macOS 4K Scaling Explained: The TRUTH About Quality And Performance!

In this video, I want to go over a topic that many people have asked me about - scaling on 4K monitors on Mac. While there does seem to be some information out there suggesting this may be a significant hit to performance, some data suggests otherwise. I spent that last week researching and testing things out, and I have my own thoughts on the matter. Watch for more.
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Geekbench GPU (metal) 4k - browser.geekbench.com/v5/comp...
Geekbench GPU (metal) Scaled - browser.geekbench.com/v5/comp...
Geekbench GPU (metal) 1080p - browser.geekbench.com/v5/comp...
Geekbench CPU 4K- browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/...
Geekbench CPU Scaled - browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/...
Geekbench CPU 1080p - browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/...
Geekbench CPU (OpenCL) 1080p - browser.geekbench.com/v5/comp...
Geekbench CPU (OpenCL) Scaled - browser.geekbench.com/v5/comp...
Geekbench CPU (OpenCL) 4k - browser.geekbench.com/v5/comp...
Video testing multiple 4K scaled displays with MacBook M1 Pro/Max: • M1 PRO & M1 MAX Multip...
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0:00 Introduction
0:41 What Is Display Scaling?
1:23 How Does Display Scaling Work?
3:11 The Problem With 4K Displays
4:27 4K Display Quality
6:14 4K Scaled Performance
10:00 What Might Be Happening
11:54 Wrapping Up
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[@Ben77769]

I’ve been researching this topic for the last couple of weeks and found so many different answers. Thank you so much for clearing this messy topic up once and for all, excellent video! 🙏👏👌

[@inv3st_eth839]

How it would show on external display if i buy 32 inch 4k display and downgrade it to 1080p ?

[@TripleIProductions]

​@@inv3st_eth839did your figure this out?

[@josefrogoschewsky6458]

Excellent video - really enjoy your explanation of scaling vs performance and your overall video style, great job.

[@csimet]

Nice overview. Being a photographer, I picked my iMac 5K to give me as much room to work at 1::1 density and added a 4K LG to my MacBook for the same reasons. I needed the ability to zoom to 100% 1::1 resolution to edit and apply sharpening correctly. Having said that, I wish Apple would allow independent text scaling (2x, 4x, etc.) along with the display scaling... it can be a pain on those monitors to see menus, fly-outs and panels since they can be very small on those high density displays. It usually means working closer to the monitors than most would typically do so.

[@eoinkirwan3147]

Exactly, just give us text scaling please!!

[@AaronFigFront]

maybe third party apps like better display can help? it can create dummy display with or with HiDPI at different resolution.

[@Ed_Mann]

One thing is for sure, OS functionality that helps their customers isn’t going to come from Apple. The recently announced new Apple credo is “DEAL WITH IT. Suckers”

[@chrisleedesignstudio]

Thanks Kyle! I appreciate your well-researched content and the high production value of this video. I’m a graphic designer working on a mac mini m1 and am so happy I found your channel. I’m thrilled about buying the 27” 4k monitor and scaling to enlarge the interface so I can actually see the menu. I also appreciate the many helpful viewer comments. Generating great engagement like this portends much success for your channel! Way to go!

[@maekloev]

Very thorough explanation on how scaling works on macOS. Certainly the best I’ve encountered so far. Very well presented - thanks a bunch! 👏

[@otherother8664]

It is im looking for a good not great moniter without paying $1599 but the only down side for that is 60 hz for me so much money should have everything i need in it

[@trungdaivlog]

With scale factor of 1.5 -> blurry at border of texts. I would rather take a 27" 2K monitor

[@Vincent_Roy]

Thanks for the video. I have been using a Viewsonic VP-2768 4K for a year now on my M1 Mac Mini connected in DP on a thunderbolt hub, and noticed no issues.

[@mafi8000]

I was literally looking for a new monitor for my Macbook right now, and the 4k scaling issue was still a big question mark. And then your video came online, what a fortunate coincidence!

