External Display Resolution Question

[brentg33]

Hi all,

While I am waiting for my ASD to be shipped - I am currently using a 4k BenQ display on my Mac Studio.
The current resolution (per the monitor menu is 3840*2160
I have the display connected via display port to a cal digit thunderbolt dock's display port.
When I use the default for display option in MacOS (12.4) - it set the resolution to 1920*1080
I've tried a display to thunderbolt cable (that is supposed to be able to support 4k) directly to the studio as well
However, I am getting the same results.
I can scale it to 3840*2160 - but shouldn't that be the default ?

 

[F-Train]

3840*2160 - but shouldn't that be the default ?

I don't know anything about that BenQ monitor, but this is the "About This Mac" window for my 4K Eizo CS2740 monitor and the Mac Studio in my signature. The monitor is on the default setting, no scaling.

 

[brentg33]

I don't know anything about that BenQ monitor, but this is the "About This Mac" window for my 4K Eizo CS2740 monitor and the Mac Studio in my signature. The monitor is on the default setting, no scaling.

View attachment 2009406

Its interesting .... about this Mac / display is showing the right resolution...
and when I switch to default....and check the resolution via the site attached - showing 1920*1080
and when I switch back to scaled - 1920*1080 is highlighted

 

[VogonPoetry]

The About This Mac > Displays window shows the resolution at which the Mac is driving the display (ideally, as in your case, that is the monitor's native resolution).

The Settings > Displays window shows the effective resolution of the Mac UI. For most 4k monitors in the region of 27/28 inches it defaults to using 4 physical pixels to represent a single UI pixel, hence the 'looks like 1920 x 1080' if you hover over the default scaling. This keeps text and UI elements a reasonable size whilst allowing for sharper, smoother edges via improved antialiasing.

(Even if you're using the 'looks like 1920 x 1080' resolution, 4k video, high res pictures, etc. still take advantage of the higher native resolution of your monitor to appear as sharp as possible.)

 

[theluggage]

When I use the default for display option in MacOS (12.4) - it set the resolution to 1920*1080

If you have a 4k display connected, what Apple call "1920x1080" mode isn't 1920x1080 - it is 3840x2160 (4k) but with the UI (system fonts, menus, buttons, dialogues, default window sizes) displayed double size.

If you want convincing, go to Display Settings, option-click on 'Scaled', check the 'Show all modes' box and select "1920x1080 (low resolution)" to see how bad real 1920x1080 is.

Apple's mode names are confusing - that mode used to be called "looks like 1920x1080" but sometime in the last couple of versions the "looks like" got dropped.

Selecting "3840x2160" just does away with the double-sized UI - which makes things a bit fiddly and hard to read on a 27" display, which is why it isn't the default.

Either "1920x1080" or "3840x2160" will give you optimal picture quality. The other options use fractional scaling to give you intermediate UI sizes (because 2x is a bit too big on a large screen) - the fractional scaling introduces slight "artefacts" and generates extra GPU load - your mileage may vary - but they all contain significantly more detail than the resolutions quoted.

 

[Musacha78]

Hi there, just received my Studio Display today and hooked it up to my Mac Studio. To be honest; until now I'm impressed by the sharpness, colours, etc. but I really don't understand the whole resolution thing... I switched to the Studio Display from a Dell 27inch 4k, hoping that the Display woud give me some more "working space". But when I choose the "Default for Display" resolution, it goes to a "lousy" 2560 x 1440 resolution. I was using a 3840 x 2160 on my Dell... :-|... Off course I can manually (click+option) change the resolution, but on the 5120 x 2880 resolution text simply becomes unreadable, forcing me to choose a weird resolution of 3200 x 1800.

Am I having wrong expectations of this display? Why isn't there a 3840 x 2160 available (same ratio as the 5120 x 2880)?

Again, I'm looking for more workspace on my Display, compared to my previous Dell, but now it looks like this isn't possible.

Thanks.

 

[Sharky II]

Yes, your expectations are wrong I’m afraid. The display is designed to have more pixel density at a perceived 1440p resolution on a 27” monitor, resulting in a sharper images and text.

The 5k resolution is chosen by Apple to be exactly 2x 1440p, so they can achieve this level of sharpness.

