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interesting topic of discussion in the place where the Apple eGPU 27" retina display claims originated, is whether what the person who claimed to have used the product actually used was the LG display, in an Apple development mule case.

It will be interesting to see when the teardowns come if this 5k LG display is actually eGPU based,

It very likely isn't. Too thin. No major power dissipation system. etc.

eGPU inside of a 5K display is only necessary if there is a grossly impoverished iGPU trying to power it. There are no legacy Mac laptops that make this kind of claim. The MacBook can't (and won't) drive this display. Probably won't on the next iteration also even with a bumped Gen 7 CPU+GPU package (even though technically could do two external DP 1.2 streams. )

If Apple has to go o a track where GT2 is the only viable iGPU option for them then there would be greater need for a eGPU display. As long as they have access to GT3e and/or dGPU solutions then it is a dubious product path. A "break in case of emergency" lab project, but not on the main path.

The fact that there is a 4K and 5K monitor means even the GT2 option, like the MacBook, should have a monitor option. It is just capped at 4K (which is a step up from MB's 12" ).
 
was it clarified if the UltraFine 4K version works with the 2013 Mac Pro and the TB3-TB2 adapter?
 
was it clarified if the UltraFine 4K version works with the 2013 Mac Pro and the TB3-TB2 adapter?

The Ultrafine 4K is not a Thunderbolt device. Where there is no Thunderbolt present, there is no need for a Thunderbolt adapter.

The Ultrafine 4K is a USB Type-C device. It requires a USB 2 stream to be present on the same port that is distributing the x4 DisplayPort signal. The 2013 MP doe not have any such ports. Someone may come up with some kind of kludge adapter that consumes one of the Type-A USB ports and one if the TBv2 ports into a single cable. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for one.

The most natural fit for the Ultrafine 4K is the MacBook. It has type-C and no Thunderbolt. There are more than a few Windows systems that are in the same boat. The 4K was 100% not designed with the older Mac Pros (2013 or older ) in mind. The same is true for all of the older Macbook Pros and MacBook Airs. It isn't a particularly narrow slight at the Mac Pro.

P.S. It will work with the new MBPs with TBv3 because TBv3 has a USB Type-C functionality embedded. So those laptops have a much more affordable external screen option than the old TBv2 Thunderbolt docking station display provided for the older MBPs.
 
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Apple support rep told me that the 5K Display "might" work with the 2013 Mac Pro with the TB3-TB2 adapter, but it "may not" display the full 5K due to, i assume, TB2 single cable bandwidth limitations. If it's still 10 bit UHD 4K 60hz and scaled well then its worth it.

They told me to come into the store and test it in December, and that I can also use the 14 day return policy as a trial period.
 
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That's total ******** and you know it.

You stopped working with windows in 2006 that mean XP or maybe Vista. Those problem don't exist anymore since win7.
And again you are blaming windows the OS for badly writen 3rd party software, the wacom drivers as if bad drivers never existed on OSX... A quick search on this site could be quite revealing.

People should learn what is an operating system and what it does before commenting on that quality of one versus the other.

Actually I find it quite true. There is objective data to support it. See the posts about how IBM finds Macs much cheaper than PC's due to lower support costs. I just installed a Windows 10 update and it totally screwed the system. No recovery option or restore point worked. I finally had to reinstall Windows 10, which because of that stupid registry and such required reinstallation of all of my programs. Lost at least a day of my time. And these kind of things just keep happening. Always have (although not this drastically), and I've supported Windows from DOS 1.0 and Windows 3.0. I've probably wasted a working year fixing windows problems that just shouldn't be there.

I reinstall my MacOS every few months just to clean things up and system and all program startup with absolutely no hiccups.
 
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Apple support rep told me that the 5K Display "might" work with the 2013 Mac Pro with the TB3-TB2 adapter, but it "may not" display the full 5K due to, i assume, TB2 single cable bandwidth limitations. If it's still 10 bit UHD 4K 60hz and scaled well then its worth it.

