The *COMPLETE* list of 27" 5K Displays?

[kvic]

4K is a nonstarter for me (and I think most people here) because text scaling just looking horrible, there is no cleartype equivalent in MacOS.

Upon re-visiting scaled resolutions in MacOS, I believe issues related to non-integer scaling are over exaggerated. Some people just pass the myth to others without understanding the issues. I'm not denying some YouTubers and users observed significant sluggishness in their applications once after plugging one or more 4K monitors into their Intel Macs. But for others, 4K monitors should be adequate for a lot of users and many use cases.

Text clarity under scaled resolutions is far from 'horrible'. Mystically some people just claim they're seeing blurry text..

For artists requiring pixel-perfect work, scaled resolutions are not for them. For people not fallen into specific combinations of Mac and applications, then you're fine with scaled resolutions. That is if you don't notice perceptible slow down in your daily applications, then you're fine with 4K monitors configured to operate in a non-integer scaled resolution in MacOS.

Having considered all available & limited 5K options (Samsung S90PC included) recently, I'm actually intended to get into 4K monitors instead. LOL. 5K has existed for a decade. It's about time for a break-through in the coming years in both technologies and prices. 4K seems filling the shoes very sweetly for now. But I understand it won't be one size fit all, and some will genuinely need existing 5K or 6K for their work.

 

[user314159]

Upon re-visiting scaled resolutions in MacOS, I believe issues related to non-integer scaling are over exaggerated. Some people just pass the myth to others without understanding the issues. I'm not denying some YouTubers and users observed significant sluggishness in their applications once after plugging one or more 4K monitors into their Intel Macs. But for others, 4K monitors should be adequate for a lot of users and many use cases.

Text clarity under scaled resolutions is far from 'horrible'. Mystically some people just claim they're seeing blurry text..

For artists requiring pixel-perfect work, scaled resolutions are not for them. For people not fallen into specific combinations of Mac and applications, then you're fine with scaled resolutions. That is if you don't notice perceptible slow down in your daily applications, then you're fine with 4K monitors configured to operate in a non-integer scaled resolution in MacOS.

Having considered all available & limited 5K options (Samsung S90PC included) recently, I'm actually intended to get into 4K monitors instead. LOL. 5K has existed for a decade. It's about time for a break-through in the coming years in both technologies and prices. 4K seems filling the shoes very sweetly for now. But I understand it won't be one size fit all, and some will genuinely need existing 5K or 6K for their work.

Have you used a 4K monitor on a Mac? It doesn’t sound like you have personal experience, since you are basing your conclusions off people’s posts and YouTube videos. I have used high quality 4K monitors with macOS and have wanted to rip my eyeballs out. Only after I researched, I found out the reason was the scaling issue -- it is very real, not a “myth” to me, and I didn’t hear it through someone else.

Before someone selfishly hijacked this thread without doing any research into their unrelated question, every post in here concerned 5K displays, and everyone else is here because they shared a common desire to operate in 5K without weird scaling issues. If 4K works well for you, that’s fantastic and better for your bank balance. Unfortunately for mine, I will probably add the Apple 6K display next.

—

To keep things relevant to the 5K monitor topic at hand, the USB hub on my display is now working properly. Calibrated well using Spyder. Extremely bright and HDR mode works well.

 

[i486dx2-66]

There are a shedload of threads in this forum about 4K displays for Macs so I recommend just scrolling through the titles.

every post in here concerned 5K displays, and everyone else is here because they shared a common desire to operate in 5K without weird scaling issues.

Yes- Let's keep this thread focused please. 👍

 

[Macintosh1984]

You would be a good candidate for conversion of your 27” iMac into an external monitor for your new Mac. Plenty of threads on that as well, also on YouTube. It seemed pretty straightforward.

4K is a nonstarter for me (and I think most people here) because text scaling just looking horrible, there is no cleartype equivalent in MacOS.

I agree with you that a 4K is less than a 5K.

What I thought though, if up to now I have been happy with the monitor of my iMac 27" Late 2012 with 2560x1440px resolution, shouldn't I still find an improvement with for example a Dell U2723QE 3840x2160px? The text can be more horrible than mine current iMac? I can't believe it!

