Dual 5k monitor (performance)

[dfee]

I have a 16” MBP with 32 GB of memory. It’s currently attached to a 5k display, but am considering throwing another 5k monitor at it.

I write software, and often tax my machine (think: compiling), but overall one 5k monitor seems to have no performance impact.

I’d I add this second monitor, will all go to hell? Without shelling out some serious dollars, I’d like to know people’s real world experience.

 

[fishkorp]

I have 2 UltraFine 5Ks on my 16” MBP and it performs great. Super smooth. In fact, they’re better than when I had 2 cheap mismatched 4K screens. The fans will kick on quicker when doing some things (Fusion 360), but it’s understandable and an acceptable (to me) trade off.

Honestly, I don’t think I can go to anything less than dual 5K screens now. That’s my struggle with the current M1 lineup. And who knows if the new 16” will be able to drive them depending on what they do with the GPU.

 

[dfee]

Just to confirm, you're using three screens: 2x5k (assumably the 27" ultra fine) and your MBP screen?

Couple laptop stats for comparison:
- Processor: 2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9
- Memory: 32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
- Graphics:
- AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4 GB
- Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

I'm also currently using the old 21.5" ultra fine (which, while it's stated as 4k, it actually is 5k?), though I have a ton of burn in with the 21.5" (screenshot: notice the Chrome UI sitting on top of my IntelliJ editor). The image burns in after 2-3 min, and fades out after another 2-3 min. Curious if you experience that problem?

 

[fishkorp]

No, I don’t use the internal screen. I work in clamshell mode.