M1 MBP & LG 34 inch ultra wide 5K2K

[Kaszebe]

LG 34BK95U-W arrives Wednesday and Mac Mini M2 Pro arrives Thursday. There's no way I can return the monitor if I don't like it. Knew I was taking a $900 gamble when I bought it. Hope this combination works out better than the entry-level M2 Mac Mini and the LG C2 OLED (which only has a ~109? PPI) that I'm currently using.

I really hate shelling out all this money for Apple products, but their **** just works and I give them credit for an amazing and reliable user experience across all their products. And that's why I have bought almost every Apple product.

So tired of dealing with PC/Android issues over the past ~15 years.

 

[grmlin]

I use mine for programming and love it. Using a 27" 4K display in the office now feels like something is missing or broken. lol

It's a very good screen with some flaws. I don't care for them as they don't bother/affect me. It works perfectly fine with my MacBook using Thunderbolt, I can't complain. You should get used to a tool like Rectangle though, the MacOS window manager really isn't the greatest...

Hope it works for you, too!

 

[Kaszebe]

I use mine for programming and love it. Using a 27" 4K display in the office now feels like something is missing or broken. lol

It's a very good screen with some flaws. I don't care for them as they don't bother/affect me. It works perfectly fine with my MacBook using Thunderbolt, I can't complain. You should get used to a tool like Rectangle though, the MacOS window manager really isn't the greatest...

Hope it works for you, too!

Is this what you're talking about? https://rectangleapp.com/

What is the "MacOS window manager" ?

 

[grmlin]

Is this what you're talking about? https://rectangleapp.com/

What is the "MacOS window manager" ?

Yes. The window manager ist the thing you use to organize your open windows. And it sucks imo. 😅

 

[Kaszebe]

Yes. The window manager ist the thing you use to organize your open windows. And it sucks imo. 😅

In for a penny...

Can I trouble you to confirm the height of the LG 34BK95U-W monitor? I'm trying to see if my existing wall mount monitor arm will work (not looking like it) or I need to buy a new wall mount monitor arm built specifically for monitors.

The LG website says that it's 14.3" in height...just want to make sure that I'm reading that correctly:

LG 34BK95U-W: 34'' Class 21:9 UltraWide® 5K2K Nano IPS LED Monitor with HDR 600 (34'' Diagonal) | LG USA Business

Get information on the LG 34'' Class 21:9 UltraWide® 5K2K Nano IPS LED Monitor with HDR 600 (34'' Diagonal) . Find pictures, reviews, and tech specs for the LG 34BK95U-W

www.lg.com

 

[Kaszebe]

So I just got the LG 34BK95U-W delivered.

I'm on my entry-level M2 Mac Mini until my "new" M2 Mac Mini Pro arrives tomorrow. The highest resolution I can go is 3008 x 1269. The text clarity looks heads and tail better than on my LG C2 OLED 42" t.v.

I wonder if the M2 Mac Mini Pro will look any better? I'm currently not using BetterDisplay or anything of the sort.

Whites are very white and black text is very black. HDR looks like ass but this is a work monitor for typing, not goofing around watching videos.

It's a little shorter (as in "not as tall as the 32" LG 4k monitor it's replacing) than I imagined...but I guess this is ultrawide for you. The only reason I chose this monitor was because it had the highest PPI (163) for the size. I originally wanted a 42" but there was nothing under $1,200 (or anything else for that matter) that had decent PPI, which after hours of research seems to be the most important spec for Macs and non-Mac monitors.

I think I installed this monitor too low and need to drill another set of holes into the wall.

Oh and I installed the Mac display program from LG. It's really buggy and told me that there are no monitor updates available. Not sure if I believe them.

 

[Jujuman]

Just got this screen to pair with my mac mini m2 pro. Connected over bluetooth thunderbolt, works perfectly.

Available resolutions:

 

[Kaszebe]

Just got this screen to pair with my mac mini m2 pro. Connected over bluetooth, works perfectly.

Available resolutions:

View attachment 2256720

Can I ask you how much you paid for your monitor? I paid $999 for it. I think this monitor is ~5 years old? Wonder why it hasn't dropped more in price considering that it's 5 year old technology. However, beggars can't be choosers as this apparently is the biggest physical size monitor (34") that you can get with the highest PPI (163).

Almost wish I bought the 40" 5k2k version but that's another $500 more and I'm slowly getting used to a "dinky" 34" monitor and it's working well for multi-tasking in multiple windows.

