I scale a lot of my 4K displays on MacOS. Sometimes as a 5k scaled or even 6k scaled display. I have two 32” 4k monitors and find the 6k scaled mode works exceptionally well. I have often thought 2x retina might be a bit much. While it looks nice and it makes a lot of sense I think even a 1.5x retina is enough to take away the pixel look in most cases. At my job I have three displays. Two of them are 24” 1080p displays and one is a 27” 4k display. I find the pixels on the 1080p displays to be distracting now compared to a Retina display. They work but I miss the clarity of retina. This is why I do think a 4k display scaled to 5k for optimal PPI is better than just a 2560 wide display. Funny thing about 31{ is it’s an awkward size for PPI. Used as a 2x Retina display and everything is massive. A bit too large. Used as a true 3840 wide display and things are too small. This is why Apple chose 6k for their 32” Pro Display. It wasn’t just for the sake of having 6k but it’s the optimal resolution for 32”. This is why I scale my 32” displays to 6k. It’s not as perfect as a true 6k display but I honestly don’t really see a difference and it looks great and gives me the optimal scale that makes sense.
Immensely valuable! Thank you for the comparison at the end, I will be going for a 4k monitor and scale it to 1440p, instead of buying a 1440p monitor and running it with its native resolution.
Very useful video which I have distilled down to this in my head The image on a 4k will always be sharper due to pixel density You can change the 'Use as' settings to resize the elements to what you want to see Some of the 'Use as" settings are natural or default for the Mac but others might cause issues - but probably nothing you would notice - but for most people just use a default The problem I was imagining was thinking that by scaling a 4k display to 1080, I would get a 1080 quality image - which is not the case So all this is a bit of a non issue.
Excellent video! The topic is one that’s often researched when buying a monitor, and your detailed explanation leaves no room for doubt. Thank you so much!
hi congratulations for the video full of useful details, I wanted to ask having understood that the best is the 27 inch 4k monitor, is this one better or the 32 inch 4k? which one will adapt better to the mac scaling making everything sharper. Thank you so much!
I use a mac book pro for everything and gaming on a ps5, since FC25 can only run max at 60fps I am more than well to use both mac and ps5 on the same 4K monitor Thank you
Great video brother. Do you mind answering a question? If I use betterdisplay app on my 4K scaled at 1440p and use a HighDPi option will the “performance affected due to scaling” prompt disappear? Of are those thing unrelated ? Also, do you still get no impact in performance with Intel Macs? Thank you 🙏🏼
One question that I have is, other than the scaling, when I watch a TH-cam video or Netflix, and I click the 4K option, and I have the 27” 4K monitor with the default scaling, will the video display in 4K or 1080p?
The scaling only affect software ui elements. Media content. You will still get the full 4k resolution of whatever youtube video or Netflix show you are watching
@@HalfManHalfTech Same doubt, I was considering a fire tv stick for media content. I wanna plug my Mac mini, windows pc and Nintendo Switch on a dell 27''' 4k. Your video is a life saver, thank you so much!!!
Thank you for this video. But I don't understand how it depends to MacBook Pro 14 M2 Pro. This MacBook have resolution 3024x1964 (1512x982). How it depends to 5120х2880? Thanks.
How about the LG 27GR93U? which is 4k but 144hz. Would that be able to scale it to 1440p but keep at least a 120hz refresh rate with a M1 Macbook Air? Thanks for the video!
I have an lg 32uq750w that is 4k 144hz and a Mac mini m1, it works perfect with both 1080p and 1440p scaling at 144hz. The only problem that I found is that HDR only works in 1080p mode.
Yes it will. If your Mac can handle 4k at 144fps then it can also handle 1440p at 140fps. The same is also true with your monitor. If it can do 4K at 144 frame per second then it can also display at 1440 P at 144 frames per second. Monitors are usually limited the other ways round. Like some monitors can do 1440 at 250 or even 460 frames per second but once you go 4K, they can only do 4K at 120 FPS
Looking for a new monitor that I will be using with Macbook Pro 16" M3 and I've basically ended up with 2 options (I don't want to go over the 500 Euro budget): 1. Dell U2723QE -> 4K UHD @60Hz USB-C 2. Dell U2724DE -> 2k QHD @120Hz Thunderbolt From what I saw, more people recommend the 4k option, although an older model and at a lower refresh rate. Which would be a better option for working with MacBook Pro ?
@@IonutNegru87 you won’t be able to enjoy the 120hz of you MBP on an external monitor, so if you don’t have a windows computer to plug in for video gaming as well, go for the 4K lower refresh rate.
@@euphoriantraveller8651 Thank you for the recommendation. This is what I did in the end, I bought Dell U2723QE. This works very well also with my dual laptop setup and the KVM works awesome with a dongle!