[@ErikGT]

Yeah me too

[@ValdemarDeMatos]

Coincidence would be that none of the thousands of viewers of this video were looking for a new monitor 😅

[@himashakurera]

@@BozBundalo what's about the scaling? is that sharp?

[@chidorirasenganz]

@@himashakurera not unless you’re running it at a 1080p equivalent vs 1440p equivalent for a 5k display

[@ngamsomset]

@@chidorirasenganz that's correct. I scale mine on 1080p as well.

[@pushpdeeppandey]

Thank you! I didn't find this to be an issue either but heard so many youtubers make a hue and cry about it. Frankly if I'm using a larger 4k display, I definitely need the extra space it comes with where I can see more of the panels or place more program windows alongside as the need be. So while I will continue doing what I was doing, at least after seeing this video, I'll be more at peace about the overall performance hit. Thanks for testing this out and sharing your thoughts here!

[@zr0dfx]

Great video on a topic I am very interested in since I just bought 2 27" 4k panels for my m1 pro. I have to say I have used the scaling option and everything is working just fine. No slow downs or anything.

[@Tonellacam]

You scaled down to 1440 from your 4k computers , im about to buy a 4k 27 maybe I should just buy a 1440 asus pro art instead of the 4k , im gonna plug my M1 Max for video editing

[@ElayneOkaya]

@@Tonellacamwhat did you eventually decide on?

[@georgemalczynski]

I'm also using a M1 Pro Macbook, I was given a fairly high quality 4k display and it has been fine so far.

[@Ed_Mann]

@@Tonellacamthat’s what I’d do.

[@Ed_Mann]

@@georgemalczynskiI think success or struggle in that configuration is largely dependent on how GPU intensive your work is. Video you’ll perceive lag, photo editing lag will be there but it may not be noticable to you. Pedestrian tasks, whatever your system yiekds, you’ll think of as normal.

[@JeffreyGVny]

This was very helpful. Thanks for the in-depth analysis!

[@gregfromthevaley]

I just don’t understand why Apple won’t let us change size of system font. We could use monitors native resolutions and adjust interface

[@Ryan-sn6gn]

You’d still have a problem with file and app sizes on the screen

[@SokoladoFabrikas]

because interface design system is not a piece of water

[@joekim3902]

Windows does that already and scaling on 4k displays is an absolute shitshow

[@ellandill]

@@joekim3902 fonts on windows looks a way better on 27'' 4k than on mac, even comparing same applications like chrome or evernote

[@michaelriga6431]

@@ellandillAgreed! I have a 4k LG Ultrafine on WIndows everything looks a lot better. Even SuperHuman looks better!

[@MusicAlfon]

Hello! Nice video, thanks for the info. I ve been reading tons of information and posts saying that there is also a big problem with QHD ULTRAWIDE resolution (bluriness, text clarity), do you know if is true or is it the same misunderstanding as you said about 4k?

[@jettlaggg]

This cleared out a lot of things I had in mind. Thank you so much!

[@kokodoug90]

This was the perfect video for my question I had. Thanks!

[@johnaistrup9250]

Thank you! Just what I needed to watch to understand scaling on my Mac! Cheers! Great video!

[@freddymiguelponce]

This is my first time in your channel. WOW! what a great video! Thanks for putting all this info in a simple way to understand Have a Productive and Healthy Day!

[@cesarbernal9789]

Thanks Kyle, after a lot of research your video finally clarifies things to me!

[@delsurmusic]

Hello Kyle, finally a video that clearly explains this scaling thing. I even went to the Apple store and ask to the specialist and he just did not have a good answer. Thank you very match for your time and efforts!

[@avicreates]

Excellent! subbed! High quality detailed production!