They told me to come into the store and test it in December, and that I can also use the 14 day return policy as a trial period.

Please help me understand why this is so important...

I have a Mac Pro 2013 and eventually desire to get a 4K or 5k display also. I currently use an Apple Thunderbolt Display and was hoping too that Apple would come out with an "Apple" 4K or 5K display...they did not and stated they will not.

Instead...They said they partnered with LG (whatever that really means) and came out with something that will plug into the new MBPro 2016. Doesn't have an Apple logo on it, nor does it have the solid made design style look of Apple, just the usb-c plug so it will plug into the MBPro. So what? Why didn't LG just make a monitor and throw on the Apple logo and call it a day?

There are other displays out there that will work with the Mac Pro 2013. Apple on their website says that the Mac Pro 2013 will power a 5K, but will take two of the thunderbolt ports.

Is there THAT much of a difference between a 4K and a 5K monitor? Why is it so important to use THAT LG monitor that Apple "partnered" with LG with? Not that impressive to me when you look at it in my opinion. Other monitors look better.

Why is there a MUST to have that monitor for the Mac Pro 2013? I do not understand?
 
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In my local market, it's about half the price of a comparable Dell 5k display.

Something that sells at Apple is cheaper in price than other vendors ??????? Are you sure it is the same exact model ???? I might have a heart attach believing this !!! :)
 

2547a6bc3419b1cc99fe41841e14ce65.jpg
 
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The Ultrafine 4K is not a Thunderbolt device. Where there is no Thunderbolt present, there is no need for a Thunderbolt adapter.

The Ultrafine 4K is a USB Type-C device. It requires a USB 2 stream to be present on the same port that is distributing the x4 DisplayPort signal. The 2013 MP doe not have any such ports. Someone may come up with some kind of kludge adapter that consumes one of the Type-A USB ports and one if the TBv2 ports into a single cable. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for one.

The most natural fit for the Ultrafine 4K is the MacBook. It has type-C and no Thunderbolt. There are more than a few Windows systems that are in the same boat. The 4K was 100% not designed with the older Mac Pros (2013 or older ) in mind. The same is true for all of the older Macbook Pros and MacBook Airs. It isn't a particularly narrow slight at the Mac Pro.

P.S. It will work with the new MBPs with TBv3 because TBv3 has a USB Type-C functionality embedded. So those laptops have a much more affordable external screen option than the old TBv2 Thunderbolt docking station display provided for the older MBPs.

Not what I was told by Apple.
 
Not what I was told by Apple.

Perhaps someone at Apple confused? Because the USB only specification is right there on Apple's page for the product:

"...
it’s the perfect match for MacBook with USB-C port or MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports.
....
Ports: One USB-C (input), three USB-C (USB 2, 480 Mbps)
...
what's in the box
USB-C cable (1.8 m) ....
"
http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKMY2LL/A/lg-ultrafine-4k-display

There is no TB cable. The ports are USB only. The downstream port is USB 2.0 only. The only mention of Thunderbolt is on the computer not the display; which primarily to indicate that it is Type-C complaint. And yet you think this is TB device?

More likely someone read the 5K's specs and thinks this 4K monitor is the "same thing" with a smaller screen. It isn't. The TBv3-TBv2 adapter is not a solution for either one of these devices, but for different reasons.
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Apple support rep told me that the 5K Display "might" work with the 2013 Mac Pro with the TB3-TB2 adapter, but it "may not" display the full 5K due to, i assume, TB2 single cable bandwidth limitations. If it's still 10 bit UHD 4K 60hz and scaled well then its worth it.

I highly doubt there is a 4K to 5K upscaler built into the monitor. Apple has probably planted "scaling" as being a Mac GPU thing, not a monitor thing. I suspect more likely you may get 4K with black letter-boxing for the part of the screen not getting any signal. Possible 'downshift' in the USB 3.0 performance too if keep the 10 bits and 60Hz.