Hey Half man Techs I see, that you got 1440p @180hz. I also have a 1440p monitor that has USB c and a refresh rate of 170hz. How can I get the 170hz on the 1440p monitor? I'm currently using a USB Hub &. Regular HDMI Cable to connect my M1 MacBook Air to my display. I would like to know how you connected your Mac to the display to get the high refresh rate out of your monitor. Best regards!
Why not opt for a 32" 4K display instead of the 27" 4K one? I would presume that Mac would maintain a 1:1 scaling ratio for the 32" 4K display, similar to how it handles 1440p displays on 1440p screens. However, I wonder if having a larger screen with significantly smaller UI components on a 32" display could strain the eyes.
Well according to the chart at 4m in the video, a 32" 4K falls in the "bad" zone, which I guess suggests that UI elements would be too small for comfort.
A computer and its OS, doesn't have any information about how big your monitor is. It just knows the resolution it's asked to provide. Apple could easily make their OS great for 4K monitors, but then they wouldn't sell as many of their own displays.
@halfmanhalftech how do you feel about videos saying they are having performance issues? Like this guy I’ll link. What you say makes sense that it doesn’t need to refresh the ui unless it’s moving, but what about the actual content or whatever playing or being worked on? Also, people used to always say text never looks as clear when scaled like this, was that fixed? Https://th-cam.com/video/9XVA_N8hyyk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=fEZBwEzROqlYU20X I guess I’m a little confused since you do say an older Mac or a higher refresh rate could affect performance, so that indicates there is always at least some kind of performance hit. So if we buy something that handles it ok now effectively the computer becomes older quicker in the upgrade cycle as things progress? I’m not too worried about gaming, but I would like to get a 120hz display for the smoothness of general use. Is that an issue? I plan on an M4 Pro, maybe a Max. Thanks! Great channel
I see two problems on his video channel. First, the video channel name. Don’t use half tech half man. Try to use more focus name like monitor guy, tech guy, display guy, unbox guy, etc. Even a person name is better than half tech half man. Next one is his profile icon and his clothing (no offence but you are on tech video). You can either put a collar dress shirt over your light color t-shirt or wear darker t-shirt like black or dark blue. People are too entrenched in Steve Job’s black t-shirt or Elon musk’s style.
As I understand it, macOS only shows 1920 x 1080 as the resolution option in settings when using a 27’’ 4K display. Does that mean the display is actually running at 1080p, or is that just a setting while my display is still showing 4K?
@@A-Htje No. No. No. MacOS show 1080 as default resolution for a 4k screen but you can select others. When we talk about scaling is about UI scale, that means everything will be bigger in your screen compared to 4k, so you are losing space. It’s like if you have a 1080 monitor, but your screen is 4k, obviously. You can play videos at 4k.
@@Guillemod Hey @Guillemod, just wanted to double-check. Is it accurate that what he did in the video is that the screen is still 4K, but it can play 4K videos? However, the Mac set it as 1920 X 1080 as the default resolution just for the way the UI looks? So, the screen is still 4K, but the UI appears to be 1920X1080?
I bought 3 days ago a 1440p 27" MSI monitor, unfortunately using it at 2560x1440 is all too small and this thing would make me blind. I'm trying to use the Better Display app and that way it allows me to set lower resolutions by increasing the sharpness and it works pretty well, but I still feel the texts are not very sharp. I will return the monitor and try a 4K 27". Unfortunately, the Retina display on my 16" M1 MacBook Pro has fabulous pixel density.
A More in depth video on this topic with more monitors 👉🏾 th-cam.com/video/odXKT_ge66o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ff7yxWGPDDr0Q0QX
I scale a lot of my 4K displays on MacOS. Sometimes as a 5k scaled or even 6k scaled display. I have two 32” 4k monitors and find the 6k scaled mode works exceptionally well.
I have often thought 2x retina might be a bit much. While it looks nice and it makes a lot of sense I think even a 1.5x retina is enough to take away the pixel look in most cases.
At my job I have three displays. Two of them are 24” 1080p displays and one is a 27” 4k display. I find the pixels on the 1080p displays to be distracting now compared to a Retina display. They work but I miss the clarity of retina. This is why I do think a 4k display scaled to 5k for optimal PPI is better than just a 2560 wide display.
Funny thing about 31{ is it’s an awkward size for PPI. Used as a 2x Retina display and everything is massive. A bit too large. Used as a true 3840 wide display and things are too small. This is why Apple chose 6k for their 32” Pro Display. It wasn’t just for the sake of having 6k but it’s the optimal resolution for 32”. This is why I scale my 32” displays to 6k. It’s not as perfect as a true 6k display but I honestly don’t really see a difference and it looks great and gives me the optimal scale that makes sense.
Immensely valuable! Thank you for the comparison at the end, I will be going for a 4k monitor and scale it to 1440p, instead of buying a 1440p monitor and running it with its native resolution.