[@smajdovamanka]

A thing to note - the text rendering quality on non-retina displays degraded when Apple removed sub-pixel antialiasing. It was hidden from the settings in Mojave and removed entirely in Big Sur. The scaling wasn't an issue beforehand, you could use a 1366x768 display and it would have nice, sharp text. It was my favourite MacOS feature and they didn't bother to support it because with Retina displays it's not needed. But if you have a 3rd party monitor with less DPI than ~220, it doesn't look as good anymore. This is of course a separate issue than the performance. I never noticed a difference running scaled resolutions. But the font rendering thing bothers me a lot as a webdev. Such a dickmove from Apple. Kyle says the difference is not noticeable, which may be true if you're on 4k 27", but on 32" it's not. The text looks like garbage, it's blurry, the whole thing is embarrassing considering Jobs was about nice typography. More info: www.howtogeek.com/358596/how-to-fix-blurry-fonts-on-macos-mojave-with-subpixel-antialiasing/ news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17477526

[@lucalorenzetti9905]

True story!!

[@emilemouannes2236]

32 4K here. Text was blurry. I returned the MacBook Air m2 and went back to my windows machine. Night and day difference.

[@mrjellow]

I've been using Macs since '06. This will be my last Apple computer. Apple was always a nuisance when it came to removing features but lately it really feels like you are trapped in a very very expensive cage. 'Oh you want an external monitor for your 2000 dollar MPB?'' Buy our 1500 dollar display..without a stand'. Think different, think Windows.

[@smeyichou3514]

I was considering buying a Mac Mini with a 4k ultrawide, around 32 or 34 inch. So you're telling me either I should go with a 27 inch 4k monitor, or a 5k monitor?

[@hydrolifetech7911]

I was viewing some code on 32 inch monitor and I was flabbergasted. The code didn't make sense. Only after hours of trying and failing did I view it on Macbook's screen and noticed all the - signs I was seeing on the 32 inch were all =signs! Ridiculous!

[@PKarthikeyaneeb]

Thanks for clearing this up for me!!!

[@moderndaybeatlefan]

This video helped me out a lot! Thanks for this.

[@TrutherTalk]

Thank you for this video. It was pleasantly surprising, and informative.

[@grics667]

Excellent video - as always!

[@MCName115]

Thank you so much!! I'm upgrading from 2k due to blurry texts to 4k to solve it and now I found out about virtual scaling and as I found out after watching your video there are so many missinformation abou this online. Thanks a lot for this video.

[@alex-pattison]

Great video! Helps demystify the topic.

[@classicaloracle]

I have been looking around for many weeks to find a definitive answer to this after deciding the Apple Display was not for me. You have cleared up a lot of concerns. Thank you! Subscribed.

[@ZR1Terror]

So did you get this display?

Thanks, Kyle, for the amazing video review about 4K resolution. I was really confused before I watched your video, and now it's much better.

[@zlivomir]

Great video! Thanks for your clear explanation of the whole thing. If I got it right, you have no information about performance issues on base models, like the M1 Mini, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, since you tested on M1 Pro/Max; you rather suppose there could be some bottlenecks. Have you any further info about those base models performance working with a scaled resolution (typically looks like 2560x1440)?

[@IsaacFromHK]

From my experience, the scaled performance thing doesn't really affect M1 chipset much, but if you use an intel mac, and try to watch some video at scaled resolution, you will see the GPU usage jumps up pretty high and the fan starts to kick in. that is true when I compared this on my 2017 macbook pro 15 inch vs the Mac mini m1

[@gamervmid]

Yeah! The same story with my MBP 15 2018 😢

[@UTJK.]

I have a 16" Intel... it got really slow if used at scaled resolution. No problem with the M1.

[@ricarmig]

Well on my M1 Mac Mini if I move a lot windows, 3D ... I notice some slowdown. On native nothing at all.

[@frostgodx]

every computer no matter the chipset will start heating up playing 1440 or higher video its just the nature of rendering video to the monitor even with any M1 (my m1 max 32 core even gets to 65c from 40c resting temp when watching a 4k video.

[@RNFedit]

@@UTJK. so what’s the best resolution for mac intel?

[@RAnthonyphotos]

Hey Kyle, great video! I'm purchasing a Mac Studio in a few days and still undecided with a monitor. Microsoft, LRC, PS, & Topaz is generally what I used. Any recommendations on an affordable one? Thx!

