What does a 27" 4k display running at "looks like 2560x1440" actually look like?

[mcdreamer]

I'm a proud owner of an M1 MacBook Pro and have been thinking about updating my Dell 27" 2.5k display from 2013. I've been considering getting a 27" 4k display with the plan to run it at "looks like 2.5k" in order to have smoother text and UI elements etc.

What I'm wondering is what this actually ends up looking like. I run the laptop display at the scaled resolution which provides the most screen real estate and to me it looks good. Obviously it's not quite as sharp as the 2:1 scaling option but it still looks better than a standard display.

I've been searching for some high resolution photos or videos showing text on a 4k display at this scaling but I've been unable to find any. Would somebody with such a set up be able to post some examples? Will this setup meet my expectations? If not I will probably get a slightly larger 4k display, or run a 27"/28" 4k display at its native resolution.

Thanks!

 

[ChedNasad]

 

[ChedNasad]

I would say it looks pretty good. This is one of the 27" LG 4k Ergo monitors

 

[mcdreamer]

I would say it looks pretty good. This is one of the 27" LG 4k Ergo monitors

Thanks for the image. I guess that for 4k at 27" the macOS "default for display" setting is "looks like 2.5k"?

If you wouldn't mind, would you be able to attach an image a bit closer to the screen showing the text in a bit more detail please? No worries if not!

 

[fat jez]

I'm running a 24" 4K at looks like 2560x1440 and what you get is like a 1440p monitor, except curves look smoother because it's got a higher DPI.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I'm a proud owner of an M1 MacBook Pro and have been thinking about updating my Dell 27" 2.5k display from 2013. I've been considering getting a 27" 4k display with the plan to run it at "looks like 2.5k" in order to have smoother text and UI elements etc."

Prediction:
That's probably going to SLOW THINGS DOWN, because you'll be running the display "in scaled mode". This puts A LOT more burden on the internal GPU. More heat and possible fan noise.

If you "want 1440p", you're better off getting a display that is "NATIVE" 1440p, either 27" or 32".

 

[mcdreamer]

OP wrote:
"I'm a proud owner of an M1 MacBook Pro and have been thinking about updating my Dell 27" 2.5k display from 2013. I've been considering getting a 27" 4k display with the plan to run it at "looks like 2.5k" in order to have smoother text and UI elements etc."

Prediction:
That's probably going to SLOW THINGS DOWN, because you'll be running the display "in scaled mode". This puts A LOT more burden on the internal GPU. More heat and possible fan noise.

If you "want 1440p", you're better off getting a display that is "NATIVE" 1440p, either 27" or 32".

This is something I've seen a lot, and I understand the reasons why, but is this actually still true with the modern machines? I was under the impression that machines with decent GPUs didn't hit performance issues (going back several years now). I run the internal laptop display at the scaling which gives the most space and there's no slow down evident. That's the kind of thing I'd notice if it were there. Naturally the machine will be doing more work, but as long as it can handle it that's not really a problem.

(Interestingly the M1 doesn't seem to warn about performance for scaled resolutions in settings).

The problem with native 1440p 27" displays, which is what I have now, is that macOS progressively looks worse and worse with each release at 1x.

What I really want to get a feel for is how the 1.5x scaling looks on a 27" display. The "more space" option on the laptop display is also 1.5x and the image quality is still great. Obviously the pixel density is far lower on a 27" display, which is why I'm wondering how it looks here. I know it won't look as good as the laptop, but as long as it looks closer to that than a 1x display then I'll be very happy.

I consider an effective resolution of 1440p as a baseline must have. It's a real shame there are essentially no 27" 5k displays around.

 

[Feyl]

I'm using this scalling on LG 27UL850-W monitor with the M1 Mac mini and everything is buttery smooth and sharp. It basically looks exactly like my 2019 MacBook Air in terms of color and sharpness.