Here's the resolutions I'm seeing on my M2 Mac Mini (entry level). I'm not using BetterDisplay or any other program. This is simply plug and play on a Thunderbolt cable from Best Buy. However, the monitor was complaining that I wasn't using the "supplied cable" it came with. I wonder why?

My new M2 Mac Mini Pro is going to be delivered today.

Are you finding that 3840 x 1620 provides readable text/etc. or are things too small? I'm using 3008 x 1269 and it's acceptable...but IIRC other people in this thread are saying that 3840 x 1620 is the sweet spot.

edit: Did you say that you're connecting to your 34BK95U-W via bluetooth?

 

[rando_onDaInterweb]

@Kaszebe How do you like the monitor so far?

 

[Kaszebe]

@Kaszebe How do you like the monitor so far?

So for the past year? or so I was working on an el cheapo 32" LG 4k monitor (~$300) and a Dell laptop. It had atrocious HDR and the colors were washed out. It didn't bother me as such because I'm a writer and theoretically speaking—I could use a $50 chromebook to write.

A few months ago I got fed up with the multiple issues with Dell and PCs in general. I switched over to an entry level M2 Mac Mini I found at Costco. The blurry text on the 32" LG became very obvious but I lived with it for a few months.

A few weeks ago, I decided to repurpose my LG 42" OLED C2 as a monitor and quickly realized text looked worse. That's when I started researching and found this thread and signed up as a forum member.

Long story short—the colors are great and the text is very sharp on the 34BK95U-W. I think the OLED panel might look a bit better....but the colors look good on this 34" LG UW. The extra real estate is great because I don't have to manually move my mouse to change tabs in Chrome. I just look to the right and can view the info I need.

However, and like I said before—I'm a writer. Between the 34BK95U-W and M2 Mac Mini Pro that I ordered last week—I have spent around $2,200 just to have sharp text. This seems like a bit of overkill and waste of money to be honest.

Apple really needs to get their **** together and develop a larger monitor for us text-based creatives—that doesn't cost something outrageous like $5k. I would feel that ~$1,500 is a decent price point (considering how many Apple products are over-priced). Ideally it would be $900 or thereabouts—but this is Apple we're talking about.

tl;dr I'm happy with the 34BK95U-W


Also, if you get this monitor, mount it high enough. I have mounted the arm to a wall stud twice now and it seems like the monitor is still a bit low. I'm going to have to punch two more holes this weekend to raise the monitor up a bit.

p.s. Yes, I told you I'm a writer but I'm writing this message to you inbetween projects. So, enjoy the verbal vomit lol.

 

[Jujuman]

Can I ask you how much you paid for your monitor? I paid $999 for it. I think this monitor is ~5 years old? Wonder why it hasn't dropped more in price considering that it's 5 year old technology. However, beggars can't be choosers as this apparently is the biggest physical size monitor (34") that you can get with the highest PPI (163).

Almost wish I bought the 40" 5k2k version but that's another $500 more and I'm slowly getting used to a "dinky" 34" monitor and it's working well for multi-tasking in multiple windows.

Here's the resolutions I'm seeing on my M2 Mac Mini (entry level). I'm not using BetterDisplay or any other program. This is simply plug and play on a Thunderbolt cable from Best Buy. However, the monitor was complaining that I wasn't using the "supplied cable" it came with. I wonder why?

My new M2 Mac Mini Pro is going to be delivered today.

Are you finding that 3840 x 1620 provides readable text/etc. or are things too small? I'm using 3008 x 1269 and it's acceptable...but IIRC other people in this thread are saying that 3840 x 1620 is the sweet spot.

edit: Did you say that you're connecting to your 34BK95U-W via bluetooth?

I paid 759.90EUR, as I found it refurbished. I also saw it new for 1480EUR.

The 40" looks nice. I got this monitor to use for my job as a web developer and designer, and so far it feels like enough space.

I did say bluetooth, but mean Thunderbolt. Ops!

3840 x 1620 is perfect for me for reading text. 5120 x 2160 is way too small.

Not sure why it requires the original cable, probably has something to do with bandwidth. All the reviews I've seen recommends using the supplied cable.

I am happy to have finished monitor hunting, it is such a labyrinth to navigate for apple computers. Seems like your new computer should be compatible with this screen!

 

[Kaszebe]

I paid 759.90EUR, as I found it refurbished. I also saw it new for 1480EUR.

