M1 MBP & LG 34 inch ultra wide 5K2K

[vertices]

So glad I found out about this issue, I've only used my MBP with its own display. I am about to switch from Windows desktop, to my new M1 Max 64GB that I bought full-time, but it won't be here until early Dec. I also purchased a Dell 4021UQ which has the 5k2k resolution which won't wont ship they say until March 22nd lol. I found other threads stating how macOS M1 can't easily scale these oddball resolutions like it can on its own internal display. So you end up with blurry screen or super tiny everything. I love how easy it is to scale DPI in Windows to 125% or whatever. I really need to be able to do that with my M1 Max MBP and a 5k2k resolution.

So you guys are verifying then that a brand new M1 Max MBP, with a 5k2k resolution external display, can scale the DPI size properly?

 

[lordhamster]

One note. While my Dell 49 inch monitor seems to work well, I've noticed that when I have the 14" MBP in clamshell mode (closed), the monitor sometimes refuses to wake from sleep unless I unplug and replug.

This could be due to the laptop, or perhaps the Caldigit TS3 hub that I've got it running through. Not sure yet. I'm also not sure if this happens when the computer is not in clamshell mode. I'll run some additional testing on all these scenarios and then revert here.

Took the Caldigit TS3 hub out of the equation and now the MacBook wakes the monitor up fine. My dell monitor has enough USB ports. Only problem is no ethernet, and for some reason using a USB-A ethernet adapter via the monitor results in a max of 50mbps throughput for some reason... but that was also the case with my Intel 2019 MBP.

 

[spark plugs.]

So glad I found out about this issue, I've only used my MBP with its own display. I am about to switch from Windows desktop, to my new M1 Max 64GB that I bought full-time, but it won't be here until early Dec. I also purchased a Dell 4021UQ which has the 5k2k resolution which won't wont ship they say until March 22nd lol. I found other threads stating how macOS M1 can't easily scale these oddball resolutions like it can on its own internal display. So you end up with blurry screen or super tiny everything. I love how easy it is to scale DPI in Windows to 125% or whatever. I really need to be able to do that with my M1 Max MBP and a 5k2k resolution.

So you guys are verifying then that a brand new M1 Max MBP, with a 5k2k resolution external display, can scale the DPI size properly?

yes

 

[Amethyst1]

So you guys are verifying then that a brand new M1 Max MBP, with a 5k2k resolution external display, can scale the DPI size properly?

There you go.

 

[Amethyst1]

My dell monitor has enough USB ports. Only problem is no ethernet, and for some reason using a USB-A ethernet adapter via the monitor results in a max of 50mbps throughput for some reason... but that was also the case with my Intel 2019 MBP.

If the U4919DW is hooked up via USB-C, its downstream USB ports only run at USB 2.0 speeds (specs).

 

[flapflapflap]

I have the 14 and 16 in hand and confirm HiDPI is finally enabled, however, the added benefit doesn’t justify (for me) the increase in price, the extra chonk and heft of these devices and the lesser battery life. I will therefore return them and stick with the M1 13 and hope the M2 offers a much better well rounded product.

 

[lordhamster]

If the U4919DW is hooked up via USB-C, its downstream USB ports only run at USB 2.0 speeds (specs).

You are 100% right... just read the manual (for the first time haha). DAMMIT

so much for a one-plug solution that gives me all my peripherals + ethernet. Argh. Well at least the monitor is working brilliantly.

I'll do some more experimentation with the old Caldigit TS3 dock to see if I can maybe get that to work (sleep/wake) correctly if perhaps I hook the monitor to that hub via displayport vs thunderbolt/usb-c.

 

[CosmoPilot]

Been lurking here for awhile. I’ve been eye balling a 5k2k monitor to go with my new MBP coming in Dec. Was thinking about the new LG 40WP95C but can’t seem to get a release date figured out.

Anyone have a 38” recommendation? TB/USB-C is a must.

 

[lazyjj1]

HiDPI/issues doesn't work with the Thunderbolt cable right? I've been using it through a hub (OWC Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock) and Monterey often crashes when trying to wake up the monitor!

Taking the hub out of the equation but hate having to plug in power separately! Doubt this will work.

Is DP 1.4 (thus, another separate cable) the only viable option?

 

[embotix]

Damn, I'm not getting the HiDPI options for my Alienware AW3420DW 34" ultrawide display when connecting my 16" M1 Max MBP! ?

