What monitor set-up have you got?

General Prog (Archived)
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Please share your set-up details :slight_smile: and what do you like or dislike about your setup?

  • Do you use a laptop?
  • A laptop in conjunction with an external display? (which one?)
  • A laptop in clamshell mode?
  • A desktop with a monitor? (which one?)
  • Or multiple screens or other elaborate set-ups?
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15" laptop screen + 27" 4k screen at work. At home just my 15" laptop since I move around and am too lazy to dock to anything.

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I either use laptop (just builtin screen) but thinking of getting


once I upgrade notebook for use while traveling.

On the desktop I have 2 monitors Acer CB240HYK 24 4K and cheap Acer S200HQL Black 19.5 FullHD IPS
(was thinking of getting maybe 3 more of those as they run at like $60)

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I currently use my 11" MBA in clamshell mode most of the time, with a 27" Dell at 1920 x 1200.

I used to run it with a 32" Dell that while offered higher res, I ran at 1920x1200 and let the onboard scaler stretch it fit the pixels - this resulted in stunningly smooth text :slight_smile: (Basically this was like Apple’s Retina before they even dreamt of it!). When the monitor got to 4 years old I sold it (guarantee was five years).

I now want to get a 4 or 5K monitor that I can scale down to get that buttery smooth text again - love the look of the new LG 5K Apple monitors as you can control brightness via your Mac, but the lack of hdmi/other inputs is off-putting.

Might even consider a 4K TV… just to see! :lol:

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but it runs $300 - $600 less than 5k Dell or HP 27" monitor

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Really? I didn’t realise it was cheaper - currently £884 here with their 25% off offer. I can get a 32" 4K Dell for £799 ish.

I don’t actually need 5K, but it if meant smoother on-screen text I would consider it.

4K TVs can be as cheap as ÂŁ350 here - wonder if any have been found to be any good as a monitor?

The two biggest pros of the LG 5K for me is controlling brightness via Mac (I don’t like screens that are too bright - my dell is at 50% when the default was 75% - tho it has been calibrated too) and that it can act as a hub.

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I’ve basically spoken of my home setup elsewhere already, so quoting. :slight_smile:

And as for work I have two low-end Dell 21" monitors that do not rotate or have USB or anything. ^.^

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there is a huge difference in pricing between 4K and 5K :slight_smile: monitors
Dell UP2715K is about $1,550 vs LG $950 in US

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They are about the same price here…

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I’m using a 2015 15" MBP with an LG 34UM95-P at both work and home. The display is 34" 21:9 with 3440x1440 native resolution. I connect the display to the laptop via Thunderbolt 2, and use a USB mouse/keyboard which remain plugged in to the monitor indefinitely - they are relayed correctly by the TB2 cable without any additional config, as are my external speakers which connect to the monitor indefinitely via 3.5mm jack. It’s basically a rather nice monitor with built in KVM capabilities. I keep the laptop closed in clamshell mode, but out of personal taste rather than for performance.

To expand on that “KVM” sentence, at home the display is shared with a Windows 10 desktop which connects over full-size Displayport, and uses a secondary USB A-to-B cable to use the mouse/keyboard. Sound again routes correctly to the speakers over the DisplayPort cable. I just switch inputs on the monitor and video, audio, and input peripherals all make the jump accordingly. Very pleasant.

Small caveat - LG offers a nearly identical model of this display without Thunderbolt support, which is way less useful to OS X users IMHO. It’s definitely much cheaper, and I think it comes with a -C suffix instead of -P.

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