[@caedenisviral]

extremely underrated youtuber, going off the quality and video information alone, I would’ve assumed you had over a million subscribers. Keep up the good work man 👍

[@khanscombe619]

Great video. I will definitely be coming back to check out more. I love the crispness of My Apple Thunderbolt or is vibrant colours. What would be a good PC counterpart at 24-27" 4K in a Samsung or like?

[@marekgitarzysta5193]

The best explanation I could find - good job!

[@pricejs87]

I wish I would have seen this video earlier. I wasted way too much time and mental energy stressing about this issue. Thank you for making this plain and clear!

[@o0alois0o]

Hello there... thank for this video! So when it comes to Blender, which 32" Monitor would you go for if you're using an M1 Max? Thanks for your help :)

[@Aspireonthego]

Thanks for the awesome and in-depth explanation! I have a 27" 4K monitor hooked up to my top spec macbook pro 16" 2019 and have not noticed any performance hit, scaled at 1440p. Under most tasks, I don't even hear the fans spin up.

[@officialmultimedia8107]

Same here

[@samaelmorningstar8737]

which monitor do you have?

[@Aspireonthego]

@@samaelmorningstar8737 Dell u2720qm

[@Aspireonthego]

@@samaelmorningstar8737Dell u2720q

[@BoomerBlogging]

Just revisited this from a year ago. It is so well explained and illustrated that IMHO it is the "go-to" V;og on the internet for this question/matter/explanation! Thanks again - very well done and as preofessional as it gets!

[@fpst]

Great video. I really liked it and learned something but have you tried changing the codec of your final file? When you use your A-Roll you see these circles around the light. It doesn't look beautiful. I don't know if it's a problem from YT or FCP but i would like to see you fix it. Anyways great job.

[@tutubeos]

In the end I bought the LG 40” ultrawide for my Mac Studio. Yes, in native resolution, text is too small. I’m using it scaled, no issues, its awesome! Thank you! 🙏

[@SharkBoy87]

What scaling, the 1440p? Seems very large for 40”

[@ryanoldenburg1855]

Great video, do you think running dual 4k would have an additional impacts? I have noticed some challenges when running MS PowerPoint while on a zoom call In presentation mode

[@markeissler]

This is exactly what @KyleErickson refers to in his video...reports of performance issues that can possibly be attributed to hardware capabilities. Someone with a maxed out mbp (m1 max) is less likely to have problems here vs someone running with something like a mbp air (m1/m2). I just watched a review for a 4k 32" display by a software engineer that complained about performance problems and then also noted his mbp only had one video output...so that would be a base model??

[@JFostermusic]

Great review! What’s a good 4k monitor you recommend for scaling? I have a Mac mini m2.

[@rsr789]

Fantastic video! Thank you for posting!

[@bickybickford]

Thank you for the information, I am looking for a new monitor for my Mac Studio and was worried about 4K monitors but I am no longer worried.

[@DaleC1980]

That was so helpful. I have a mac mini with a samsung 32 inch 4k. I scaled it to 3200x1800. I liked the scaling size but it still looked scaled. I thought it was still 4k but making it look bigger. So I took a screenshot and realized it was 4x. So now I just set it to native 4k and manually adjusted screen elements such as the menu bar size, the dock and desktop icons as well as the Safari text size.

[@MonicaRubio]

wish you could do a tutorial or something because i have a macbook air with a samsung 32 inch 4k and i genuinely hate using it bc of how laggy it is

[@jspring86]

Great video man!

[@vasileandreicalin2685]

I got a mb pro 16 2019 with 16gb ram and i7 and sometimes my mac slows down a lot with 2 4k monitor and the scaling to 1440p. With the new silicon chips maybe it's not an issue but with my config sometimes gives me problems... I wish i had bought 2 qhd monitors and not 4k or even a super ultra wide .

[@jtrjammer]

Kyle, excellent video, thank you for posting. Question, if you use a WUHD display, e.g. 34” native 3440 x 1440 or 38” native 3880 x 1600 does Apple still scale this up to 5K and then down to the native resolution?