Very useful video which I have distilled down to this in my head
The image on a 4k will always be sharper due to pixel density
You can change the 'Use as' settings to resize the elements to what you want to see
Some of the 'Use as" settings are natural or default for the Mac but others might cause issues - but probably nothing you would notice - but for most people just use a default
The problem I was imagining was thinking that by scaling a 4k display to 1080, I would get a 1080 quality image - which is not the case
So all this is a bit of a non issue.
Excellent video! The topic is one that’s often researched when buying a monitor, and your detailed explanation leaves no room for doubt. Thank you so much!
Thanks
So clear in explanation. Excellent tutorial stuff... Thank you!
hi congratulations for the video full of useful details, I wanted to ask having understood that the best is the 27 inch 4k monitor, is this one better or the 32 inch 4k? which one will adapt better to the mac scaling making everything sharper. Thank you so much!
Terrific video explaining scaling on the Mac. Thank you and keep up the great work.
I use a mac book pro for everything and gaming on a ps5, since FC25 can only run max at 60fps I am more than well to use both mac and ps5 on the same 4K monitor
Thank you
Very informative and useful video, thanks
How about Intel MacBook Pro? Im planning to buy 32 inch 4k and scale it at 1440p, will it affect the performance?
Great video brother. Do you mind answering a question? If I use betterdisplay app on my 4K scaled at 1440p and use a HighDPi option will the “performance affected due to scaling” prompt disappear? Of are those thing unrelated ?
Also, do you still get no impact in performance with Intel Macs?
Thank you 🙏🏼
please make comparison for 32 inch 4k vs 32 inch 1440p
One question that I have is, other than the scaling, when I watch a TH-cam video or Netflix, and I click the 4K option, and I have the 27” 4K monitor with the default scaling, will the video display in 4K or 1080p?
@@rafaeldomenikos5978 4k
@@rafaeldomenikos5978 will be 4k.
The scaling only affect software ui elements. Media content. You will still get the full 4k resolution of whatever youtube video or Netflix show you are watching
@@HalfManHalfTech Same doubt, I was considering a fire tv stick for media content. I wanna plug my Mac mini, windows pc and Nintendo Switch on a dell 27''' 4k. Your video is a life saver, thank you so much!!!
great vid. how about 24 inches monitor with 2k/1440p panel. will it run well for mac ? will it scale for that or run default ?
Thanks. This is the most useful video for me to decide on which external monitor I need for the new Mac mini m4.
Highly recommend 32” 4K 120hz+ for Mac/Console gamers.
Do you have any specific recommendations? I'm also leaning towards 32'', the bigger the better I guess
Even more recommended ...Apple give us a newer version 5K Imac 😊
Will 4k monitor have everytthing smaller if its 32" instead of 27"?
Do videos play in 4K if it’s a 4K video even when the ui resolution is set to 1080p?
Thank you for this video. But I don't understand how it depends to MacBook Pro 14 M2 Pro. This MacBook have resolution 3024x1964 (1512x982). How it depends to 5120х2880? Thanks.
Hmmm, 2K is 2000 in the horizontal resolution, it's not 1440p unless you have a closer to 4:3 monitor format.
How about the LG 27GR93U? which is 4k but 144hz. Would that be able to scale it to 1440p but keep at least a 120hz refresh rate with a M1 Macbook Air? Thanks for the video!
I have an lg 32uq750w that is 4k 144hz and a Mac mini m1, it works perfect with both 1080p and 1440p scaling at 144hz. The only problem that I found is that HDR only works in 1080p mode.
Yes it will. If your Mac can handle 4k at 144fps then it can also handle 1440p at 140fps.
The same is also true with your monitor. If it can do 4K at 144 frame per second then it can also display at 1440 P at 144 frames per second.
Monitors are usually limited the other ways round. Like some monitors can do 1440 at 250 or even 460 frames per second but once you go 4K, they can only do 4K at 120 FPS
Which monitor should I get for MacBook Air M1 (2020), View infinity S8 32 inch, BenQ PD2706UA 27 inch or any LG 4K 27inch?
Looking for a new monitor that I will be using with Macbook Pro 16" M3 and I've basically ended up with 2 options (I don't want to go over the 500 Euro budget):
1. Dell U2723QE -> 4K UHD @60Hz USB-C
2. Dell U2724DE -> 2k QHD @120Hz Thunderbolt
From what I saw, more people recommend the 4k option, although an older model and at a lower refresh rate.
Which would be a better option for working with MacBook Pro ?
@@IonutNegru87 you won’t be able to enjoy the 120hz of you MBP on an external monitor, so if you don’t have a windows computer to plug in for video gaming as well, go for the 4K lower refresh rate.