It is worth trying the experiment though.
 
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Another option, Dell 4K P2715Q runs circles around the 5K P2715K

I tested them long ago but the clarity and resolution on both OSX and Windows was far superior at the time
 
Hu? Not sure about US prices, but in the EU the Dell 5K has dropped below 900€ while the LG retails for ~1050€.

This is AU pricing, they've got a special on the Dell right now for $2300, but yeah, we don't see any of the super price drops on that thing that the rest of the world gets.
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I highly doubt there is a 4K to 5K upscaler built into the monitor. Apple has probably planted "scaling" as being a Mac GPU thing, not a monitor thing. I suspect more likely you may get 4K with black letter-boxing for the part of the screen not getting any signal. Possible 'downshift' in the USB 3.0 performance too if keep the 10 bits and 60Hz.

It is worth trying the experiment though.

The Dell 5k does 4k full screen when connected to a single displayport feed, but I wouldn't expect that versatility from any display Apple had a hand in making.
 
It has been in the Intel slide deck from the very beginning.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...type-c-connector-doubles-bandwidth-to-40gbps/

Slide 2 in that June 2015 dated article.

thunderbolt-3-displays.jpg


Single cable .... two 4K or one 5K . ( it is the 8 lanes of DP v1.2 input data to the TB controller is encoded onto one TB cable ).


This Apple-LG display entirely depends upon that feature of TB v3. No TB v3 present then can't use this monitor. Period.



I agree that without TB3 you can't use this monitor at 5k. I wonder if TB2 could drive it at 4k?
 
We know that TB2 on the mac pro supports a max output of 4K at 60hz, so the likely case is that you can use the LG display with apples new bidirectional TB2/TB3 adapter and get that res, which may or may not look acceptable pending on scaling.

I agree that without TB3 you can't use this monitor at 5k. I wonder if TB2 could drive it at 4k?

In the future you may want to do a bit of research before giving advice. The 2013 Mac Pro supports up to three 5k monitors. http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/specs/

There is no reason why it should not work using this adapter http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter?fnode=4c
 
For the MacPro, you would need a two TB2 port to one TB3 port adapter.... I think, as a single MacPro port won't have the DP bandwidth needed for 5K.

There are a few 5K monitors that work with the 2013 MacPro over two TB/DP cables, however.
 
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It's only described as allowing TB1&2 devices to be connected to a TB3 host. I suspect there's very little chance it would allow TB3 devices to be connected to a TB1 or TB2 host.

That page says:

The Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter lets you connect Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 devices — external hard drives and Thunderbolt displays, for example — to any of the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on your MacBook Pro. As a bidirectional adapter, it can also connect new Thunderbolt 3 devices to a Mac with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port.*

So I would assume that it would "connect". I also assume that a computer with a TB2 port couldn't pump enough data out a single TB2 port to support 5k resolution. But I still think it's an open issue whether it could support a 5k monitor at 4k resolution. Looking forward to someone actually plugging one in and resolving this issue.
 
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That page says:

The Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter lets you connect Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 devices — external hard drives and Thunderbolt displays, for example — to any of the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on your MacBook Pro. As a bidirectional adapter, it can also connect new Thunderbolt 3 devices to a Mac with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port.*

So I would assume that it would "connect". I also assume that a computer with a TB2 port couldn't pump enough data out a single TB2 port to support 5k resolution. But I still think it's an open issue whether it could support a 5k monitor at 4k resolution. Looking forward to someone actually plugging one in and resolving this issue.

I stand corrected.

It looks like TB3 displays are supported, but bandwidth would be the issue. What it can't do is connect to displayport displays, which seems odd. I have to wonder if a 2xTB2 -> 1xTB3 adapter could be built to handle MST and drive a 5k tb3 display, since TB2 is supposed to support link aggregation.
 
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