[@bryans8656]

Thanks for this explanation, it helped me understand why the ASUS ProArt 2K monitor I use with my Mac desktop scales so well.

[@Scolio]

Thats the 300 dollar one right? Im trying to find a display that will work with the mac mini Im getting out of the box and that one claims “mac support” which I would hope means it doesnt need any special treatment to look good

[@bryans8656]

@@Scolio Yes, that's the one. You won't have to do anything special to set it up with your mini. Just plug in the HDMI cable and the power cable and you're good to go.

[@anthonyhobson367]

I’m searching for a new monitor for an M1 Mini and debating between 27inch 4K and 24inch 1440p. So this video did help, but I’m still stuck with this question… Which should be better, the 27 scaled to 1440p or the 24 inch at 1440p??

[@jcantin9491]

Thank you very much for your point of view on the subject. It has convinced me to go for a 4k monitor

[@pgulyas]

Very good explanation, thanks a lot!

[@finalcutstudio1]

Finally someone made a concise, well researched video to address such a serious Apple Mac screen display issue. There are a few other videos related to this issue and they certainly contain a lot of scare-mongering misinformation. This video hits the nail on the head. As a video editor, plus grading footage means I am using a 5K Mac Display plus a 4K Display as dual monitors with my Mac Studio. Thank you. 🙂

[@visualstudiosproductions]

How? 5k imacs can't be used as external displays. There is no other "5k mac display". Do you mean the apple studio display?

[@tgilbert4319]

@@visualstudiosproductions Yes, that would be what Dion meant. They are running a Mac Studio that has no built in display. The only 5K external displays available now are the Apple Studio Display and (maybe still available) LG Ultrafine.

[@lenguyenphi]

Yeap, I work on both Windows and Mac and I've been hesitating to buy a 32 inches 4k monitor or save for the 32 inches XDR whichs is ridiculously expensive until I have to buy it for my wfh office. Man I can say that I was being happy from day 1 until now. Windows and MacOS both displayed great on my LG 32UN650 which is 1/3 the price of the XDR's 1000$ stand!!! I can confirm that all Kyle say is correct!!!

[@tomhollett]

@@lenguyenphi What display settings do you use on your LG in terms of scaling size and HDR? I'm trying to decide the sweet spot for my LG 32UN650 on a Mac Studio M2 for photo and astrophotography editing.

[@MarbsMusic]

Very thorough explanation, thank you!

[@WineWorldTV]

I have a Late 2015 iMac 27 and an LG 27MU58-B 27" monitor. I've had this setup for 5 years. For many years I ran the monitors at a resolution higher than 1440p thinking it would be better. I saw a similar video a couple years ago explaining basically the same thing and switched to 1440p for both monitors. Other than a brightness difference and a slight color difference, the LG monitor looks just as sharp as the iMac. Yeah, I could pixel peep and see a difference, but the reality is for 95-99% of the work I do, it doesn't matter. For video editing, I use the iMac to make sure my colors are good, but otherwise, it doesn't matter which monitor I'm using. Great video.

[@frostgodx]

you can easily tell a difference between 5k running at half (1440) vs a 1440 display at native res once your used to the 5k though which is what annoys most people. You see the same things in windows laptops people cry about the 1080 screens looking like crap but love a 4k screen running at 200% scale the same 1080 just because you don't see the pixels.

[@Li_Qifei]

Nice explanation! But I still have this question related to scaling. Say I have macOS scaled to 1440p on a 4k screen and when I play a 4k video fullscreen will that be scaled down or native 4k? Thanks!

[@Minsetti]

The real resolution of your display is still 4K no matter the scaling so the video plays at 4K. The scaling just makes the UI elements look like they are the same size than on a 1440p display.

[@michaelwerner5165]

Thanks. An extremely helpful video, which helps debunk myths around scaling and performance

[@mbicer]

What would be the best choice of 23" and larger monitors for Mac Mini M2 8GB? Should i avoid 4K's and settle with QHD? Thanks.

