Basic75]

It is. Apple made the choice to scale it down so it looks better.

No, it's not. Resolution independence means for example that font sizes are user selectable and that text is directly rendered in the desired target size and resolution, not that the whole screen is rendered off-screen and then scaled down.