 

[CWallace]

With respect, buy one and try it and see how you feel about it and you can post those thoughts in one of the many "using a 4K display with macOS threads". But let's focus this thread back on 5K displays, please.

As for me, the Apple Studio Display is probably the monitor I should buy, since it has everything I want, but it's overall compatibility with Windows 11 gives me pause, especially years down the road when Apple has formally stopped supporting Boot Camp as part of their discontinuation of Intel Mac support.

 

[Ener Ji]

As for me, the Apple Studio Display is probably the monitor I should buy, since it has everything I want, but it's overall compatibility with Windows 11 gives me pause, especially years down the road when Apple has formally stopped supporting Boot Camp as part of their discontinuation of Intel Mac support.

I'm reluctant to purchase the Apple Studio Display as 1) it has a horrible webcam, 2) no adjustable stand included in base price, 3) expensive especially with the optional adjustable stand.

I'm keeping fingers crossed that Samsung doesn't screw up the Viewfinity S9.

 

[Macintosh1984]

With respect, buy one and try it and see how you feel about it and you can post those thoughts in one of the many "using a 4K display with macOS threads". But let's focus this thread back on 5K displays, please.

As for me, the Apple Studio Display is probably the monitor I should buy, since it has everything I want, but it's overall compatibility with Windows 11 gives me pause, especially years down the road when Apple has formally stopped supporting Boot Camp as part of their discontinuation of Intel Mac support.

Certainly, I'll leave you to the central topic of the thread, but it doesn't seem like a normal way to say buy and see how it goes, especially when we talk about technical things that have already been tried by many users.

 

[motrek]

I'm reluctant to purchase the Apple Studio Display as 1) it has a horrible webcam, 2) no adjustable stand included in base price, 3) expensive especially with the optional adjustable stand.
...

To keep this post relevant to 5K... one thing that nobody mentions about the ASD is that it has two cooling fans. In other words, two things that will make noise and break. Who wants cooling fans in a monitor. I assume it needs them because Apple went insane and essentially put an iPad in the monitor.

And here's my $0.02 about 4K: if you have a 27" 4K monitor, that's retina resolution at 21 inches. It's pretty normal for people to sit about that far from their monitor. So most people, in most cases, would not be able to see any scaling artifacts on such a monitor. I think the people who complain bitterly about scaling have been watching too many YouTube videos. You can see how it might look for yourself by taking a screen shot of a 5K desktop and then using Photoshop (or similar) to scale it down to 4K. Then zoom way in and see what you think. It's obviously lower resolution but it doesn't look awful. Personally, I use a 4K monitor and only notice a difference when I lean in to look at something closely. It looks "soft" but not bad.

 

[bigoil8886]

Amazing list! Thank you!

I would like to contribute a note on the LG UltraFine 5K. I ordered 2 of them hoping I could use them (at least at 4K) with my PC, which has 2 onboard Thunderbolt 4 ports and an RTX 4090. I was able to use one at 5K with 2x Displayport cables from my GPU to the TB display inputs on the PC. However, there was no configuration whatsoever which would allow for running both of them. Even plugging them directly into the GPU with CableMatters 8K DP>USB-C cables would only allow one to turn on at a time.

 

[bigoil8886]

And here's my $0.02 about 4K: if you have a 27" 4K monitor, that's retina resolution at 21 inches.

No need for this when we can just look at the numbers.

27" @ 4K ≈ 163 ppi
27" @ 5K ≈ 218 ppi

 

[kvic]

Have you used a 4K monitor on a Mac? It doesn’t sound like you have personal experience, since you are basing your conclusions off people’s posts and YouTube videos. I have used high quality 4K monitors with macOS and have wanted to rip my eyeballs out. Only after I researched, I found out the reason was the scaling issue -- it is very real, not a “myth” to me, and I didn’t hear it through someone else.

After much research, I'm going to make my order of 4K monitors real soon.

I'll re-visit the 5k/6k market situation in a couple of years time.

Have a nice day~

 

[motrek]

No need for this when we can just look at the numbers.

