Spakuloid

Q: LG 31MU97 4K Display not showing 4K on MacPro

Hey there - I just bought the LG 31 MU97 4K Display and the best resolution I can get out of it is 3840 x 2160. Wondering if there needs to be a service update of something similar in order to get the full 4K on the new 2013 MacPro - thanks.

Mac Pro (Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1), 6 Core

Posted on Nov 3, 2014 2:18 PM

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Q: LG 31MU97 4K Display not showing 4K on MacPro

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  • by Spakuloid,

    Spakuloid Spakuloid Nov 7, 2014 8:54 AM in response to TrackPadIsMagic
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Nov 7, 2014 8:54 AM in response to TrackPadIsMagic

    Yes - I am using display port and I just don't have the same options that pop up on my display pref's panel when I use the alt key. the highest resolution selection that I get is 3840.

  • by EdAnuff,

    EdAnuff EdAnuff Nov 8, 2014 4:24 PM in response to Spakuloid
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Nov 8, 2014 4:24 PM in response to Spakuloid

    Over in the MacRumors forum, there's some posts from the author of SwitchResX that document how to get 4096x2160 @ 50Hz with this monitor on an nMP.  Doesn't seem possible to get 60Hz yet for some reason.

  • by jwg53,

    jwg53 jwg53 Nov 13, 2014 7:18 AM in response to EdAnuff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 13, 2014 7:18 AM in response to EdAnuff

    If you have been following the MacRumors form, then you know that Apple needs to update its AMD drivers to fully support this display on the nMP running OS-X. The display is fully supported for Windows using the new Window drivers provided by LG - even on the nMP running Windows. (I'm not a Windows fan!). Unfortunately, Apple does not have a good track record on providing up to date graphics drivers. I learned this the hard way with my Quad-G5 PowerPC. I was hoping that Apple would provide better support for the nMP when I brought mine. I should have known better :-(

     

    HEY APPLE - WAKE UP!!!!

  • by Spakuloid,

    Spakuloid Spakuloid Nov 13, 2014 8:24 AM in response to jwg53
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Nov 13, 2014 8:24 AM in response to jwg53

    This is pretty much what I thought was the case. Anyway I am fine at 3840 x 2160 for now. Really - it is a great monitor.

  • by redon77,

    redon77 redon77 Dec 8, 2014 9:39 AM in response to Spakuloid
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 8, 2014 9:39 AM in response to Spakuloid

    Got mine today. Just worked out of the box :-))

    40096 x 2160

    Mac OS 10.10.1

    MacPro Late 2013

    AMD FirePro D300 2048 MB

  • by Spakuloid,Apple recommended

    Spakuloid Spakuloid Dec 8, 2014 10:00 AM in response to redon77
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Dec 8, 2014 10:00 AM in response to redon77

    Yeah I think the latest OS update a few weeks ago fixed it. Works fine here too.

  • by jwg53,

    jwg53 jwg53 Dec 8, 2014 10:50 AM in response to Spakuloid
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 8, 2014 10:50 AM in response to Spakuloid

    50Hz or 60Hz?

  • by Spakuloid,

    Spakuloid Spakuloid Dec 8, 2014 11:05 AM in response to jwg53
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Dec 8, 2014 11:05 AM in response to jwg53

    50

  • by diogenes1,

    diogenes1 diogenes1 Dec 12, 2014 6:41 PM in response to Spakuloid
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 12, 2014 6:41 PM in response to Spakuloid

    After reading all this, I decided to go for the LG 31MU97 and am happy with the purchase.  Here is my configuration:

     

    MacPro (Late 2013)

    Yosemite 10.10.1

    AMD FirePro D700 6144 MB

    DVIGear Display Port 24AWG DisplayPort to DisplayPort Copper Cable, 3.3 ft

    Cable Matters MiniDisplay Port (Thunderbolt compatible) to DisplayPort male to female adapter - 4K resolution

    SwitchResX 4.5.0

     

    With this setup, I got the following available recommended (in Bold font) resolutions in the menubar SwitchRes dropdown list:

     

    4096 x 2160 at 50 hz  Pal/17:9

    3840 x 2160 at 60 hz NTSC/16:9

    2048 x 1080 at 50 hz Pal/HiDPI/17:9

    (and many other resolutions in both bold and plan formats)

     

    However, for routine work, the first two resolutions yield too small type, while the 2048 x 1080 is too large.  Although it was not a "bold" resolution, I find the available 2560 x 1350 at 50 hz Pal/HiDPI/17:9 resolution to be sharp and easy to read.

