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Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

justin.searls.co

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Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#291

Post by ThreePinkApples »

technobabbler wrote: post #265
gumby wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> DisplayPort isn't some obsolete technology here...DisplayPort would be nice. Type C is one of the standard interfaces for the Displayport standard, and Displayport is the standard video transport on a thunderbolt cable.

...so, wait, DisplayPort is really more like DisplayProtocol, but there's also a physical port called DisplayPort? :(

That's how data cables/ports work. There is a DisplayPort "protocol", then there are DisplayPort physical connectors and cables. Then there are other types of physical connectors and cables that also can be used with DisplayPort "protocol". Same thing for USB, or HDMI etc.

Yes, it's confusing. But it's also a good thing as you can carry lots of stuff over the same cable and connector. A USB-C type cable and connector can carry USB, Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, HDMI, even analogue audio.

Before USB-C, Thunderbolt was using mini-DisplaPort connector and cables.

Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#292

Post by shalmanese »

ninkendo wrote: post #173
Rebelgecko wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any alternatives you'd recommend? When last I looked I was surprised how limited the options were for 2160p + higher refresh rates (I guess maybe cables/ports/GPUs need time to catch up?)

Unfortunately there are no monitors sold by any company other than Apple (and LG for that one 5K display they made specifically _for_ apple) that have a “retina” pixel density, which I would define as >200 PPI. (The Studio Display’s is 218.) Every ginormous “4k2k” or whatever display is just that: ginormous, so the actual pixel density is much lower, and is comparable to a typical (smaller, 1440p, etc) display. I sus…

> I suspect this is because the fabrication of the LCDs is tuned to a particular pixel size, so if a company wants to make a 4K monitor, they scale existing LCD production up to a large enough size that they can get it 2160 pixels tall (by however wide), and that’s the size of the display. They can advertise having both a large display (which people like) and 4K (which people like), so there’s no downside to the manufacturers.

There are plenty of 13" 1440p laptop panels being made. You just have to mate 4 of them together to make a 26" 5K display and yet this isn't done. Hell, I'd just settle for someone selling 13/15" 1440p/4K panels in a cheap, thin bezel enclosure with a VESA mount on the back for $250 - $400 a pop and I could make my own 5K/6K display for cheaper than what they're selling for.

Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#294

Post by thirdsun »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #207
lsy wrote: post #126

Not the author, but in response to the many variations of "why would you do this?", the answer seems simple: If you do most of your computing on a Mac, this is one of the few available monitors that has highly compatible resolution and behavior, and if you have a PC for gaming as well, not everyone has the space or desire to maintain a completely separate monitor expressly for the purpose of PC gaming.

Last I checked you can plug any monitor into a Mac, why would anyone need this one outside of further embellishing their Apple ecosystem of products? I don't buy an iPhone and get mad that it doesn't work with Android Auto.

You can't buy any 5k / 27" displays other than this Studio Display and the almost as expensive LG Ultrafine.

It is a pretty unique display. Too expensive for my taste but I wish there were other 5k / 27" options. And no, 4k on a 27" display isn't even close, primarily because you'd give up a lot of screen real estate with macOS' recommended 2x scaling.

Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#295

Post by thirdsun »

oblak wrote: post #201
btgeekboy wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m trying to make a 32” 4K work for me, and Windows’ 125% scaling is hot garbage. Macos is slightly better, but it’s still obvious it’s not an integer multiple of native.

27 1440 is fine. Is 32 4k that higher dpi wise?

> 27 1440 is fine

That may be your opinion. I'd say it's downright terrible.

Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#296

Post by thirdsun »

kllrnohj wrote: post #160
Tagbert wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is largely due to the manufacturers focusing on price and display size for their volume business. 4K displays are produced in high volume and can be a lot cheaper and can be larger in absolute display size terms. That means that 5K will be more expensive. For some people that additional resolution and sharpness matter more than a few hundred dollars in cost. I would not expect any Windows users to chose this dis…

> who would make the same quality vs price choice that an Apple customer might. That's a pretty elitest take that doesn't really hold up to any scrunity at all. Other than the resolution, this is a pretty mediocre quality display. At this price point there are no shortage of displays with much better overall image quality, other than the resolution. You're paying for that 5k in more ways than just the price at checko…

> Other than the resolution, this is a pretty mediocre quality display.

The resolution is the essential feature of this display. And it's an important one due to the way macOS handles scaling. You basically always want to use 2x scaling in macOS. On a 4k / 27" display (which are ubiquitous) that results in an effective screen real estate of 1080p which makes the UI feel too large and cramped.

Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#297

Post by gumby »

mschuster91 wrote: post #284
gumby wrote: post #92

He purchased a TB monitor to plug into a device that doesn't support TB and says "it shouldn't be this hard". Commenters complain that it's 60 Hz but I don't know of an external interconnect that could drive that many pixels any faster. HN is weird sometimes. (I don't plan to buy this monitor either, but not for the reasons above. The LG 5K monitors are perfectly adequate for my needs. And like the post's author I wa…

> He purchased a TB monitor to plug into a device that doesn't support TB and says "it shouldn't be this hard". For what it's worth, it shouldn't be hard from a purely technical point of view to create a DisplayPort-to-TB adapter - all that should be needed is a Thunderbolt chip with a DP connector for input and a TB connector for the output. The problem is Intel has had exclusive control over TB chips [1] and never…

TB & USB 4 (which are the same these days) carries video as DisplayPort by default so a Tb-DisplayPort cable is a relatively simple device and is widely available.

Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#298

Post by lsaferite »

wtallis wrote: post #244
lsaferite wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, DSC is claimed to be lossless. https://www.cablematters.com/blog/DisplayPort/what-is-displa...

"Visually lossless" isn't really lossless. What it actually means is "we're pretty sure you won't notice", which is probably correct but isn't a claim that should be accepted at face value.

Which is precisely why I included the "claimed" part in my statement. I don't know enough about how the compression works to know one way or the other definitively.

Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#299

Post by account42 »

wtallis wrote: post #244
lsaferite wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, DSC is claimed to be lossless. https://www.cablematters.com/blog/DisplayPort/what-is-displa...

"Visually lossless" isn't really lossless. What it actually means is "we're pretty sure you won't notice", which is probably correct but isn't a claim that should be accepted at face value.

To put it another way, there is no such thing as general lossless compression - to make some data smaller without losing any information your new representation has to make other data larger. You can limit that "larger" to 1 bit but you will still have some cases where the compressed data is definitly not smaller than the source so it will not help you with cases like this where there is a hard upper limit on how much data you can transport.

Re: Connecting a gaming PC to Apple Studio Display

#300

Post by account42 »

searls wrote: post #129
brigade wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung G9 is for sale now, and it pushes 5120x1440 at 240Hz without subsampling through DisplayPort 1.4, which is the exact same pixel rate as 5120x2880 at 120Hz.

Important to note that this is a 110dpi monitor and therefore not retina nor suitable for integer resolution scaling, whereas the Studio Display is 218dpi. I care a lot more about resolution and dot pitch than about frame rates higher than 60hz

110dpi can work without any scaling depending on your eyesight.
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