The 40" looks nice. I got this monitor to use for my job as a web developer and designer, and so far it feels like enough space.

I did say bluetooth, but mean Thunderbolt. Ops!

3840 x 1620 is perfect for me for reading text. 5120 x 2160 is way too small.

Not sure why it requires the original cable, probably has something to do with bandwidth. All the reviews I've seen recommends using the supplied cable.

I am happy to have finished monitor hunting, it is such a labyrinth to navigate for apple computers. Seems like your new computer should be compatible with this screen!

Just finished updating the new M2 Mac Mini Pro. I'm seeing a ton more resolutions (without using BetterDisplay or any other program for that matter) pop up than I did with my entry level M2 Mac Mini.

3840 x 1620 is too small text for me. I settled upon 3360 x 1418 for the time being. If it's too small will go up to 3200 x 1350.

I do not see anywhere to enable HiDPI. I wonder if it's enabled by default? The text looks pretty sharp "as is" so not sure if I want to mess with things by adding BetterDisplay.

I used the 34" ultrawide 5k2k monitor for work today and it did make a slight difference in productivity. Was able to put two Chrome windows side-by-side and glance over at the info I needed instead of manually switching tabs with the mouse.

But was better resolution text and slightly better productivity worth almost $2,200 that I paid for the monitor and Mac Mini Pro?

Meh. It's something shiny and new for now.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Can I ask you how much you paid for your monitor? I paid $999 for it. I think this monitor is ~5 years old? Wonder why it hasn't dropped more in price considering that it's 5 year old technology.

There's essentially no competition. That panel was the only one available for years, and pretty much still is. There is a slow trickle now over the next couple of years of newer and likely much improved panels, but as it is now, all 5k2k displays use that panel.

Apple really needs to get their **** together and develop a larger monitor for us text-based creatives—that doesn't cost something outrageous like $5k. I would feel that ~$1,500 is a decent price point (considering how many Apple products are over-priced). Ideally it would be $900 or thereabouts—but this is Apple we're talking about.

You either want a high resolution, low priced monitor like the one that you got, or a high-end with Apple prices. You can't get both! Also, Apple *does* have a 1599$ 5k monitor available now. Personally I would just get the Samsung Viewfinity S9 instead, when it goes below 1000$ on sale. You'll get essentially the same specifications, and a stand on top.

 

[StarLord21]

These displays are overpriced to be honest, we need more competition 😪

Speaking of, please what resolution did people here find most comfortable with this panel? I found a second-hand MSI variant going for really cheap and paired it with my entry-level M1 mac mini. Everything worked smoothly "OOTB". However, I'm not sure in the long run if I should pursue the route of 3200x1350+ with M2 pro or just stick with the 3072x1296 resolution.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Kaszebe]

These displays are overpriced to be honest, we need more competition 😪

Speaking of, please what resolution did people here find most comfortable with this panel? I found a second-hand MSI variant going for really cheap and paired it with my entry-level M1 mac mini. Everything worked smoothly OOTB, However, I'm not sure in the long run if I should pursue the route of 3200x1350+ with M2 pro or just stick with the 3072x1296 resolution.

Thank you in advance!

I'm running 3360 x 1418 on a brand new M2 Mac Mini Pro and the text looks very sharp. Probably not as good as the $5k Apple monitor, but this is good enough for me. However, if I couldn't afford buying the Pro model—I could have easily stuck with my M2 Mac Mini (entry level).

As far as I can tell, the M2 Mac Mini Pro out of the box opens up more resolution options. I cannot tell if I have HiDPI enabled or not (I uninstalled BetterDisplay).

 

[StarLord21]

I'm running 3360 x 1418 on a brand new M2 Mac Mini Pro and the text looks very sharp. Probably not as good as the $5k Apple monitor, but this is good enough for me. However, if I couldn't afford buying the Pro model—I could have easily stuck with my M2 Mac Mini (entry level).

As far as I can tell, the M2 Mac Mini Pro out of the box opens up more resolution options. I cannot tell if I have HiDPI enabled or not (I uninstalled BetterDisplay).

Nice! Thanks for responding!

ASD is just too small for my use case. At 27" inch, the returns of a 5k screen is pretty much "diminished" when real estate is in consideration.