I'm using this USB-C (TB3) to DisplayPort cable.

I still only see the same limited resolution options as when I try connecting my older 13" M1 MBP.

Is there anything in MacOS Monterey that needs to be tweaked to make these additional resolution options available?

 

[jcolby]

Damn, I'm not getting the HiDPI options for my Alienware AW3420DW 34" ultrawide display when connecting my 16" M1 Max MBP! ?

I'm using this USB-C (TB3) to DisplayPort cable.

I still only see the same limited resolution options as when I try connecting my older 13" M1 MBP.

Is there anything in MacOS Monterey that needs to be tweaked to make these additional resolution options available?

I believe macOS by default only enables hiDPI/retina options for 4K and above displays, regardless of processor type. You can use RDM/switchresX/etc to enable them for lower resolution displays such as yours.

 

[spark plugs.]

Damn, I'm not getting the HiDPI options for my Alienware AW3420DW 34" ultrawide display when connecting my 16" M1 Max MBP! ?

I'm using this USB-C (TB3) to DisplayPort cable.

I still only see the same limited resolution options as when I try connecting my older 13" M1 MBP.

Is there anything in MacOS Monterey that needs to be tweaked to make these additional resolution options available?

Don’t think DisplayPort has enough bandwidth, does it?

 

[joevt]

Don’t think DisplayPort has enough bandwidth, does it?

The AW3420DW supports DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4. DisplayPort 1.2 has more than twice the bandwidth of HDMI 1.4. DisplayPort 1.2 is enough for 3440x1440@120Hz 8bpc RGB.
It's a low res 34 inch display - no reason to use HiDPI with that unless the display is 5 feet away from you or you have vision problems or you think HiDPI has better antialiasing (drawing at 6880x2880 and scaling down to 3440x1440 might look better?)

 

[subhash]

Greetings,

I am having issue with my Pro Display XDR. I see here new m1 pro and m1 max chips are showing extra scaled resolutions like intel Macs before and issue is resolved with external monitors like LG 5k.

I bought the 14 inch m1 max as my m1 MacBook Pro had that limitation. But even with m1 max I am still seeing the same 3008X1692 resolution on my Pro Display XDR. It shows only monitor full resolution as next option.

If any one has Pro Display XDR can you please check this. I am not sure what to do. Is this only a Pro Display XDR limitation now. Very frustrating Apple's own display doesn't support higher resolution.

Thanks for the help.

 

[embotix]

The AW3420DW supports DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4. DisplayPort 1.2 has more than twice the bandwidth of HDMI 1.4. DisplayPort 1.2 is enough for 3440x1440@120Hz 8bpc RGB.
It's a low res 34 inch display - no reason to use HiDPI with that unless the display is 5 feet away from you or you have vision problems or you think HiDPI has better antialiasing (drawing at 6880x2880 and scaling down to 3440x1440 might look better?)

Hmm you know what, I think I've misunderstood what HiDPI means.

When I connect the Alienware 3440x1440 ultrawide to my Windows PC, I can get some scaling options. Specifically, I really like 125% scaling. For my aging eyes, it has the effect of making everything a bit bigger, and even sharper, since it's able to use more pixels to render the same characters.

I was hoping that HiDPI support in this context meant I could achieve something similar with macOS and new M1 Pro/Max MBPs and external displays. Specifically, is it possible to achieve 125% scaling in macOS on a display like this? (But maybe that is a different thread.)

Update: literally found the different thread that addresses the scaling I'm looking for - it's hilarious, though.

 

[Amethyst1]

I was hoping that HiDPI support in this context meant I could achieve something similar with macOS and new M1 Pro/Max MBPs and external displays. Specifically, is it possible to achieve 125% scaling in macOS on a display like this? (But maybe that is a different thread.)

HiDPI can do this (albeit differently than Windows), but your display's resolution needs to be high enough (for an ultrawide: at least 5120×2160) for HiDPI modes to be offered out of the box by macOS.

125% scaling on a 3440×1440 display can be achieved by using a HiDPI mode that "Looks like 2752×1152", which makes macOS render everything (UI elements, text etc.) at 200% size on a framebuffer that is twice as wide and twice as high as the HiDPI mode, i.e. 5504×2304 in your case, and finally downscales that 5504×2304 framebuffer to your monitor's native 3440×1440 resolution. This is how non-200% scaling is handled by macOS, and it causes a slightly blurry image as well as a performance hit that is noticeable on e.g. weak integrated Intel GPUs.