[@Mzansi74]

Thanks Kyle. Great explanation!

[@dario3765]

Congratulations on the quality of your analysis!

[@rubenj3128]

Noone talks about DisplayPort vs HDMI, but that also makes big difference. I had blurry texts as well when I got a 4k and QHD connected simultaneously, but resolved it by using a USB-c to Display Port cable instead of HDMI.

[@irwin3840]

Thank you very much! This is exactly what I want to know about that when I change my scaling on my m1 pro Mackbook because I like to have more space on a screen.

[@mondotv4216]

My big question I don't think was answered? Is it only scaling the UI objects or is everything scaled? Video for example still appears to be 4K but if it's not what exactly is the point of buying a 4K monitor for the Mac?

[@raytsh]

Great, best video on that topic! Thanks!

[@tomhollett]

What display settings do you use on your LG in terms of scaling size and HDR? I'm trying to decide the sweet spot for my LG 32UN650 on a Mac Studio M2 for photo and astrophotography editing.

[@nefaStocuDa]

Nice explanation! I own a Mac mini M2 8gb of ram. Could be any problem on performances for the low ram of the Mac if I chose a 27” 4k monitor? Thank you

[@lemmontree1]

Finally someone explained this properly! Thanks a lot!

[@maulikjadav9673]

Great video. Liked and subscription added. Keep going 👍

[@TheAppleLoadout]

Great content. Brilliant presentation. Such a shame that those leaks and rumors channels have 20x subscribers than this professional.

[@dbrewood]

I'd be interested in some advice. I was an Intel i7 Mac Mini owner and I've just upgraded to a Mac Mini M2 Pro. The monitor used with both machines in an ageing (8 years old??) Samsung S34E790C (3400 x 1400) 34" UW monitor. With the old Mini it was connected via lightning to HDMI dongle, with the new M2 Mini I'd had to switch to using HDMI as the M2 Mini 'sees' the monitor being 'switched off' when it goes to sleep. This means that when it wakes the screen any apps that are open resize / reposition to the bottom left of the screen - which drove me nuts! So I'm therefore looking for a new monitor, ideally I guess a 34" (or larger) would be preferred connected via Thunderbolt. I consume a lot of media and like to have a lot of windows open on screen so 27" is too restrictive. I've been considering the forthcoming Dell Ultrasharp 32" 6K monitor but I feel it'll be too expensive, or the 49" Samsung Odyssey G959C. I think I may be going overboard here. Also considering the 32" BenQ PD3220U 4K IPS display. I guess a 34" (or similar / larger) UW 5k display would be perfect but no ideas if such a monitor exists for a decent price? So any thoughts? Any assistance or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[@arturoglz.1057]

I had'nt seen any good explanation obout the scaling issue, until now!

[@TheGabriel75011]

Best video of this topic and great community in the comments too Thanks a lot

[@InsaneFilms]

Great explanation. Thank you.

[@brantlers]

A question I haven't been able to find an answer to: I want to add a monitor to run a second screen off my 27" 5k iMac setup. Am I going to run into a problem running a different scale on the second monitor?

[@jayel27]

As someone who has been using dual 4K monitors since 2015 and recently went triple monitor setup I can confirm that the scaling is a huge problem on intel macs and less so on my M1 mini and even less in my M1 Max Studio Max… for now anyways. Webex, google meet and zoom kill the machine and force me to disconnect a display and switch to 1080p in order to stay on a call. Even more so if I’m trying to screen share. When I work on my 34” 1440p ultrawide I have zero issues with performance. Same scenarios run smooth. That’s in a 2019 15” MBP with 32gb of ram and two GPUs. Go 5k or 1440p. It will future proof your setup. Trust what apple is doing. They’ve optimized their machines well as well as scaling.

[@sagunmdr]

1440p 60hz or 1080p 120hz?

[@jayel27]

@@sagunmdr if you are on 27” monitors, 1440p. You can find some with higher refresh rates. I have one that is 75hz. But I don’t game so if you do, I’d imagine you want higher. But 1440p if you are using it for work and creative. If you are gaming, get the best your machine handle. I don’t use 1080p on 27” as the UI is too large. Not good for the work I do.