3440x1440 HiDPI seems to be a sweet spot for this 34" panel. A real shame Apple decided to limit the display support of such a powerful machine. I am torn btw selling off my 16GB/1TB M1 mac mini configuration for less storage on the M2 pro version just for a couple of pixels 🥲

 

[androvboy]

UPDATE: I sort of 'fixed' the Thunderbolt situation I was experiencing (see prob description in prev post) by powering up the Macbook Air M1 in "safe mode" and then connecting the LG monitor, and when it began to cycle through the same problem (flash on and go dark and Display Settings on MBA not able to see the LG monitor long enough to adjust settings) I held down the "command" key and "F1," and then I was able to see the display settings for the LG, and I made sure to set to "default" resolution. I un-mirrored the displays, and they worked.

I rebooted the MBA, and now the Thunderbolt cable works just like the display port cable. In other words, using the Thunderbolt, I get 5120 X 2160 (text is too small but sharp), and the next size is 3008 x 1269, but then the text is a little too large (although still sharp). I can live with 3008 X 1269 - because it is sharp. So Thunderbolt and Display port cables give the same sharp image at the same resolutions. However, Thunderbolt is better because it is better for cable management since the thunderbolt powers the MBA and I can use the extra USB ports on the monitor. Oh, and not sure it was needed, but I set the Display port to 1.2 instead of 1.4.

Other than the limited resolution options (due to Macbook Air M1), I like the monitor. The colors are great, plus I need a bright monitor because the home office has windows everywhere and I have a lot of sunlight in the room. Most large monitors have more limited brightness and get washed out. Plus, the colors really are great - I can match the MBA monitor.

I do not use it in the clamshell-closed mode, so I did not compare the Thunderbolt v Displayport cable on that. Also, I haven't experienced "wake-up" issues - it seems fast and stable. I will likely update later after more time to compare.

Thanks. Also worked for me - was driving me nuts!!

To confirm for others later, in SAFE MODE for me it still does the crazy "flicking" between the main screen and the laptop screen, but at least you can SEE it all happening on the laptop screen. So you have to be quick enough to reset the LG screen to default as it flicks between.

Then you can take your time to un-mirror the displays.

I was on the verge of buying a new screen

Was maddening as of course other family members with Macs could attach to the screen with zero problems so I knew it was some kinda settings clash on my MacBook alone.

 

[StarLord21]

Please does anyone know how full 5K is on the 40inch version? Is it totally unusable?

I find 3840x1620 - 4096x1728 with virtual BetterDisplay comfortable on the 34 inch. Wondering if I max out the 40 inch with 5k and no scaling at all.

Thanks.

 

[jdoll021]

I’m also running 3840x1620 HiDPI on this display with a 16” MBP M2 Max. I agree that this seems like a good resolution for me and my middle aged eyes with computer glasses.

I also run my work computer (HP zBook G6) scaled at 150 (if I remember correctly, set it up a while ago). Seems to be pretty close to the same resolution as the MBP. The most annoying problem is the HP forgets about the screen when it goes into sleep mode. I have to unplug and plug it back in every time that happens. Really annoying and makes the MBP’s slow screen wake seem like it’s not a big deal.

 

[RichieB]

I just connected my brand new LG 34WK95UP-W to my Mac Mini M1-2020. At first I only was able to set a maximum resolution of 3440x1440 over Thunderbolt. Changing the DisplayPort version from 1.2 to 1.4 (yes, it was at 1.2 by default) fixed this for me. Now I can use the full 5120x2160.

For scaling I use the EasyRes app. Currently I have it set at 4096x1728 which is small but not too small for my use and gives me lots of screen real estate.

‎EasyRes

‎The only Mac quick resolution switcher with fully animated previews. Quickly and easily select resolutions for any connected screen from the menu bar or from the Yosemite Notification Center. See live animated previews of screen resolutions before selecting them, making it even easier to choose...

apps.apple.com

 

[StarLord21]

Sold my M1 mac mini for MBP 16inch M1 Pro, couldn't be happier with 3840x1620 resolution 👍

 

[davewolfs]

Will an M2 Pro Laptop (without the max chip) work appropriately with a 5120x2160 display (LG 40WP95C)?

 

[RichieB]

If the most basic M1 can do it (my Mac Mini) any M2 should handle it just fine.

 

[davewolfs]

If the most basic M1 can do it (my Mac Mini) any M2 should handle it just fine.

Why does this thread exist?

 

[RichieB]

Why does this thread exist?

Because in 2020, although the specs said it was possible, it was not clear what settings you needed to be able to drive 5160x2160 pixels.