     

    When I am using Aperture for photographic editing, then the 4096 x 2160 resolution is outstanding for detail.  If you see grain in the photo it is from the camera sensor, not the display!

     

    Some have commented on edge bleed of light with a black desktop.  When sitting centered and with the plane of the monitor perpendicular to the line of sight, there is minimal bleed at the lower corners.  I found that there was less bled than on my Apple 27" Thunderbolt display. With any lights on in the room, I don't see the bleed on either screen.

     

    I have not yet gotten the included TrueColorPro software to work.  It complains about not having a USB connection - need to research this.

     

    Perhaps Apple will supply updated drivers/firmware for the AMD card, but I don't feel I am missing much thanks to SwitchResX and possibly the latest Yosemite update.

     

    I did not use the Apple Preferences Monitor pane to set this up.  However, at the 2560 x 1350 setting ,it shows "Scaled" and highlights the middle resolution. If I change to "Best for Display" SwitchRes reports that it is set at 4096 x 2160 at 50 hz  Pal/17:9.  If I select Show Low Resolution modes and hold down the Option key while clicking on the "Scaled" button, I get a longer list of resolutions, with all the ones I prefer shown, as well as others.  So, SwitchResX does not appear to be necessary, though there are additional resolutions available that are not shown in the Monitor Preferences Pane and I like having all resolutions available from the SwitchResX MenuBar dropdown menu.

     

    Finally, I swapped out the DVIGear and Cable Matters cable/adapter combo and replaced it with the included LG DisplayPort to Thunderbolt cable tagged "Real 4K x 2K and found that I still had all the above resolutions and all the others reported by SwitchResX.

     

    I didn't notice any changes on the screen when switching between "Wide" "Original" and "1:1" in the LG Monitor "Easy Control" settings.  Maybe rebooting is required, but I haven't tried this yet.

     

    Hope this is helpful to others researching monitors for the Mac.

  • by macreal,

    macreal macreal Dec 15, 2014 1:27 AM in response to redon77
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Dec 15, 2014 1:27 AM in response to redon77

    did you just connect monitor after out of box?

    is there are any other utility like switch res X?

    hmm strange.. why mine shows only 3840 resolution.

  • by redon77,

    redon77 redon77 Dec 15, 2014 5:19 AM in response to macreal
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2014 5:19 AM in response to macreal

    right out of the box

    no switchRes or other

    However I am not shure whether I did set DisplayPort to 1.2 on the monitor manually or if it was already set.

     

    Nice monitor!

    Seams a bit slow (Needs more time than my previous monitors to switch from one open window to an other one or to open a dropdown menu or the dock) but maybe that's just a feeling?

  • by macreal,

    macreal macreal Dec 15, 2014 5:56 AM in response to redon77
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Dec 15, 2014 5:56 AM in response to redon77

    thanks reply

    Are you sure it's 4096 x 2160?

    in my case it's only 3840 x 2160 is best resolution.

    i can't find the way to set 4096 at any try.

  • by diogenes1,

    diogenes1 diogenes1 Dec 15, 2014 6:25 AM in response to diogenes1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2014 6:25 AM in response to diogenes1

    As a follow-up to my post, I am finding that the LG 31MU97 appears to be slowing down initialization of Aperture.  It takes about a minute after starting Aperture before the program is ready to view photos, while with the Apple 27" Thunderbolt display, it takes about 5 seconds.  I tried repairing and rebuilding the Aperture database, but no improvement.  I suspect that if there was some way to force replacement of the thumbnails with ones specifically for the new display that this problem might be solved, but for now, it might be that the AMD 700 driver from Apple is not optimal for the LG display.  It sure would be nice if LG or Apple would provide definitive answers.

  • by redon77,

    redon77 redon77 Dec 15, 2014 9:31 AM in response to macreal
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2014 9:31 AM in response to macreal

    Bildschirmfoto 2014-12-15 um 18.29.24.png

     

    4096 x 2160

     

    10.10.1

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