@@euphoriantraveller8651 Thank you for the recommendation. This is what I did in the end, I bought Dell U2723QE. This works very well also with my dual laptop setup and the KVM works awesome with a dongle!
@@euphoriantraveller8651that’s not true. A MacBook can use this at 120Hz just fine
I settled with the Dell U2723QE. It’s been amazing so far
@@HalfManHalfTech Same, I think it is the best choice at the moment.
This is hands down the best video on this topic I've seen to date.
a question. IF i get a 4k monitor but on mac it says 1080p scaled, on games. They resolution will be 1080p sclaed or normal?
Best video I have seen on this topic. But Is it visually much different? A real video up-close the screens would have been much better :)
Thanks for the feedback. It will be considered for future updates.
Hey Half man Techs I see, that you got 1440p @180hz.
I also have a 1440p monitor that has USB c and a refresh rate of 170hz. How can I get the 170hz on the 1440p monitor?
I'm currently using a USB Hub &. Regular HDMI Cable to connect my M1 MacBook Air to my display.
I would like to know how you connected your Mac to the display to get the high refresh rate out of your monitor.
Best regards!
Get a HDMI 2.0 cable with a thunderbolt 3/4 hub
What about using better display on 4K 27 inch monitor can I use 1440p HiDpi. the message that affecting performance will go away?
Great explanation, very helpful!
Why not opt for a 32" 4K display instead of the 27" 4K one? I would presume that Mac would maintain a 1:1 scaling ratio for the 32" 4K display, similar to how it handles 1440p displays on 1440p screens. However, I wonder if having a larger screen with significantly smaller UI components on a 32" display could strain the eyes.
Well according to the chart at 4m in the video, a 32" 4K falls in the "bad" zone, which I guess suggests that UI elements would be too small for comfort.
A computer and its OS, doesn't have any information about how big your monitor is. It just knows the resolution it's asked to provide.
Apple could easily make their OS great for 4K monitors, but then they wouldn't sell as many of their own displays.
@halfmanhalftech how do you feel about videos saying they are having performance issues? Like this guy I’ll link. What you say makes sense that it doesn’t need to refresh the ui unless it’s moving, but what about the actual content or whatever playing or being worked on? Also, people used to always say text never looks as clear when scaled like this, was that fixed? Https://th-cam.com/video/9XVA_N8hyyk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=fEZBwEzROqlYU20X
I guess I’m a little confused since you do say an older Mac or a higher refresh rate could affect performance, so that indicates there is always at least some kind of performance hit. So if we buy something that handles it ok now effectively the computer becomes older quicker in the upgrade cycle as things progress?
I’m not too worried about gaming, but I would like to get a 120hz display for the smoothness of general use. Is that an issue? I plan on an M4 Pro, maybe a Max.
Thanks! Great channel
why this video have only 50 likes?
I guess That’s what I get for being a small channel 😅
I see two problems on his video channel. First, the video channel name. Don’t use half tech half man. Try to use more focus name like monitor guy, tech guy, display guy, unbox guy, etc. Even a person name is better than half tech half man. Next one is his profile icon and his clothing (no offence but you are on tech video). You can either put a collar dress shirt over your light color t-shirt or wear darker t-shirt like black or dark blue. People are too entrenched in Steve Job’s black t-shirt or Elon musk’s style.
As I understand it, macOS only shows 1920 x 1080 as the resolution option in settings when using a 27’’ 4K display. Does that mean the display is actually running at 1080p, or is that just a setting while my display is still showing 4K?
@@A-Htje No. No. No. MacOS show 1080 as default resolution for a 4k screen but you can select others. When we talk about scaling is about UI scale, that means everything will be bigger in your screen compared to 4k, so you are losing space. It’s like if you have a 1080 monitor, but your screen is 4k, obviously. You can play videos at 4k.
@@Guillemod thank you very much for your answer
@@Guillemod Hey @Guillemod, just wanted to double-check. Is it accurate that what he did in the video is that the screen is still 4K, but it can play 4K videos? However, the Mac set it as 1920 X 1080 as the default resolution just for the way the UI looks? So, the screen is still 4K, but the UI appears to be 1920X1080?
@@玉米面-b9jexactly
I bought 3 days ago a 1440p 27" MSI monitor, unfortunately using it at 2560x1440 is all too small and this thing would make me blind.
I'm trying to use the Better Display app and that way it allows me to set lower resolutions by increasing the sharpness and it works pretty well, but I still feel the texts are not very sharp. I will return the monitor and try a 4K 27".
Unfortunately, the Retina display on my 16" M1 MacBook Pro has fabulous pixel density.
so how's ur 4k 27 inch monitor is doing? im thinkign about getting a 4k monitor too
@kumacupp did the 4k look any better then the 2k .please?
@ yes! I swear!
You make no sense. Bla bla........