[@myrealusername2193]

@@sagunmdr if you’re at anything above 24”, then go 1440p. macOS is (despite apple’s attempts) not really used for gaming so a super high refresh rate is less important than resolution.

[@moshcorerider]

I had massive problems with my old 27 Intel iMac (i5 2015) when plugging in to a second 4K panel the GPU was struggling very hard and the fans spun very high

[@user-xb9pq8hj1c]

@@myrealusername2193 in makos at 144hz it is much more pleasant, and accordingly more productive to work, than on clumsy 60 or 75 Hz

[@tutubeos]

Thank you very much. I’m about to buy a monitor for my new Mac studio, but I was really getting frustrated about the PPI matter: being near 110 or 220 PPI is good, anything else is bad. At the end, I think we should buy whatever we like and test it.

[@vsk.design]

FINALLY SOMEONE DID IT. Thank you, subscribed

[@andrei007ps]

Excellent video, I expected the scaling to work similarly to windows, but it seams it supersamples the image, which in the end it has pros and cons.

[@tetrizium2210]

good learning experience on your video but I was wondering about connections and 4k - 5k . Connection what is the best to connect m1 m2 base to monitor hdmi / displayport / usb c / thunderbold 3-4 also which K is better on the m1 m2 4K or 5K . I haven't bought my studio yet and I want to make I a good monitor with no issues . BTW the monitor I connect to the studio would be greater size of 34 inches ti maybe 38" in wide monitor and maybe 43" in regular 16/9

[@EveInTheMachine]

Thank you. I was worrying about this because I plan on using the setup for film and graphical editing. 2k resolution not really being the standard for those anymore really screws me up so I'm happy that I don't really have to worry about this anymore lol.

[@mrsin666]

I really like your real-world approach to your testing, although you‘ve missed a pretty important point in regards to 3D rendering performance: as long as you‘re rendering something like cinebench where you‘re outputting a specific resolution, of course there‘s no change in performance because the workload is literally the same. When you‘re rendering a 1080p image, you‘re always rendering a 1080p image no matter the scaling. Now if you take a look at realtime rendering performance, like the blender viewport, you will definitely see a performance impact because the viewport is rendering at a resolution based on your internal resolution. So 1x scaling renders at the displays native 4k resolution while something like 1.5x renders at an internal 5k resolution which will demand a lot more from the GPU. With simple scenes not a big deal. But when your scene becomes more complex, that impact will become increasingly noticeable.

[@iamdragonetta]

Why not use a 5k monitor instead of a 4k monitor, if the 1.5x renders at an internal 5k resolution?

[@axelsfirst]

@@iamdragonetta Either price of buying one or maybe quality od displays, 5k monitors do not have true HDR, like QD-LED monitors, so they could be much better for watching movies.

[@markeissler]

@@iamdragonetta Where are these 5k monitors coming from? There is only one 5k option right now: Apple Studio Display. That's the whole problem. The world has settled on 4k monitors (and the occasional 8k) but Apple has settled on 5k and 6k monitors. What sucks more is that Apple has decided to only offer one choice at each resolution.

[@chidorirasenganz]

@@markeissler LG has their 5k monitor as well but 4k is usable on smaller displays such as the old Intel 21.5in iMac and the new M1 24in iMac. As far as other options I’m sure they are coming sooner than later

[@smashedlegends]

@@markeissler 27 inch from Apple is not an option. Its way too small to be an option.

[@zboy1236]

Considering all of this what 4K monitor would you recomemd for my m2 pro Mac book pro budget up to £400

[@vinceblues7305]

Hi Kyle. Thank you for this explaination. Finally the situation is clear to me. However I still didn't get how to overcome the issue that, if I select monitor native 4k res the icons and text are so little that it turns to be barely useless...did I miss something? I can i zoom in?

[@RapManCZ]

And what about the power consumption of the mac with different scaling options?

