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How To Pick an External Display For Your Mac
Comments: 18 Responses to “How To Pick an External Display For Your Mac”
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Thanks for the info on a confusing subject! I have a question. The maximum resolution of my iMac 27 inch is 3200 x 1800. When I do a full screen capture, the resolution of the image is 5120 x 2880. Why the difference?
My 2013 iMac is reaching the end of it's life. I'm thinking of replacing it with a MacBook. Would I be able to use my 27" iMac as a monitor on the new MacBook?
JC: What makes you think the maximum resolution of your Mac is 3200x1800? Not sure which model you have, but it is probably 5120x2880.
Denise: Probably not. Only much older iMacs can do "Target Display Mode" and those are not UHD so you probably don't want to bother with that.
The latest version of Big Sur (11.4) appears to have fixed a bug that caused 27" and larger screens to randomly go blank. I have an LG monitor and that was really annoying. Although I can't find anything in the 11.4 release notes that mentioned the problem, it seems to have been resolved. The Lord Apple works in mysterious ways.
Arnie that’s interesting thanks. Mine does that but I assumed it was the monitor. I’m still running 11.3.1 so will upgrade now
In system preferences, it actually says "Looks like 3200 x 1800". I overlooked the words "Looks like". Does that mean that if I want a second display to look as close as possible to my native display, I should choose a resolution close to 3200 x 1800?
JC: So that means macOS is taking your 5120x2880 screen and displaying things as if it were a 3200x1800 stretched to 51280x2880. But there are still that many pixels. You wouldn't need to match that with a second display at all. You should use whatever works best for you. A second display is unlikely to be the same physical size as your iMac, and probably not the same quality, so use what suits you best.
Brilliant, clear, easy to follow and very helpful. Thank you.
Good video, Gary! After years using Dell & Samsung displays, I bought an LG Ultrafine 27" 5120x2880 $1300 display from Apple store for my 2019 MacBook Pro 16. I am totally happy! My wife was so impressed, we bought another LG Ultrafine 27" 5120x2880 for her 2020 M1 MacBook Air. Color & quality are super. FYI, my 2019 MacBook Pro 16 was advertised as Retina 3072x1920, but it actually has 3584x2240 pixels.
Arnie, my 27" LG monitor has also blacked out for several seconds over the past few months, so I'll get the OS update going, too.
Gary, Not sure which Thunderbolt cable my mac uses. New Mac Book Pro (M1 2020) 13". Where do I find this out? Thanks again. Ken
Ken: All of the M1 MacBooks use USB-C Thunderbolt ports.
Thanks, very useful and pertinent.
Hi Gary great and timely video topic.
Currently I have a iMac Retina 5K 27 in Late 2015 (5120 x 2880) - Great computer I use it primarily for photography editing.
Whenever more iMacs with M1 chips come out I may want to upgrade, probably next year 2022. My question is that since I really like the current screen on my current iMac, can I use this 2015 27" iMac as a second monitor?
I currently use as 2nd monitor an older NEC PA241W 24" 1920 x 1200 unit
Don: No, you can't use that Mac, or any modern iMac with a Retina display, as a stand-along screen.
Gary: When I am looking for a display for the new MacBook Pro M1, it seems to be a difficult job. I am trying to follow your suggestions. How does one know if the display is compatible with a MacBook Pro? It is not very often the specs say the display is for both Windows and Mac. Thank you.
Diane: Displays are standard. Any modern computer display should work with a Mac, PC, or whatever. I'd avoid any that doesn't offer DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort or USB-C as a connection option. HDMI-only is a sign that the screen isn't very good. On Amazon, you can search Q&A and reviews. Search for "Mac" to see Mac users commenting how they like it with their Macs.