Resolved 4K Display Issues w/ MBP

[KingKazma]

Hello all,

I have a late 2011 17" MacBook Pro. Ive owned it since August or September of 2011. It is quite a trooper. We've gotten through and out of many sticky situations together but now I have a problem that I haven't been able to figure a solution to.

A little over 2 years ago I bought an LG 31MU97-B Cinema 4K Monitor to use with another computer(PC), that I ended up discarding. During the time I was using the monitor with said PC, I was never able to reach the max resolution on the monitor(which is advertised as 4096x2160)without some 3rd party software. It was shoddy but it worked for me then. Now that I don't use that PC anymore, I have only my trusty MBP. I was re-configuring my desk setup, and decided to use the LG monitor as my main display while the MBP is in clamshell, seemed simple enough. The way I have the LG monitor wired up is as follows: MBP--->Thunderbolt Pro Duo--->Thunderbolt Pro Duo--->LG monitor.
Using Apple thunderbolt cables for the drives and a HDMI cable for the monitor, via a thunderbolt to HDMI converter all in a daisy chain configuration.

I am having the same problem as before. I am not able to reach the max resolution, or anywhere close to it tbh. Display prefs only give me a maximum resolution of 1080p(with the option key pressed). I tried to use the same program that I did on the PC to force a resolution, but alas it is not available for OS X. I stumbled upon a program names SwitchResX which all mac users seem to love and looked like my way out. However, this didn't work for me unfortunately. I took it a step further and used Terminal to try and locate my display ID so I could edit the plist file. I was able to locate and edit the file, but to no avail. I can't figure this one out for the life of me I really need this to work though as I do occasionally video edit in 4K. Are there any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

-KingK


Here are some pics that I thought may be helpful:

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[Sanpete]

That MBP won't drive a 4K monitor. Nice machine though!

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

 

[KingKazma]

That MBP won't drive a 4K monitor. Nice machine though!

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

Aw man. My baby's obsolete after all Well she's done me good to get this far without any real issues. Thanks for the info, looks like a search for a new MBP may be in order.

 

[yukari]

How about using eGPU setup?

I have 2011 MBP 15" with Radeon 6770M (1024 MB) GPU. It CAN run 4k via a mini Display Port --> Dual Link DVI adapter (from apple https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...30c037147f331cb1938b4d642492b3b8d5a1e56093de0).
It works but it's not clear.

I am going to go with eGPU. This will also extend the life of 2011 MBP as it will not use internal dGPU at all.

 

[jerryk]

How about using eGPU setup?

I have 2011 MBP 15" with Radeon 6770M (1024 MB) GPU. It CAN run 4k via a mini Display Port --> Dual Link DVI adapter (from apple https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...30c037147f331cb1938b4d642492b3b8d5a1e56093de0).
It works but it's not clear.

I am going to go with eGPU. This will also extend the life of 2011 MBP as it will not use internal dGPU at all.

Expensive way to fix the problem. I cannot see spending that sort of money on such an old system.

 

[yukari]

Expensive way to fix the problem. I cannot see spending that sort of money on such an old system.

Actually, this will allow me to buy a cheaper MBP down the road (lower dGPU).

 

[hajime]

Too bad my MBP 2010 17" cannot drive 4K display nor use eGPU.

 

[yukari]

Bought AORUS GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Box eGPU ($599 NewEgg) which had all the necessary enclosure, PSU and GTX1070 GPU). Tried it with El Capitan OSX - for some reason it did not work.

Upgraded to Sierra OSX (10.12.6) and voila! It worked without any problem.

Set up: 2011 (late) 15" MBP, Apple thunderbolt (TB3 <--> TB1/2) adapter, AORUS GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Box eGPU, and AOC 40" 4k curved monitor.

Bonus is AORUS has USB-3 connectors. So I can get USB-3 speed on accessories instead of USB-2 speed on my MBP.

 

[hajime]

Bought AORUS GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Box eGPU ($599 NewEgg) which had all the necessary enclosure, PSU and GTX1070 GPU). Tried it with El Capitan OSX - for some reason it did not work.

Upgraded to Sierra OSX (10.12.6) and voila! It worked without any problem.

Set up: 2011 (late) 15" MBP, Apple thunderbolt (TB3 <--> TB1/2) adapter, AORUS GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Box eGPU, and AOC 40" 4k curved monitor.

Bonus is AORUS has USB-3 connectors. So I can get USB-3 speed on accessories instead of USB-2 speed on my MBP.

Thanks. Have you tried it under Bootcamp Windows or Ubuntu Linux?

 

[yukari]

Thanks. Have you tried it under Bootcamp Windows or Ubuntu Linux?

No, I have not tried it with Bootcamp Windows or Linux. But I don't see why it wouldn't work. But see:
https://www.reddit.com/r/eGPU/comments/6pas54/aorus_gaming_box_macbook_pro_15_late_2013_iris/
Apparently, trying to work it with Windows is not as straight forward.

 

[jumbz55]

Bought AORUS GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Box eGPU ($599 NewEgg) which had all the necessary enclosure, PSU and GTX1070 GPU). Tried it with El Capitan OSX - for some reason it did not work.

Upgraded to Sierra OSX (10.12.6) and voila! It worked without any problem.

Set up: 2011 (late) 15" MBP, Apple thunderbolt (TB3 <--> TB1/2) adapter, AORUS GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Box eGPU, and AOC 40" 4k curved monitor.

Bonus is AORUS has USB-3 connectors. So I can get USB-3 speed on accessories instead of USB-2 speed on my MBP.

Hi dude, what is the TB3 > TB1/2 adapter you used? I tried searching for this but no luck.
Thanks for the tips

 

[yukari]

I used one from Apple. This one:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter?fnode=8b

If you want a third party cable, it must be bidirectional like the Apple's. I haven't used any third party cables as I am not sure of the quality and reliability. But this one works great.