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recommended external display for M1 air

phos07

phos07

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 18, 2020
37
22
Third Impact
Hi forum,

I'm going to be moving soon, and because of that I will only have my M1 air, which is quite small to be using full time. I needed the portability, but I am thinking of hooking it to a display when using at home.

I am looking for something along the lines of...
Size: medium. 24in is best (I think). 21.5in will also suffice for me. 27in is too big.
Resolution: equal to or greater than the display on the M1, so 1440p+. I see 4k more than 1440p, so 4k is fine too if it is within budget. No full HD would be great.
Color: doesn't have to be HDR like quality, but something reasonable.
Budget: ~$300? I'm not sure the market price for displays, but nothing expensive.
FPS: 60. Not for gaming.
Maker: No preference, but something that has reasonable durability (and support just in case).

all in all, basically I'm looking for a display that at least has the quality as the display in the M1 macbooks. better quality than that would be great if within budget, poorer quality will depend on its extent.

If you know of any displays that might seem good for me, please send a reply. I would very much appreciate your advice!
 
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This might fit your bill, good compromise in pixel density. 4K is good at 27 inch (some would flame here as LG ultrafine comes in 5K from Apple - now discontinued)

1440p ~118 ppi, Comes with USB-C for powering your M1 Macbook in a single cable solution.


www.dell.com

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Must be similar options from other companies.
 
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Option 2: 23.8 inch Samsung IPS with USB-C

www.bhphotovideo.com

Samsung SH850 Series 23.8" 16:9 FreeSync LCD Monitor

Buy Samsung SH850 Series 23.8" 16:9 FreeSync LCD Monitor featuring PLS (Plane to Line Switching) Panel, USB Type-C + DisplayPort + HDMI Inputs, 2450 x 1440 Resolution, 1000:1 Static Contrast Ratio, 300 cd/m² Brightness, 178°/178° Viewing Angles, 5 ms (GtG) Response Time, 16.7 Million Colors...
www.bhphotovideo.com www.bhphotovideo.com
 
antwormcity said:
Option 2: 23.8 inch Samsung IPS with USB-C

www.bhphotovideo.com

Samsung SH850 Series 23.8" 16:9 FreeSync LCD Monitor

Buy Samsung SH850 Series 23.8" 16:9 FreeSync LCD Monitor featuring PLS (Plane to Line Switching) Panel, USB Type-C + DisplayPort + HDMI Inputs, 2450 x 1440 Resolution, 1000:1 Static Contrast Ratio, 300 cd/m² Brightness, 178°/178° Viewing Angles, 5 ms (GtG) Response Time, 16.7 Million Colors...
www.bhphotovideo.com www.bhphotovideo.com
Click to expand...
thanks for some suggestions! It seems like Samsung isn't selling monitors in my country. This samsung seemed like a good option, but I guess ill look into others including the dell mentiooned above.
 
phos07 said:
Hi forum,

I'm going to be moving soon, and because of that I will only have my M1 air, which is quite small to be using full time. I needed the portability, but I am thinking of hooking it to a display when using at home.

I am looking for something along the lines of...
Size: medium. 24in is best (I think). 21.5in will also suffice for me. 27in is too big.
Resolution: equal to or greater than the display on the M1, so 1440p+. I see 4k more than 1440p, so 4k is fine too if it is within budget. No full HD would be great.
Color: doesn't have to be HDR like quality, but something reasonable.
Budget: ~$300? I'm not sure the market price for displays, but nothing expensive.
FPS: 60. Not for gaming.
Maker: No preference, but something that has reasonable durability (and support just in case).

all in all, basically I'm looking for a display that at least has the quality as the display in the M1 macbooks. better quality than that would be great if within budget, poorer quality will depend on its extent.

If you know of any displays that might seem good for me, please send a reply. I would very much appreciate your advice!
Click to expand...

I have just had an LG 23.7" Utltafine delivered an hour ago.

My requirements were very like yours, and so far I am thrilled with it.

I wanted the tight integration with the MBA, and for the image quality to match the MBA, which it does, even being used at the scaled 2304 x 1296 res. Expensive but worth it for me.

Just seen that you said $300 which rules this out.
 
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Can't really guess at what brands and models are available in your country, so I'll just comment generally...

For just basic usage most any of the big names will be fine. Viewsonic, Benq, Asus, LG, Dell, etc.

I'd suggest looking at either 24" 4K displays (92dpi), or 27" 1440p displays (109ppi), or perhaps . 4K on 27" just seems a bit of an odd duck; either too small at native resolution (163ppi), too big at 1080p equivalent (81ppi), or you're doing non-integer scaling at 1440p equivalence which may impact performance. Though a lot has to do with your viewing distance and your eyesight.
 