[@bkkdavidg]

Have you tested older MacBook Pros (eg 2018) with a 4k monitor like the Dell U2723QE? Does the image look okay, and would it perform okay for editing in Final Cut Pro?

[@karansaraf87]

Is it just the UI that gets scaled, not the actual pixels on the screen? Ie. if I run photoshop, will it still display 4K pixels with regards to the image, but with the UI elements scaled to 1080/1440? Or are you basically turning a 4K screen into a 1080/1440 screen, hence negating the whole point of having the 4K?

[@MVWDave]

Hi Kyle. Thanks for the video. This is good information. It will help me make a decision on which monitor (and which Mac) to buy. Are there any other issues I should be concerned about with a 4K monitor and color accuracy (or something else)? I'll primarily be recording music on Logic, but I'll be doing some video editing and animation too. Thanks again.

[@KyleErickson]

Honestly, I would just look for something that has at least been factory calibrated! When in doubt, LG Ultrafine 4K

[@MVWDave]

@@KyleErickson Thank you.

[@andrewlong9781]

Honestly I was following you for a minute, but then I got lost! Lol If I have an M2 MacBook Pro 16 and an LG 32SQ780S monitor, what resolutions/scaling setting should I use??

[@kmcsmart]

Great video as always. Thanks. Love your-shirt. Where did you get it?

[@KyleErickson]

I couldn’t tell you! No idea

[@kmcsmart]

@@KyleErickson ok, just mail me your shirt ;)

[@CraftsmanontheLake]

Good explanation... We needed to get this ironed.

[@1964ilovebears]

What resolution do you reccomend for a LG32UN88A-W using a basic mac studio Max?. Primarily for photography. Regards

[@RobZZZ-le7qx]

Excellent Explanation !

[@GeneralLack]

Hello! I am willing to buy an external display for my mac book pro 14. Should i go for a 4k or a 1440? I am a photographer.

[@murdockscott]

I had been shopping for a new monitor to replace my aging Apple Thunderbolt and had landed on the Dell U3223QE as a possible choice but could never find one being demonstrated anywhere. I tried looking for information online but was continually warned off because of the “dreaded Apple upscaling performance hit”! I witnessed many people calling others foolish for even considering a 4k monitor, mostly based on a video made by a seemingly well meaning young man who was very vague about the specifications of the gear and workflow he was basing his opinions on. I was dubious due to my several decades of experience as a digital artist, creative director and purchaser of gear for art departments. It just seemed like something else was going on. Like maybe he was using a low powered Mac mini or worse yet an older Intel based computer with integrated graphics. Since the Apple Studio Display did not seem like a good deal to me and I really wanted a 32 inch so I could sit back a bit from the monitor with my aging eyes, the Dell seemed perfect. I am very glad I ignored all those people insisting that it would cause technical heartache to hook a 4k monitor up to an Apple Studio Max! I purchased the Dell and it has been GREAT! Thank you so much for working to dispel this nonsense. I wish this video had existed back when I was looking, it would have quickly put my mind at rest and made me feel less crazy about my inherent belief that the information must have been overblown.

[@imtony]

I’m also planning for a monitor. Does it give the retina look at 3840x2160?

[@dedeog1]

Excellently done!

[@techtipsuk]

I have the studio display and running at 2560 x 1440 still makes parts of the UI small.

[@Chazz_US_Marine]

2:27 that part is what I mean. Is there a setting for this or is it supposed to be automatic. This is a lot to take in, and I kind of understand it. On the rescaling info, when I try to change the display resolution from default to the next on up, or even the highest resolution which on my Mac is 3456x2234 all the text and icons are too small. Is there a way to adjust the text size without effecting the screen resolution.

[@jozef_s]

Thanks mate, helpful!

[@Urosaurus]

Thanks, I wonder if the Studio Display will be updated?

[@wildeyestudios5]

So what monitor resolution do I have to pick? 1080p or 1440p, considering I don't need extreme resolution and I'm picking a 24 or 27 inch monitor for video editing