32” 4K monitor ok with MacOS?

[rbf1138]

Been down a rabbit hole trying to understand the whole scaling situation with MacOS while trying to choose a budget external monitor.

I’ll mostly be using my M1 Air for browsing, YouTube, watching videos, and some casual gaming. That said, is it “safe” to pair the MacBook with a 32” 4K monitor? Is it “better” to get a 27” 1440? Will running something like Baldur’s Gate 3 on this MacBook (16gb RAM fwiw) to a 4K monitor be too much for it to handle? I’ve found this topic endlessly confusing.

 

[gilby101]

That said, is it “safe” to pair the MacBook with a 32” 4K monitor?

Safe? It will work fine.

Is it “better” to get a 27” 1440?

No, not in my opinion.

With a 1440p monitor you are pretty well stuck with a single low resolution which for me looks awful for text.

With a 4K monitor you can choose resolution to suit your needs. But it will be a compromise between smooth text and size of windows and text. You need to try it with your MacBook. To my mind a 4K 32" is rather too low in resolution, but you may accept any compromises and like it.

For "best" (for text, etc.) look a Mac monitor should be about 220 ppi (4K 24", 5K 27", 6K 32").

 

[Basic75]

Please explain 'apple scaling' and the potential 'hit' on GPU

I'm looking to pick up a Mac Mini but I am reading about concerns with 'Apple Scaling' and the supposed hit on the GPU if you are not scaled properly. What exactly is this ? Can you use a 4k monitor without taxing the GPU ? Or does one need to just get a 5k ? I was intending on getting a 4k...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[frou]

For "best" (for text, etc.) look a Mac monitor should be about 220 ppi (4K 24", 5K 27", 6K 32").

4K at 24" is nowhere near 220ppi either, but LG and co would like us to forget about the old 22" model and think it is!

 

[Fishrrman]

I'm an old guy, with old eyes.
A 27" 4k display (running at Apple's "default" resolution of "looks like 1080p") is just about right for me. VERY sharp and correctly-sized.

If it was 32" 4k (again at "looks like 1080p"), the text would become too large for my tastes. It will still be sharp, however.

If you choose to set the 32" 4k to "looks like 1440p" (2560x1440), the text will be better (size-wise), but using a scaled resolution may impact performance by putting an additional "load" on the Mac's graphical processing. Also the scaling may affect text "clarity" a little.

What I wish they'd make is a 32" display with 5k, but nobody does.

 

[bogdanw]

According to Apple:
"Display Support:
Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
Native DisplayPort output over USB-C
VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)"
https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m1/specs/