I also use this monitor with my Windows PC and honestly, Windows is a tiny bit sharper even on 175% scalling that I'm using. I wanted to get a similar monitor to the 5K iMac for this reason, but there were like four 5K monitors like it and they were 3-4x more expensive than this LG. But I don't regret it, because it's only Apple's fault that they can't make macOS work with every monitor perfectly like Windows does. Hopefully Apple will make macOS work with non Apple monitors even better in the future.

Don't worry about the performance with this scalling, it's 99,9% buttery smooth on M1. But with other CPU's you really see how bad macOS is with scalling. It's so bad that my Intel MacBook Air is basically unusable with the monitor. It's almost like a slideshow and it can't even play 4K video smoothly. But as I said, it's only macOS's fault because Windows doesn't have any performance issues on any scalling modes. Apple really should make it a top priority for the next macOS.

So my advice is go for it. M1 is a beast and it'll handle it without a heartbeat and will be plenty sharp.

 

[mcdreamer]

I'm using this scalling on LG 27UL850-W monitor with the M1 Mac mini and everything is buttery smooth and sharp. It basically looks exactly like my 2019 MacBook Air in terms of color and sharpness.

I also use this monitor with my Windows PC and honestly, Windows is a tiny bit sharper even on 175% scalling that I'm using. I wanted to get a similar monitor to the 5K iMac for this reason, but there were like four 5K monitors like it and they were 3-4x more expensive than this LG. But I don't regret it, because it's only Apple's fault that they can't make macOS work with every monitor perfectly like Windows does. Hopefully Apple will make macOS work with non Apple monitors even better in the future.

Don't worry about the performance with this scalling, it's 99,9% buttery smooth on M1. But with other CPU's you really see how bad macOS is with scalling. It's so bad that my Intel MacBook Air is basically unusable with the monitor. It's almost like a slideshow and it can't even play 4K video smoothly. But as I said, it's only macOS's fault because Windows doesn't have any performance issues on any scalling modes. Apple really should make it a top priority for the next macOS.

So my advice is go for it. M1 is a beast and it'll handle it without a heartbeat and will be plenty sharp.

Thank you for this. You've answered all of my concerns with your post. I had a quick look at the specs of the 2019 Air display and they match the pixel density and resolutions of my M1's display. Even better, the LG monitor you have is the exact model I'm looking to purchase!

I will use the display with an Intel 16" MacBook Pro but as that has a dedicated GPU I hope the performance there will also be good. I will also use it with a Windows machine so it's good to hear it will perform well there too.

 

[Feyl]

Thank you for this. You've answered all of my concerns with your post. I had a quick look at the specs of the 2019 Air display and they match the pixel density and resolutions of my M1's display. Even better, the LG monitor you have is the exact model I'm looking to purchase!

I will use the display with an Intel 16" MacBook Pro but as that has a dedicated GPU I hope the performance there will also be good. I will also use it with a Windows machine so it's good to hear it will perform well there too.

Glad I could help. One thing though. If you want to use the monitor's speakers, in macOS you can't control the volume with the keyboard keys. But easy solution is to install eqMac app. On Windows the volume control works normally.

 

[mcdreamer]

Glad I could help. One thing though. If you want to use the monitor's speakers, in macOS you can't control the volume with the keyboard keys. But easy solution is to install eqMac app. On Windows the volume control works normally.

Cool. Thanks for the heads up. I'll have my Macs hooked up to my hifi so I won't run into this problem. eqMac looks interesting all the same so will check it out!

 

[mcdreamer]

Just as an update, I've now been using the LG 27UL850-W for a couple of weeks and I can confirm that it looks great. It really does look 99% as good as the Pro's built in retina display at "looks like 2560x1440" and I've seen no performance degradation on either the M1 or Intel Mac. I can start to see a slight degradation in text quality at "looks like 3008x1692" which isn't too surprising but honestly it still looks good. I would post an image of the display in action, but if you've seen a retina display then you'll know what to expect.

 

[page3]

Thanks OP for coming back and posting an update.

I’m researching M1 Mini + monitor to replace current (non retina) iMac and this has helped immensely.