You can achieve more working space than 1440p on any 4K monitor, regardless of the size.

I’m not sure if you’re able to scale the ASD or the XDR to native res (or higher than the doubles res it’s intended to be used), perhaps a Google or another ASD user can help there. I’d bet a third party utility will allow you to do this, if Apple doesn’t.

 

[Musacha78]

Yes, your expectations are wrong I’m afraid. The display is designed to have more pixel density at a perceived 1440p resolution on a 27” monitor, resulting in a sharper images and text.

The 5k res is chosen by apple to be excavator 2x 1440p, so they can achieve this level of sharpness.

You can achieve more working space than 1440p on any 4K monitor, regardless of the size.

I’m not sure if you’re able to scale the ASD or the XDR to native res (or higher than the doubles res it’s intended to be used), perhaps a Google or another ASD user can help there. I’d bet a third party utility will allow you to do this, if Apple doesn’t.

Thanks for your fast response. I’m sorry for my ignorance …, but I’m not sure what you mean. Is it that the Studio Display has twice a “better quality” (sharper image, better rendering) at 1440 than a 4k monitor but it has exactly the same dimensions regaring workspace…? Something like that?

 

[Sharky II]

No need to apologise!

It's all about 'pixels per inch'. The more pixels per inch, the sharper it is. Apple want screens at around 220ppi (which they call 'retina'), which is what your Studio Display is, that's why it's so sharp. The Studio display has a PPI of 218, whereas a 4k 27" monitor has a PPI of about 163.

A non 4K (i.e. 2K) monitor that runs natively at 1440p (no scaling) has a PPI of about 108.

So as you can see above, your 5k monitor isn't twice the pixels per inch of a 4k monitor, no. But it is 2x the ppi of a 27" monitor which runs at 1440p, like the old 27" iMacs or most 27inch monitors before 4K was a thing.

You can get a dell 4k monitor at 27 or 32inch and run it at native 4K resolution and have more 'space' than a 5k Studio Display, but it won't be as sharp, and the text will probably be quite small to read.

The appearance of icons and text @ 1440p on a 27" screen is deemed to be the sweet spot for most people between having lots of desktop real estate and things looking too small, which is why Apple chose it, then doubled the resolution.

I don't have a Studio Display so I'm not sure if you can choose different scalings in the Displays System Preferences - I'd bet you can. So if you want more real estate, look there!

I can scale my old 15" Retina MBP at higher than the 'native' resolution (which looks like 1440p in the case of the Studio Display), which allows me more desktop space at the cost of a little sharpness, so I don't see why you won't be able to do that on a Studio Display.

 

[Musacha78]

It's all about 'pixels per inch'. The more pixels, the sharper it is. Apple want screens at around 220ppi, which is what your Studio Display is, that's why it's so sharp. The Studio display has a PPI of 218, whereas a 4k 27" monitor has a PPI of about 163.

A non 4K (i.e. 2K) monitor that runs natively at 1440p (no scaling) has a PPI of about 108 (i.e. half the 5k Studio display's PPI).

So as you can see above, your 5k monitor isn't twice the pixels per inch of a 4k monitor, no. But it is 2x the ppi of a 27" monitor which runs at 1440p, like the old 27" iMacs or most 27inch monitors before 4K was a thing.

You can get a dell 4k monitor at 27 or 32inch and run it at native 4K resolution and have more 'space' than a 5k Studio Display, but it won't be as sharp, and the text will probably be quite small to read.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks! Obviously, the image quality stands out enormously. So that’s a big win. As is the docking functionality and the speaker quality.

Are there any disadvantages in using a 1800 (QHD+) resolution that you know of?

 

[Sharky II]

There's no real downside...! Unless that's not the resolution you actually want...

 

[TTYS0]

For a great write up on resolutions, check out https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/psa-4k-display-resolutions.2345906/

There's a lot of info in there, and might help make sense of some of the misconceptions.

 

[Musacha78]

There's no real downside...! Unless that's not the resolution you actually want...

Thanks !

 

[Musacha78]

For a great write up on resolutions, check out https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/psa-4k-display-resolutions.2345906/

There's a lot of info in there, and might help make sense of some of the misconceptions.

Ah, thanks!