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The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

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Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#81

Post by turtlebits »

nlh wrote: post #21

After working on a 27" 5K monitor (first the Dell, now the LG UltraFine), I don't think I can ever go back to non-HiDPI for my desktop, so 1440p is just a non-starter for me. The only monitor out there that would be an "upgrade" for me currently is the Apple 6K, which is far far into absurd-level purchase category. Dell has an 8K out there (UP3218K) which, at a scant $4000, looks to only slightly less crazy than the…

Can you actually see a difference? I have slightly better than 20/20 vision with glasses and don't see a difference between 4k @ 14", 27" or 32".

At this point 32" 4k is perfect for me, the only thing I'd wish for is improved panel. I have not seen the Apple 6k, but just picked up an M1 Macbook Air, it has best display I've seen (quite a bit better than my work 16")

Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#83

Post by hokumguru »

6a74 wrote: post #37

IMO, the best MacBook monitor is the LG 38WN95CW ultrawide monitor [1]. Pros: * Larger 38" screen * 90w charging * Thunderbolt 3 (like USB-C but better) * 144hz refresh rate * 1ms response rate And current generation MacBooks only support one external monitor, so two 27" 1440p monitors should not be recommended. And there are methods to having more monitors, but they require additional hardware and do not always work…

+1 on this one. It really is the best monitor I’ve found.

Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#84

Post by hokumguru »

yeahgoodok wrote: post #48
6a74 wrote: post #37

IMO, the best MacBook monitor is the LG 38WN95CW ultrawide monitor [1]. Pros: * Larger 38" screen * 90w charging * Thunderbolt 3 (like USB-C but better) * 144hz refresh rate * 1ms response rate And current generation MacBooks only support one external monitor, so two 27" 1440p monitors should not be recommended. And there are methods to having more monitors, but they require additional hardware and do not always work…

Another con: no upstream USB-B port for connecting to a PC. Also might be hard to power with a graphics card given the higher rez. Sounds super nice for productivity though.

Solved easily enough with a usb switch behind the display, no?

Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#85

Post by nlh »

turtlebits wrote: post #81
nlh wrote: post #21

After working on a 27" 5K monitor (first the Dell, now the LG UltraFine), I don't think I can ever go back to non-HiDPI for my desktop, so 1440p is just a non-starter for me. The only monitor out there that would be an "upgrade" for me currently is the Apple 6K, which is far far into absurd-level purchase category. Dell has an 8K out there (UP3218K) which, at a scant $4000, looks to only slightly less crazy than the…

Can you actually see a difference? I have slightly better than 20/20 vision with glasses and don't see a difference between 4k @ 14", 27" or 32". At this point 32" 4k is perfect for me, the only thing I'd wish for is improved panel. I have not seen the Apple 6k, but just picked up an M1 Macbook Air, it has best display I've seen (quite a bit better than my work 16")

I almost certainly can't see the difference between 4k and 5k (although it depends on the screen resolution - if the 4k screen is using some weird multiplier then everything is blurry and crappy).

But TFA is looking at 1440p screens, which is 2560x1440 and is LoDPI (@1x) on a 27" screen. I can absolutely tell the difference on those and that's what I can't ever go back to.

The LG 5K screen is 5120x2880 - same "size" as 1440p but everything @2x, and that is glooooorious :)

Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#86

Post by nlh »

aplummer wrote: post #72
nlh wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used it for gaming and it's great! I have a separate dedicated gaming PC I just built, and I can just unplug from my Mac and plug right into the Thunderbolt 3 port on the gaming PC (which, in case anyone cares or is interested, just requires a daisy chain TB3 cable to the Nvidia card - happy to give details if anyone is building a similar setup.) I haven't played much beyond 4K resolution but it works and works…

I would really like to know how you connected the monitor. I’m looking at a Bridgestone titan ridge controller to connect an Nvidia card to a Pro Display XDR - is that the route you took?

Roughly the same approach. I ended up getting a Gigabyte Z490 Vision D motherboard specifically because it was the only one of the new Z490s that had an onboard Thunderbolt 3 controller AND a DP1.2 input (which negated the need for the titan ridge controller).

So I just run a short DP1.2 cable from the Nvidia card output to the DP1.2 input on the motherboard, then plug my LG monitor into the Thunderbolt 3 output on the motherboard, and it all works like magic.

I'm assuming it would work exactly the same way on the Pro Display XDR. The only caveat is that I think this setup is limited to 4K. I didn't dig too deeply since there's not enough of a difference between 4K and 5K IMHO to make the effort worthwhile. 6K might be worth figuring it out though :)

Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#87

Post by yeahgoodok »

hokumguru wrote: post #84
yeahgoodok wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another con: no upstream USB-B port for connecting to a PC. Also might be hard to power with a graphics card given the higher rez. Sounds super nice for productivity though.

Solved easily enough with a usb switch behind the display, no?

Not really. How do you connect the PC and MacBook to the sound bar? If connecting both directly to the sound bar, you'll need to switch those too. So each time you want to switch between PC/MacBook, you'll have to:

1. Switch the video source on the monitor 2. Switch the USB destination on your USB switch 3. Switch audio source on your sound bar

That's why upstream USB-B is so compelling. The monitor acts as a full KVM.

Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#88

Post by yeahgoodok »

wmf wrote: post #63
yeahgoodok wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That monitor doesn't have upstream USB-B. How do you connect your keyboard & mouse?

Through a passive USB switch.

Do you have a sound bar or external speakers? If so, I assume you only have one of your devices connected to them? With USB-B the audio source is determined by whatever device is currently selected by the monitor. It's nice.

Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#89

Post by yeahgoodok »

dfee wrote: post #9

Does it make sense for the KVM to be integrated with the monitor, or separate? I’ve been thinking a bit about a setup like this, but there are enough gotchas to prevent me from making a decision.

Built-in KVM is amazing. External KVMs are ridiculously expensive. Especially if you want powered USB-C and adaptive sync. If it even exists, you're probably talking at least $1,000.

Re: The Ultimate MacBook+PC Monitor Showdown

#90

Post by yeahgoodok »

jsheard wrote: post #7
xchaotic wrote: post #3

I ended up getting a KVM in the middle - it’s more cables but I have a 144Hz gsync screen and I can easily swap kB+m+screen with a dedicated, hardware button

Note for anyone considering this setup, the vast majority of KVM switches won't pass through GSync/Freesync Level1Techs sells a few KVMs that can do it but they're not cheap

Do they also handle audio? I like having the monitor pipe audio to the sound bar so that my PC and MacBook both take advantage of the sound bar.
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