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Dell 24" 4K monitor is SUPERB!

B

bvhmac1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
9
0
I just received the Dell 24" 4K monitor I ordered in anticipation of receiving my new Mac Pro. I hooked it up to my MacBook Pro via HDMI and calibrated it with an i1Display Pro. The images displayed on it are ASTONISHING. The pixel density (184ppi) is very high and it displays 99% of the AdobeRGB gamut. (The MacBook Pro 15" Retina display has 220ppi and maxes out at 2880x1800).

It's running at 3840 x 2160 at 30 Hz via display port right now. Perfect for photo work.
 
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I was kind of gunning for one of those. But I realized I absolutely hate the industrial design of HP's current displays.
The ugly stand can be replaced, but the late 90's-ish two tone design can not.
 

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How do app interfaces, as well as OSX's UI, show up on the 4k display? I'm hearing that the icons in tool palettes and UI fonts are almost too small to be useable and legible. For instance, would you mind uploading a large photo of Photoshop running on the display?
 
woodhouse said:
.... I'm hearing that the icons in tool palettes and UI fonts are almost too small to be useable and legible. For instance, would you mind uploading a large photo of Photoshop running on the display?
Click to expand...

The photo above illustrates one very simple "workaround"... use two displays. Put text and widgets on monitors epitomized for that and put the large raw pixel output in picture/video on another optimized for that. At 24" it is easier to put a sibliing display on the same desk than with the 30+" alternatives.
 
What about software like after effects. I need an entire screen for the timeline, and currently have the video window with ui elements staggered around it on the other one. (The video one has 2560 resolution, the timeline one just 1080).

How would you suggest I proceed? I'm looking at the new dell 28" screen -hopefully it gets announced at CES with a soon launch date..
But I guess even there the ui elements would be too small to really use? I don't get the idea how people are supposed to use 4k screens. Just everybody use hidpi mode and just get the same screen estate like in HD?
 
Rich.Cohen said:
There have been reports of jerky mouse movement at 30 Hz. Have you seen any of that?
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I can imagine. I remember when I got my 120Hz gaming monitor hooked up as a secondary monitor on my PC and going from the 60Hz Dell to the 120Hz BenQ was a night and day difference. You don't realise how jerky the mouse is at 60Hz until you see it moving rock solid and smooth at 120Hz.

30Hz would (as I imagine it) skitter across the screen making for a really unpleasant experience?

But then again I read elsewhere these 4k monitors default to 30Hz and can be changed to 60 in the settings, think that might have been the sharp though.

Anim
 
a few answers...

text is ridiculously small on the 4K - to the point that it's unusable for that. I have it plugged into the Thunderbolt/Displayport on the MBP with a display port on the other end in the monitor. There's no ghosting or stuttering of the mouse movements that I can see. I have not tried playing video on it yet - my main use is for photographs.

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xmichaelp said:
May I ask where you got that mousepad?
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It's a 3M mousepad. I bought it on Amazon I think.

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woodhouse said:
How do app interfaces, as well as OSX's UI, show up on the 4k display? I'm hearing that the icons in tool palettes and UI fonts are almost too small to be useable and legible. For instance, would you mind uploading a large photo of Photoshop running on the display?
Click to expand...

Text is way too small to use on it. I suggest using it as the second display, leaving the UI elements on display 1. As a photo correcting device, I can't think of anything better. It's stunning to see your photos on it - it almost looks like you're staring at an actual print.

I have heard a rumor that the next beta of Mavericks enables 60Hz on 4K displays. Any developers willing to tell us?
 
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Anandtech wrote:

The Sharp PN-K321 that Apple sells alongside the Mac Pro (as well as the ASUS clone of it) ships with 4K60 support configured out of the box. All you need to do is ensure that DisplayPort 1.2 MST is enabled on the display itself (something that appears off by default) and plug it into the Mac Pro. OS X will automatically recognize the display, configure it for 3840 x 2160 at 60Hz and you’re good to go.

