What monitor to wait for for the nMP?

[Nugget]

I spend all day now at work on a 5K iMac and the retina resolution is absolutely ruining me. My level of dissatisfaction with my nMP at home is at an all time high. I just don't think I could handle dropping from a 30" to twin 24" displays. 24" sounds so small.

I wish there were a clear choice among the various options.

 

[calaverasgrande]

Indeed I wish something would rise to the top. There are cheap 4k TN panels that arent TB. There are TB2 monitors by LG, but it seems they all have issues. There are a few Samsungs that work but I can't 'stand' the monitors that don't have VESA mounts so you cannot put them on the wall or a on an arm. And Apple seems content to keep selling their thicker than a big mac TBD when they are always touting the thinness of their iMac and iPad.
I've kind of given up on 4k myself and instead am just looking for UHD or something else in the middleground between 1080P and 4k.
Or I may just destroy my credit rating and buy two of the handful of displays that Apple has validated. All of which cost way too much.

 

[VirtualRain]

I spend all day now at work on a 5K iMac and the retina resolution is absolutely ruining me. My level of dissatisfaction with my nMP at home is at an all time high. I just don't think I could handle dropping from a 30" to twin 24" displays. 24" sounds so small.

I wish there were a clear choice among the various options.

I bet it's hard looking at a normal display after working on a 5K Retina.

Choices for a stand alone display are really either retina sharp or big - pick one .

A 24" 4K can provide that retina sharpness due to its pixel density allowing a x2 or other scaled resolution that provides a decent balance between real-estate and sharpness.

A 30+" 4K is big and can run native resolution and still be reasonably sharp, but not retina sharp... You may see pixels and jagged edges if you have good eyesight.

Like you, retina displays in my iDevices and rMBP have spoiled me too. I prefer at least 150PPI which is right inbetween a retina and a regular display. So for me, a 24" 4K at a scaled resolution is going to provide the desired sharpness and a pair will offer enough real-estate.

 

[jetjaguar]

you could buy the asus 32" 4k monitor that was released awhile ago .. i think they are 1900 on amazon

edit

just checked amazon and now its 1469.99

if i didn't have an iMac i would buy one

 

[say19]

I wish there were a clear choice among the various options.

I very much feel the same way. After all, one of the reasons I buy Apple products in the first place is so I don't have to make difficult product decisions sigh.

I've almost decided I will just buy a solid 24" for now and wait until the technology settles down a little (and maybe prices also). A decent 4k monitor that plays nice with the Mac Pro and still functions under bootcamp.

 

[calaverasgrande]

I bet it's hard looking at a normal display after working on a 5K Retina.

Choices for a stand alone display are really either retina sharp or big - pick one .

A 24" 4K can provide that retina sharpness due to its pixel density allowing a x2 or other scaled resolution that provides a decent balance between real-estate and sharpness.

A 30+" 4K is big and can run native resolution and still be reasonably sharp, but not retina sharp... You may see pixels and jagged edges if you have good eyesight.

Like you, retina displays in my iDevices and rMBP have spoiled me too. I prefer at least 150PPI which is right inbetween a retina and a regular display. So for me, a 24" 4K at a scaled resolution is going to provide the desired sharpness and a pair will offer enough real-estate.

I guess I am fortunate that I can barely discern retina from non retina with my poor eyesight.
As far as I am concerned I just want a big desktop so I can go to town in Logic with a ton of stuff open. Or open up photos and video (in plain ole HD) and have enough room for the toolbars next to the preview window.

We certainly got some firstworlder problems here dont we?
I remember not too long ago I was freaking rockstar with 2 19" CRT's at 1600x1200 each. I had to build a massive extension to my huge wooden desk to fit them both. Yes, they were beige.

 

[spaceharrier]

What about a pair of the Dell UP2414Q 24" 3840x2160 displays? $1500 a pair at Amazon with very well rated IPS panels.

I actually wouldn't recommend those. I've had one for a year or so on my nMP as part of a dual monitor setup and it's been pretty temperamental. It's an MST panel and has often refused to wake from sleep correctly, or just decided to go home and stop displaying an image. The display quality is great, but it's not really worth the headaches.

 

[say19]

I actually wouldn't recommend those. I've had one for a year or so on my nMP as part of a dual monitor setup and it's been pretty temperamental. It's an MST panel and has often refused to wake from sleep correctly, or just decided to go home and stop displaying an image. The display quality is great, but it's not really worth the headaches.

Agreed, although the Rev A02 seems to clear up at least some of the issues. Not that you can guarantee you will get a Rev A02 of course.

Better perhaps is to hold off for this one http://www.dell.com/support/home/cg/en/cgdhs1/product-support/product/dell-p2415q-monitor/manuals . No ETA as yet (no pricing either).

 

[Ryan0751]

I made the mistake of popping into the Apple store to look at the Retina iMac.

Sigh. That screen is a thing of beauty.

Here's hoping we can get an Apple version with dual DP ports, and the D700's could run two of them (plus an extra 1080 HDMI out, why not?). Probably too much to ask for.

The Dell forthcoming 23.5 and 27" IPS 4K panels look somewhat promising though.

 

[edanuff]

Here's hoping we can get an Apple version with dual DP ports, and the D700's could run two of them (plus an extra 1080 HDMI out, why not?)

Not sure that a dual 5K on any current Mac is possible. The 5K display is the equivalent of 4 Thunderbolt Displays in terms of number of pixels. The Mac Pro can handle 6 Thunderbolt Displays. Every other Mac that Apple has ever made (including the new 5K iMac) can at most handle 2 Thunderbolt Displays. It will be possible to drive the 5K Dell monitor from the Mac Pro although Apple will have to update OSX to treat it like a single monitor and place the menu bar and dock in the correct places, etc. (or a third party will have to come up with a fix)