expiredphoinix | Staff posted Dec 20, 2024 11:17 AM
Item 1 of 4
Item 1 of 4
expiredphoinix | Staff posted Dec 20, 2024 11:17 AM
27" Apple Studio Display, 5120x2880 5K Retina, 600 nits, Tilt Stand, Standard Glass
+ Free Shipping$1,300
$1,599
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RTINGS review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dZ5Dj3
Mediocre for photo and video.
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LG Ultrafine 5k 27" uses a very similar (though dimmer) panel and has better inputs, but comes with the caveat of being built with a shockingly cheap plastic chassis that with time cracks with pieces flaking off. Also widespread reports of its Thunderbolt input dying, and getting LG to honor their warranty on it is like pulling teeth. Early units also had missing shielding and were known for disrupting wifi and bluetooth connections.
Samsung ViewFinity S9 also features a similar panel, but is known to have severe capacitor whine issues, has problems with light bleed, uses an external power brick, and has significantly cheaper construction. When it's not on sale price is also similar to that of the Studio Display. Inputs are better. Includes VESA mount support.
ASUS ProArt PA27JCV uses seemingly the same panel as the ViewFinity and has similar light bleed issues. Inputs are better, construction is plastic but quality, includes VESA mount support. MSRP is similar to ViewFinity's sale price, power supply is integrated so no ungainly brick. If I were looking to save money this is probably the one I'd opt for.
Of the latter two options the Samsung was available when I bought my Studio Display and I didn't feel the tradeoffs were worth the cash saved. Capacitor whine drives me crazy and while light bleed isn't a total deal breaker, it's not really something you want to see on any monitor north of $500. I can deal with a power brick but my power strip is already full as it is. None of these are issues with the Studio Display.
As for why 5k 27", as detailed by others compared to 4k 27" it's by far the cleanest experience under not only macOS but also Linux. Fractional scaling technically works but introduces artifacts which isn't welcome when doing even light graphics work. If I couldn't afford 5k 27" I'd drop back down to good old 2560x1440 27" with a monitor like the ASUS ProArt PA278CGV, which isn't as sharp as 4k but also doesn't bring any unwelcome quirks. Higher refresh rates are nice but don't add much for graphics and software dev work and while OLED is nice in theory it doesn't fare well with static IDE and graphics editor palettes staying on screen all day every day, which makes IPS a better choice.
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It's completely foreign to people that will never buy this monitor
Mediocre for photo and video.
The reason why text doesn't look good on Macs at 4k 27" is because of how the OS handles scaling for that resolution+size. Because 4k isn't a whole number multiple of 2560x1440, it runs at a resolution higher than 4k and then scales the image back down. This makes for perfect compatibilty for programs that don't implement scaling correctly (mostly old and/or cross platform apps), so you won't ever open an app to find it incorrectly running at 1x scale and appearing tiny on screen (as can happen under Windows), but at the cost of a slight reduction in image sharpness.
This means that the best displays for Macs are those that are HiDPI and run natively at resolutions that are whole number multiples of the "normal" DPI resolutions for displays of the same size. So for example, a 20"-24" 4k display would work great with a Mac because "normal" 20"-24" monitors run at 1080p, which 4k is a clean multiple of, but 4k 27"/32" is bad — for those size you want 5k and 6k, respectively.
As a sidenote, this is not entirely a Mac exclusive thing. While Windows and Linux handle fractional scaling better, as noted one is more likely to encounter programs with compatibility issues under fractional scaling with them. Whole number multiple HiDPI monitors will pose less trouble. This is something I wrestle with on one of my Windows laptops, which requires a 1.5x UI scale to be usable… I wish its screen ran at a clean 1x or 2x instead.
The reason why text doesn't look good on Macs at 4k 27" is because of how the OS handles scaling for that resolution+size. Because 4k isn't a whole number multiple of 2560x1440, it runs at a resolution higher than 4k and then scales the image back down. This makes for perfect compatibilty for programs that don't implement scaling correctly (mostly old and/or cross platform apps), so you won't ever open an app to find it incorrectly running at 1x scale and appearing tiny on screen (as can happen under Windows), but at the cost of a slight reduction in image sharpness.
This means that the best displays for Macs are those that are HiDPI and run natively at resolutions that are whole number multiples of the "normal" DPI resolutions for displays of the same size. So for example, a 20"-24" 4k display would work great with a Mac because "normal" 20"-24" monitors run at 1080p, which 4k is a clean multiple of, but 4k 27"/32" is bad — for those size you want 5k and 6k, respectively.
As a sidenote, this is not entirely a Mac exclusive thing. While Windows and Linux handle fractional scaling better, as noted one is more likely to encounter programs with compatibility issues under fractional scaling with them. Whole number multiple HiDPI monitors will pose less trouble. This is something I wrestle with on one of my Windows laptops, which requires a 1.5x UI scale to be usable… I wish its screen ran at a clean 1x or 2x instead.
I use a 2560x1440p 27" with my Mac Mini (M4) and it looks decent. A 4K screen looks worse.
macOS just seems
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I use a 2560x1440p 27" with my Mac Mini (M4) and it looks decent. A 4K screen looks worse.
macOS just seems
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