The same isn’t true, unfortunately, for other 4K displays on the market. Dell sent along its UltraSharp 24 Ultra HD display (UP2414Q) for this review, and unfortunately that appears to be a display that’s not supported by the Mac Pro/OS X at this point. You can get it working in SST mode at 3840 x 2160 30Hz, but forcing MST results in a 1920 x 2160 display spread across both tiles with a mess of garbled colors. So are you sayint that's in fact not the case?
 
michaelz said:
The monitor has a mini DisplayPort and a DisplayPort. Why not use it?
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my mistake - i am using a mini display port to display port cable

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chfilm said:
Anandtech wrote:

The Sharp PN-K321 that Apple sells alongside the Mac Pro (as well as the ASUS clone of it) ships with 4K60 support configured out of the box. All you need to do is ensure that DisplayPort 1.2 MST is enabled on the display itself (something that appears off by default) and plug it into the Mac Pro. OS X will automatically recognize the display, configure it for 3840 x 2160 at 60Hz and you’re good to go.

The same isn’t true, unfortunately, for other 4K displays on the market. Dell sent along its UltraSharp 24 Ultra HD display (UP2414Q) for this review, and unfortunately that appears to be a display that’s not supported by the Mac Pro/OS X at this point. You can get it working in SST mode at 3840 x 2160 30Hz, but forcing MST results in a 1920 x 2160 display spread across both tiles with a mess of garbled colors. So are you sayint that's in fact not the case?
Click to expand...

All that I am saying is that my MacBook Pro (mid 2012 Retina) is driving the Dell at 3840x2160 at 30Hz right now. This must be the "SST" mode he's talking about. Saying it's "not supported" is a bit of an overstatement if you ask me. Here's the "photo proof" someone asked for.
 

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From what I hear, in Windows 60hz is supported but not in OSX. I also heard some rumblings of 60hz coming in 10.9.2

Anyone able to confirm this?
 
Hm.. I mean actually on the 24" Dell Display there has to be some patch/fix soon that will enable the rmbp style retina look, retaining the 1080p screen estate with the sharpness of a retina display. Or am I making a mistake?

The thing that I'm trying to wrap my mind around currently is - how the heck are 27" 4k displays gonna become useful for general purposes that go beyond just displaying gorgeous videos or photos? I mean for UI elements of all sorts. Or ar they just gonna do the same thing as with the 24" inchs, only everything will look bigger, but you'll only have an effective 1080p resolution with the exception of videos that'll be displayed at their native pixel size?
Just trying to figure out what display would be the best replacement for my beloved 27" imac :eek:
 
chfilm said:
Hm.. I mean actually on the 24" Dell Display there has to be some patch/fix soon that will enable the rmbp style retina look, retaining the 1080p screen estate with the sharpness of a retina display.
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Yes, its called HighDPI. A mode that apple added to OS X when the first retina MBs shipped. The first x.x.1 version it was easy to enable, but with each new OS, theyve been making it harder. To get it turned on with my 10.8 mini, for example, I had to install developer tools (having registered as a developer).

But totally worth it. Text elements are automatically larger (and super smooth) and images retain full resolution. If you can get HighDPI enabled at an apparent 1920, wow.
 
I tried hidpi mode out just for fun on my mba and could see what it does.

But I think apple has to integrate it natively in mavericks for the nmp, just with those 5 basic settings that they offer on the rmbp natively. It would just not make sense to attach any 4k display to the nmp otherwise - at least to me. Or am I wrong? I mean 1080p ok nice on a 24" but what about any bigger screen?
 
AppleDroid said:
These guys used a hack to force the nMP to use HiDPI. He only gets 1920x1080 but it looks awesome. http://youtu.be/pyqtyVx_j_o?t=4m49s
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I know I've seen it. For 24" I would be completely happy with that!
But I'm planning on getting that mysterious 28" Dell display which theyll hopefully announce at ECS next week. I just need the screen space of the 2560x1440 resolution in order to fit all my after effects panels on there. If I can only get 1080 I need a third display which is out of the question :/

Do you guys think apple will fix this quickly, (with fix I mean offering the rmbp modes for the nmp) or will they only do this when they come out with their own display sometimes down the road?
 
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