I bought 2 monitors to use with M1 MacBooks (my M1 Pro and my son's M1 Air): Samsung CJ791 34 inch Ultrawide (3440x1440) and Dell U2720Q 27 inch 4K. Both work very well with Thunderbolt or USB-C cables in the box. So far I haven't experienced any issues with them. Samsung CJ791 is working at the original resolution and the text quality is acceptable. Dell U2720Q works at HiDPI mode 2560 x 1440, same as my iMac 5K. The text on Dell's is very crisp and almost the same as iMac.

My suggestion is to buy a monitor with thunderbolt or USB-C (PD > 60W) connection.
 
Hi guys, thanks so much for the feedback. I have been very busy and haven't had a time to look through, but now I can look through some.

I do have one question... How would the macbook scaling look on various screensizes? (e.g. 24" 4K, 27" 1440p, etc). I have heard macs do good on scaling, but I haven't tried it out for myself, so I want to make sure.

Thanks!
 
phos07 said:
Hi forum,

I'm going to be moving soon, and because of that I will only have my M1 air, which is quite small to be using full time. I needed the portability, but I am thinking of hooking it to a display when using at home.

I am looking for something along the lines of...
Size: medium. 24in is best (I think). 21.5in will also suffice for me. 27in is too big.
Resolution: equal to or greater than the display on the M1, so 1440p+. I see 4k more than 1440p, so 4k is fine too if it is within budget. No full HD would be great.
Color: doesn't have to be HDR like quality, but something reasonable.
Budget: ~$300? I'm not sure the market price for displays, but nothing expensive.
FPS: 60. Not for gaming.
Maker: No preference, but something that has reasonable durability (and support just in case).

all in all, basically I'm looking for a display that at least has the quality as the display in the M1 macbooks. better quality than that would be great if within budget, poorer quality will depend on its extent.

If you know of any displays that might seem good for me, please send a reply. I would very much appreciate your advice!
Click to expand...
My requirements were much the same as yours. I wanted 4K at 21” or 24” with 24” being preferred. All under $300.

I bought an LG 24” 4K 24UD58-B. Amazon Link

$299 in my case. I’ve seen it as low as $269.

It works very well with HDMI with my M1 MBA. I had some trouble with USB-C to Display Port but I’ve since bought a Caldigit SOHO USB-C dock and the problems stopped. It was the common, the screen won’t wake from sleep issue. I never had that problem with HDMI though.
 
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Regardless of budget, I would highly recommend going the USB-C route. Being able to connect to a monitor through one USB-C port is a huge convenience. I use the LG Ultrafine 23” display for Macs and it’s been phenomenal.
 
The Lenovo ThinkVision P27u-10 is a total gem of monitor with the finest panel you'll find at its price.

Same panel as the Dell 2720, but less expensive.

We have an M1 Air that uses it as a USB-C single connection charging/connection dock and it works flawlessly.
 
rulymammoth said:
Regardless of budget, I would highly recommend going the USB-C route. Being able to connect to a monitor through one USB-C port is a huge convenience. I use the LG Ultrafine 23” display for Macs and it’s been phenomenal.
Click to expand...

Agree! I think you are referring to the 23.7" Ultrafine I mentioned earlier? Often referred to as 24". It actually connects by Thunderbolt and has a second TB3 port and three USB-C ports so acts as a TB3/USB-C Hub. Totally well behaved and trouble free.
 
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phos07 said:
ok, thanks so much. I thought 4K was overkill, but will you take 4k over wqhd? (considering the scaling, etc)
Click to expand...

Absolutely

I run a 27" 4k and scale it to be a notch below 2560x1440 "apparent" resolution. Looks amazing.

I've had 5k -- it's not quite as crisp, but close enough to fool you mostly (especially if not comparing side by side).

Major upgrade on macOS smoothness and text clarity to go 4k vs QHD
 
turbineseaplane said:
Absolutely

I run a 27" 4k and scale it to be a notch below 2560x1440 "apparent" resolution. Looks amazing.

I've had 5k -- it's not quite as crisp, but close enough to fool you mostly (especially if not comparing side by side).

Major upgrade on macOS smoothness and text clarity to go 4k vs QHD
Click to expand...
cool, thanks a lot, will definitely consider going to 4k. I can't do 27", but i reckon 24 would be just as fine
 
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phos07 said:
cool, thanks a lot, will definitely consider going to 4k. I can't do 27", but i reckon 24 would be just as fine
Click to expand...

Absolutely - and a 24" will be perfect 2x retina at 1080p effective desktop resolution and be the intended (by Apple) physical size

I've got some hands on time with the Dell and LG 24" 4k's and they are both gorgeous and macOS looks superb at that size.
 
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Hey guys,

I didn't want to make a new thread just to ask one question, so I'm going to bump this thread.

I ended up purchasing a 4k monitor. I connected my m1 air, and just want to clarify some things.

For screen resolution, 1920x1080 means HiDPI mode and 1920x1080 (low resolution) is the normal FHD, correct?
and if i'm using HiDPI mode, then I need to use display port instead of HDMI to get 60hz, correct?

Thanks in advance!
 
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