But the issue is that macOS won't give you the option to scale using HiDPI modes out of the box because your display's resolution is too low. You need some trickery to enable it.

 

[embotix]

HiDPI can do this (albeit differently than Windows), but your display's resolution needs to be high enough (for an ultrawide: at least 5120×2160) for HiDPI modes to be offered out of the box by macOS.

125% scaling on a 3440×1440 display can be achieved by using a HiDPI mode that "Looks like 2752×1152", which makes macOS render everything (UI elements, text etc.) at 200% size on a framebuffer that is twice as wide and twice as high as the HiDPI mode, i.e. 5504×2304 in your case, and finally downscales that framebuffer to your monitor's native 3440×1440 resolution. This is how non-200% scaling is handled by macOS, and it causes a slightly blurry image as well as a performance hit that is noticeable on e.g. weak integrated Intel GPUs.

But the issue is that macOS won't give you the option to scale using HiDPI modes out of the box because your display's resolution is too low. You need some trickery to enable it.

Perfect! That's what I'm looking for - I won't mind the performance hit, since, I'm mainly dealing with productivity & web applications in Chrome (and perhaps performance hit will not even be noticeable with new M1 Max chip?). I'm going to try RDM to enable this. The "Looks like 2752x1152" is exactly what I'm looking for!

 

[Amethyst1]

I bought the 14 inch m1 max as my m1 MacBook Pro had that limitation. But even with m1 max I am still seeing the same 3008X1692 resolution on my Pro Display XDR. It shows only monitor full resolution as next option.

When I checked out an XDR connected to a 2019 Mac Pro in an Apple Store, it was the same, i.e. scaled resolutions between 3008×1692 and (full) 6016×3384 aren't offered out of the box on the XDR even when the GPU supports them. So you need to add the scaled resolutions you want yourself.

 

[Amethyst1]

The "Looks like 2752x1152" is exactly what I'm looking for!

If it isn’t available OOTB, BetterDummy should do the trick.

 

[embotix]

If it isn’t available OOTB, BetterDummy should do the trick.

RDM did NOT work, but I can confirm, BetterDummy worked perfectly! Took me a min to wrap my head around the Display Mirroring trick they're doing, but now I'm getting the scaled options for "Larger text" in Display Settings, and it looks as good as I can expect on this non-Retina 34" ultrawide display! This should hold me over until Apple provides a proper (non $5K+ XDR) alternative for an external display!

 

[Wolf1701]

For info BetterDummy (1.0.7b) enables 3840x1620 in HiDPI with M1

 

[subhash]

Another thread in displays a member was able to use switchregrex and able to enable 3650x2053 resolution in HiDPI. I tried it and working fine. Until apple sorts this if ever for now this should do it for my Pro Display XDR.

Thanks

 

[bill-p]

I have the 14 and 16 in hand and confirm HiDPI is finally enabled, however, the added benefit doesn’t justify (for me) the increase in price, the extra chonk and heft of these devices and the lesser battery life. I will therefore return them and stick with the M1 13 and hope the M2 offers a much better well rounded product.

Yeah, I can confirm. M1 Pro/Max finally fixed this issue. 3360x... is finally available as an option and it looks gorgeous!

I think I'll stick with the 14" for now. The added heft is not very noticeable with the 14" and the benefits (performance, screen, form factor, no Touch Bar, new keyboard + new speakers) are worth it to me. It's like... quality of life update for what I was using before.

 

[JoshVic]

For info BetterDummy (1.0.7b) enables 3840x1620 in HiDPI with M1

Yes, I confirm. Incredibly this app with a trick enables a lot of HiDPI resolution on M1 chips. In my Mac Mini M1 I was able to set the resolution of 3392x1431 in HiDPI, beyond to the limit that was there before (3008x1269).
In summary, you can also stop buying the new macbook pro M1 pro / Max ?

 

[grmlin]

Yes, I confirm. Incredibly this app with a trick enables a lot of HiDPI resolution on M1 chips. In my Mac Mini M1 I was able to set the resolution of 3392x1431 in HiDPI, beyond to the limit that was there before (3008x1269).
In summary, you can also stop buying the new macbook pro M1 pro / Max ?

That's awesome and good to know!