27" @ 4K ≈ 163 ppi
27" @ 5K ≈ 218 ppi

Those numbers fail to take into account the distance from the viewer.

Retina resolution is 60 pixels per visual degree.

A 27" 4K monitor is retina from 21 inches away (or more, obviously).
A 27" 5K monitor is retina from 16 inches away.

 

[Arthur75]

.

 

[bigoil8886]

Those numbers fail to take into account the distance from the viewer.

Retina resolution is 60 pixels per visual degree.

A 27" 4K monitor is retina from 21 inches away (or more, obviously).
A 27" 5K monitor is retina from 16 inches away.

At any given distance, 5K will look better than 4K. Most importantly, this thread us about 5K.

 

[cinedog]

Amazing list! Thank you!

I would like to contribute a note on the LG UltraFine 5K. I ordered 2 of them hoping I could use them (at least at 4K) with my PC, which has 2 onboard Thunderbolt 4 ports and an RTX 4090. I was able to use one at 5K with 2x Displayport cables from my GPU to the TB display inputs on the PC. However, there was no configuration whatsoever which would allow for running both of them. Even plugging them directly into the GPU with CableMatters 8K DP>USB-C cables would only allow one to turn on at a time.

Thanks for the info, that seems right. I was having a discussion about this exact topic a few days ago: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...indows-computers-via-dp.2227756/post-32232076

The short summary is the Ultrafine 5K was made during a time where Displayport compression was not popular yet, so in order to send the full 5K 60Hz data along, it separated the panel into "two panels", requiring two Displayport signals to be sent. In your case, a single Ultrafine 5K saturated the two DP IN ports on your motherboard. The second one isn't able to run now. Using a newer panel that can handle 5K on one Displayport and supports compression (such as the Apple Studio Display, Kuycon G27X, or the new Samsung S9) will allow you to have two displays.

 

[Arthur75]

Those numbers fail to take into account the distance from the viewer.

Retina resolution is 60 pixels per visual degree.

A 27" 4K monitor is retina from 21 inches away (or more, obviously).
A 27" 5K monitor is retina from 16 inches away.

That's why for 5K, a 29 or 30" would clearly have been much better

 

[kvic]

That's why for 5K, a 29 or 30" would clearly have been much better

Perhaps. I would also think little gain with extra cost back in the days. The transition from 27-inch non-HiDPI iMac to HiDPI iMac (Apple marketing called it 'Retina' iMac) appeared effortless. If screen size increased to 29 or 30, then lots of design had to be re-worked.

Also in the old days I believe most people tended to be sitting closer to their monitors because of habits. Squeezing 5K into 27-inch help to cope better with such users than say 5K in 29 or 30-inch.

I'm guessing now maybe slightly different. Older users will be sitting farther away from their monitors due to ageing. Younger users are grown up with bigger and HiDPI displays, perhaps naturally sitting farther away from monitors than from the 'dark' era of personal compute.

 

[currocj]

I imported a LG 27MD5KL from the US off of eBay last year (at significant cost, but still cheaper than a new ASD by at least $500) and so far I've been extremely disappointed with it:
- Ugly reddish tint (difference is very significant next to my old 2014 iMac 5K, which has developed image retency issues over the years but still has nice colours otherwise)
- Plastic chassis feels hollow and cheap
- Stand is wobbly and completely worthless (though thankfully it comes with an alternate VESA mount backpanel)
- Speakers are HORRIBLE TRASH
- Unlike the ASD it won't do native resolution over plain USB-C (it's capped to 4K unless the input is true Thunderbolt) which limits its compatibility with non-Apple hardware (how ironic that the Apple one fares better about that...)

It is genuinely pathetic that for a long time, this massively overpriced piece of garbage was the only option for a standalone 5K monitor.

Back when I bought it, refurbished ASDs weren't available yet, and now I am bitterly regretting not having waited for that.

