I've had some issues with my 2013 iMac, and I'm thinking the best thing to do is just get an external monitor for my MacBook Pro. It's a mid-2015 model. Does anyone have any recommendations? I'd prefer a 27" screen and "retina quality." I'm doing my own research, but would appreciate any help.
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External monitor recommendations for Mid-2015 MBP?
- Thread starter TheMBC
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I have a Dell 2719DM that I am pretty happy with. It is only QHD (2560x1440), but that resolution is perfect for 27" in my opinion. 5k is not common at that size and if you scale 4k to half, you end up with an effective 1080 screen which is too large for my taste. So to avoid all of that, I simply went QHD. Honestly, I think Dell is pretty good bang for buck, including their UltraSharp line.
Just curious. Are your fonts sort of blurry?
I have a U2715 and the fonts look slightly blurry when I connect it to my 2018 MBP 15 via HDMI. I was thinking about getting a newer Dell 27" and seeing if that fixes the issue.
I have a 2015 14 MBP and it's currently hooked up to 2 25 inch Dell QHD monitors and things look great. I'm sure that they would look fine on 27 inch monitors as well. QHD is not Retina quality - you get the native resolution. I'm not a fan of Retina resolutions because of problems I've had with screen captures. If you want Retina, you probably have to go with 4K or 5K and you need to check that your laptop can support those resolutions.
Thank you, both! I definitely wouldn't want to buy anything where text isn't sharp. Besides, I do some graphic design and video editing for work, and I think 4K would be the best bet. I'll start looking into it. Thank you!
Use the mini display port, Dells and HDMI on macs don't work well. The mini Display Port to USB-C cable on Amazon is like $10, I had the same issue.
Sorry, missed this. To be honest I haven’t looked that closely. I would say it isn’t as crisp as the MacBook Pro screen.
First, an Apple support page for you to review:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587
Next, a list of IPS type displays (might be of some use):
IPS Monitor List: Best AHVA, PLS & IPS LCD Displays
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587
Next, a list of IPS type displays (might be of some use):
IPS Monitor List: Best AHVA, PLS & IPS LCD Displays
Ok, so now looking side-by-side the text is definitely more crisp on the MacBook Pro. Having said that, the text on my Dell does not bother me, especially sitting at normal distances, and I do not notice it in normal use.
For the OP, the hard part about 4K is that it does not scale well at 27". At native resolution, everything would be pretty small. Using the ideal Retina resolution (1920x1080 for 4K) makes everything too large. The resolution for a 27" should be 5K where the half resolution is 2560x1440 which most consider ideal for the 27" size. You can do non-integer scaling to make 4K appear like QHD (1440) but that can come with a performance hit and produce results that are not as good. If I were to go 4K, I would look at either a 24" monitor where I could do half resolution or a 32" that I could run at native. Otherwise I would look at 5K for 27" or settle for QHD (1440) for 27" which is ultimately what I did since there are not many 5K displays and I find 27" to be the ideal size.
I have an LG 27UD69. Good display, but I wish I'd waited and purchased an LG UK850. USB-C, high brightness, great color, decent price, all around great monitor.
If I was on the market for a 27" 4K that is probably the only one I'd look at. Right now I'm eyeing an LG 32UD99 but with the latest buzz around Apple's new display I'm going to wait for that to drop. If it's too expensive, I'll probably look at buying a used LG 5K display since I imagine the second hand value will go down after the new Apple display is released.
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27" 4K displays ran at 2560x1440 on mac cause a negligible performance hit and look extremely sharp. I ran one with my 2015 rMBP and do today with my 2017 model. There is definitely a slight drop in performance but it's almost unnoticeable. I'm a designer and developer and have no problems running GPU/CPU intensive apps on it running alongside my laptop screen and a 27" Apple Thunderbolt display.
Not sure why people seem to think the results aren't that great scaled. Just get the right cable. I have a USB-C to MiniDisplayport connected directly and it works fine.
If I was on the market for a 27" 4K that is probably the only one I'd look at. Right now I'm eyeing an LG 32UD99 but with the latest buzz around Apple's new display I'm going to wait for that to drop. If it's too expensive, I'll probably look at buying a used LG 5K display since I imagine the second hand value will go down after the new Apple display is released.
[doublepost=1550538244][/doublepost]
27" 4K displays ran at 2560x1440 on mac cause a negligible performance hit and look extremely sharp. I ran one with my 2015 rMBP and do today with my 2017 model. There is definitely a slight drop in performance but it's almost unnoticeable. I'm a designer and developer and have no problems running GPU/CPU intensive apps on it running alongside my laptop screen and a 27" Apple Thunderbolt display.
Not sure why people seem to think the results aren't that great scaled. Just get the right cable. I have a USB-C to MiniDisplayport connected directly and it works fine.
Good to know! Thank you! I’ve been looking into the LGUK850, but it seems to be backordered at most places.
