External displays for macbook pro retina 13" late 2013

[cochinet]

Hi guys, I'm looking for a little help here

I'm not quite convinced with the changes in the font rendering that Mojave brought us, because I use an external monitor LCD and it looks a little off even doing all the configuration changes that are "recommended" that supposedly "fix" this issue, but I'm not getting anywhere.

So I was trying to find a guide or advise to know if there is any external display / monitor that could accomplish a bigger resolution without going blurry Mojave. Or maybe an external monitor that could accomplish the "Retina Scaled" versions. (don't know if this helps)

A couple of days ago I bought a 27" 4k UHD display but I got the native resolution at 3840x2160 and the text looks very very tiny, then changed it to 1920x1080 retina and it gets too big, so I'm looking for something in between.

Does anybody know if there is something like this anywhere hehehe

(also don't know if a new macbook could be the solution, but right now a new mac is kind of a long shot for me)

 

[Nebulance]

I have a MacBook Pro 13" (mid 2014). I bought this monitor back in 2015, and it holds up very well:

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-25-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor-U2518DX/dp/B075X8SNWK/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

It has a resolution of 2560 x 1440, so very close to the native 2560 x 1600 of the MacBook Pro. The text looks good on Mojave -- though I can certainly tell a difference between the external display and my computer screen.

I do a lot of programming and writing talks, so heavy Terminal and Keynote usage. Both apps look great on the big screen, so if you're doing similar things, I certainly recommend it.

I've been thinking of getting a second one to keep at work, but wondering if I should make the jump to a 4K display; like you, concerned about the small text when moving to that resolution.

 

[cochinet]

I have a MacBook Pro 13" (mid 2014). I bought this monitor back in 2015, and it holds up very well:

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-25-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor-U2518DX/dp/B075X8SNWK/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

It has a resolution of 2560 x 1440, so very close to the native 2560 x 1600 of the MacBook Pro. The text looks good on Mojave -- though I can certainly tell a difference between the external display and my computer screen.

I do a lot of programming and writing talks, so heavy Terminal and Keynote usage. Both apps look great on the big screen, so if you're doing similar things, I certainly recommend it.

I've been thinking of getting a second one to keep at work, but wondering if I should make the jump to a 4K display; like you, concerned about the small text when moving to that resolution.

Thanks for this.

I had a Dell u2515h and worked pretty awesome. But when Mojave came I started to notice that anti-alising stuff and got into my head. And sold that monitor.

Then I purchased a Philips 276E8VJSB, thinking that the 4k stuff could work better. But got the native resolution (3840x2160) at 30hz and it looked too small and a little slow. Then the 1920x1080 got too big, sharp though then I started playing with resolutions and none looked good. I was hoping to get the "scaled retina" resolutions but only got the list of resolutions. Holding alt + clic on "scaled" got the list, but none of them really worked. So I returned it.


So reading around maybe this macbook pro isn't able to pull what I want. But, anyways, not buying a new mac just for this. It works pretty great.

So right now I'm waiting for a AOPEN 27ML1U bmiipx that should worked pretty much the same as de Dell u2515h. but in 27" should look a little better in native resolution.

Here are the amazon links for this monitors.

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-276E...B/27&qid=1553615811&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

https://www.amazon.com/27ML1U-bmiipx-27-inch-FreeSync-Technology/dp/B07LD78515

I also do a lot of programming but I'm kinda picky with how the font looks.

 

[Nebulance]

Thanks for this.

Here are the amazon links for this monitors.

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-276E8VJSB-3840x2160-MultiView-DisplayPort/dp/B07JXCR263/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=PHILIPS+276E8VJSB/27&qid=1553615811&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

https://www.amazon.com/27ML1U-bmiipx-27-inch-FreeSync-Technology/dp/B07LD78515

I also do a lot of programming but I'm kinda picky with how the font looks.

I'm surprised that 4K Phillips one is so cheap! Though I guess your experience is why it is? Hard to say. Hope the AOPEN one works out!

Oh, I totally agree about fonts, I'm all about selecting good ones to program with. Not sure if you've seen it, but a favorite of mine is Input:

http://input.fontbureau.com

It's free, anti-aliasing, and has many variations. Focused on programming. Another good one is of course Apple's San Francisco (SF Mono). I've stuck with that one for quite a long time now.

 

[cochinet]

I'm surprised that 4K Phillips one is so cheap! Though I guess your experience is why it is? Hard to say. Hope the AOPEN one works out!

Oh, I totally agree about fonts, I'm all about selecting good ones to program with. Not sure if you've seen it, but a favorite of mine is Input:

http://input.fontbureau.com

It's free, anti-aliasing, and has many variations. Focused on programming. Another good one is of course Apple's San Francisco (SF Mono). I've stuck with that one for quite a long time now.

Thanks

I'll check that site out.

I'll update as soon as I get the display to see how it performs.

 

[Sandy944]

Thanks for this.

Thanks

I'll check that site out.

I'll update as soon as I get the display to see how it performs.

The SwitchResX software may help finding a resolution that works. See post

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...hz-2560-x-1440-success.2175145/#post-27227189

 

[cochinet]

Thanks

I'll check that site out.

I'll update as soon as I get the display to see how it performs.

Finally the display arrived, and it looks pretty good. It's working at 75 Hertz so I think that is good. I had the same resolution in the dell u2515h but it looks better here. I think the couple of extra inches is what makes the difference.

Thanks!

 

[Nebulance]

Finally the display arrived, and it looks pretty good. It's working at 75 Hertz so I think that is good. I had the same resolution in the dell u2515h but it looks better here. I think the couple of extra inches is what makes the difference.

That looks great -- glad it worked out!

 

[Painter2002]

Thanks for this.

I had a Dell u2515h and worked pretty awesome. But when Mojave came I started to notice that anti-alising stuff and got into my head. And sold that monitor.

I actually use that same Dell U2515H monitors (2 of them actually) with my 2017 MBP, and I don’t have any issues at all with the anti-aliasing or anything. Overall these are fine monitors, and I’d suggest one if you can find a good one used.

 

[Nebulance]

The one I've had my eye on for some time is coming down in price -- similar to what I paid for the U2515H: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073VYVX5...colid=3V5PPO7MJ5OW6&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

 

[Nebulance]

Just pulled the trigger on that one (Dell U2718Q, 27" 4K), since the price of a Used -- Like New one was down to $340. Not bad.

 

[funkygenius]

Will the above dell u2718q 27” 4K work with a MacBook Pro mid 2014 model? I’m using a dell 2216h right now find the image quality very uncomfortable. I’ll appreciate suggestions on monitors that will get me as close to the Retina experience as the mid 2014 MacBook Pro will allow. Pls also advise if I should use DisplayPort or hdmi. Thank you

 

[satcomer]

Will the above dell u2718q 27” 4K work with a MacBook Pro mid 2014 model? I’m using a dell 2216h right now find the image quality very uncomfortable. I’ll appreciate suggestions on monitors that will get me as close to the Retina experience as the mid 2014 MacBook Pro will allow. Pls also advise if I should use DisplayPort or hdmi. Thank you

Use Display Port for the best picture!

 

[funkygenius]

Use Display Port for the best picture!

thank you. I have 2 thunderbolt 2 ports. How to connect them with DisplayPort?

 

[satcomer]

thank you. I have 2 thunderbolt 2 ports. How to connect them with DisplayPort?

Al
I could find is a IO Gear Thunderbolt 2 Dock with Mini Display Port and use a mini disport to connect to the display!