Although my real wish is for a manufacturer to release a decent 5K monitor that's not just limited to a single USB-C/TB input. Cause as nice as the ASD appears to be, that's still a very annoying limitation. A display of this price should have more inputs, like c'mon.

sell it and move on to a refurbished ASD

 

[currocj]

@kitsunesoba - Thanks for the offer, but I think it sounds like overkill? Creating this list was more of a data gathering curiosity... with only two proven viable displays actually available for sale, and most looong discontinued, the number of people who would benefit from that kind of filtering is going to be very small... and with this few of displays, over nearly a decade of 5K panel existence, I'm not sure there is any benefit to change tracking, forking, etc? A concise post here in the forum, with all of the data here in the forum co-located with the discussion of that data, ensures its existence for the people who need it most.


In truth, for most 27" 5K monitor buyers, the decision flowchart is actually quite simple:

1) Did I find something locally / cheap / used?
Yes -> Go with that one.
2) Am I handy with electronics?
Yes -> 5K iMac conversion
3) Am I willing to gamble?
Yes -> Kuycon G27X
4) Am I willing to wait?
Yes -> Samsung ViewFinity S9
5) Is cost the biggest factor?
Yes -> LG UltraFine 5K
6) Apple Studio Display.

does a refubished ASD modify your decision tree/waterfall?

 

[currocj]

Refurb is a bit of a slippery slope... If we compare "apples to apples", the refurbished LG is only $905 with a 90-day guarantee on Amazon. $450 savings over Apple refurb is considerable, and brings the LG right back into the value lead. Obviously "refurbished" means different things to different people (or companies), and Apple tends to have a better reputation for this... but you could have three refurbished LGs for the price of two refurbished Apple Studio displays.

Used prices would also be a good comparison, here the LGs sell frequently on eBay for the upper $300s / lower $400s price range, which is remarkable. But used prices are a highly variable supply/demand situation, so I'm hesitant to add that to the table?

The LG is also frequently available NEW at the $1099 price point. I haven't figured out if these are sales, or how LG clears out the older models as they keep updating it (who knew there were 8+ versions of this monitor??). But $1099 is a common price for them.

a really nice feature of the LG is that through them you can literally repair any damage (including a shattered screen) for $350 flat rate. Not bad.

I tried that with a cracked ASD I bought on ebay at the Genius Bar. Guess what apple wanted to charge me? $1000.

 

[i486dx2-66]

does a refubished ASD modify your decision tree/waterfall?

No, not really.

The refurbished ASD is $1359, which is a poor deal since the non-refurbished version has been on sale lately. (Right now, a *new* Studio Display from Costco is $9 cheaper than the refurb from Apple!)

But even without that, "Apples to Apples", it would be the $1359 refurbished ASD vs the refurbished UltraFine 5K at $905 ($879 a few days ago). $450+ savings is substantial.

 

[cinedog]

No, not really.

The refurbished ASD is $1359, which is a poor deal since the non-refurbished version has been on sale lately. (Right now, a *new* Studio Display from Costco is $9 cheaper than the refurb from Apple!)

But even without that, "Apples to Apples", it would be the $1359 refurbished ASD vs the refurbished UltraFine 5K at $905 ($879 a few days ago). $450+ savings is substantial.

I can never find the VESA mount edition on sale. It's always the non-adjustable ASD that's on sale. Is there a way to convert the ASD one your own to a VESA mount?

 

[PaulD-UK]

Another Chinese webpage selling an unbranded Kuycon cheese-grater 27" 5K monitor has been linked to in another thread:

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

 

[kitsunesoba]

I can never find the VESA mount edition on sale. It's always the non-adjustable ASD that's on sale. Is there a way to convert the ASD one your own to a VESA mount?

I've heard you can bring a non-adjustable unit into an Apple Store and have them swap the mount out, but make sure to research if that's actually doable or not because I haven't actually done this.

 

[currocj]

Thanks @i486dx2-66 for making this thread! I have also been searching for HiDPI Retina monitors and stumbled across the Kuycon G27x. From the looks of it, $699.99 + free shipping from ClickClack.io is still cheaper than these Alibaba displays. Ordering from Alibaba usually incurs high shipping fees.

1) Currently out of stock
2) I believe shipping is $53 when I priced it out in checkout
3) I also believe it ships from Hong Kong
4) Still waiting for a volume of reviews, so far just a smattering