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Using a Mac Mini on Dell U4919DW Ultrawide Monitor.

(A part of this was posted in another forum but it is more relevant here).

I just purchased a Mac Mini 2018 and Dell U4919DW Ultrawide Monitor. I should be able to get 5120x1440 Resolution out of this setup, but at best I can get 3840x1080.

I am connected via the Dell-included USB-C cable. I tried with the included HDMI cable but it too did not work.

Connecting the monitor to my PC via Display Port Cables DID work - I was able to get full 5120x1440 resolution at full 60hz. Just not on my new Mac Mini.

I called Dell, and their technical support was a complete joke. The lady on the phone basically said "If it works on a PC, it works", without much else to offer.

I called Apple and the tech, David, tried alot harder, easily spending about 20 minutes with me trying to find the problem. (Apple tech support is why they always win my business). He was not able to solve the problem but has created a case # and escalated this to Apple Engineers. By Apple and Dell's own documentation, I should be able to get 1440 lines of resolution in my setup.

Has anyone here experienced anything similar? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Jan 11, 2019 10:56 AM

Top-ranking reply

Mark from 2Much Author

Level 1

34 points

Posted on Mar 11, 2019 8:09 PM

Hi AmMac, yes it would be my pleasure.

First, use 2 cables: Connect the included USB C cable AND the HDMI cable from your Mac Mini 2018 to the Dell u4919dw, and power it up.

Next, enable PBP modern the Dell Monitor by using the Monitor's menu navigation switches on the bottom of the monitor (just right of the center)

Finally, Click on System Preferences / Displays. Your Mac should now see 2 monitors. Set the resolution of both to "Default for Display", not scaled.

If the monitor is backwards, meaning the right side is on the left, click on "Arrangement" and drag one monitor to the right side of the other.

Then exit this window and you're done! You are now in nice 1440 vertical pixels and 5000+ horizontal pixels.

The last thing you may want to do is adjust the color but don't worry this is easy. Go back to System Preferences / Displays again, click on Color for both monitors, and make sure they are both set for Dell U4919DW. This way both "monitors" will exactly match the other in color temperature.

You will LOVE this setup.

For some extra coolness, get Magnet: http://magnet.crowdcafe.com/index.html this program will give you a fast way to move your windows around and "snap" them into place. This program + this monitor make me super productive.

Enjoy!!

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112 replies

Oct 29, 2019 8:40 PM in response to AxelBigDog

Hi everyone, here's a quick update:

Apple's newest OS, macOS Catalina, solves the problem. I can now use my ultra wide monitor as a true single monitor, in its highest native resolution, using only the 1 usb-c cable instead of usb-c + HDMI.

Thank you Apple for fixing the problem!

wolf879

Level 1

8 points

Oct 30, 2019 7:55 AM in response to Mark from 2Much

A little more technical information would be nice here Mark. What screen, what cable, what version OS of Catalina as 10.15.1 just got released as well. I'm updating to that version and will report back whether that works for my Mac mini 2018 with Samsung C49RG90 and standard TB3/Type-C cable.

Oct 31, 2019 5:23 AM in response to Mark from 2Much

Mark from 2Much wrote:

Hi everyone, here's a quick update:

Apple's newest OS, macOS Catalina, solves the problem. I can now use my ultra wide monitor as a true single monitor, in its highest native resolution, using only the 1 usb-c cable instead of usb-c + HDMI.

Thank you Apple for fixing the problem!

Are you using a MBP 13" or Mac mini. Or are you using a 15" MBP? I don't think there really was a problem with the 15".

Nov 1, 2019 9:50 AM in response to Mark from 2Much

Mark from 2Much wrote:

Hi everyone, here's a quick update:

Apple's newest OS, macOS Catalina, solves the problem. I can now use my ultra wide monitor as a true single monitor, in its highest native resolution, using only the 1 usb-c cable instead of usb-c + HDMI.

Thank you Apple for fixing the problem!

I just upgraded based on this post and the problem is *NOT* fixed. At least not with MBP 13". I only see 3840x1080

Nov 1, 2019 10:39 AM in response to etcook

Yes. And to clarify, this is on the Dell 49" U4919DW Monitor, and the Mac mini 2018. And according to my "about this Mac", the graphics card is the Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB.

Here's exactly what I did.

First, connect it with only 1 connector to the monitor, the USC-C cable.

In the monitor menu, navigate to PBP and turn it off. Then make sure your monitor input is USB-C and not HDMI. Boot up your computer. After it boots check your resolution. If you are still in the wrong one, change your resolution to the highest and it should work.

FYI after doing this, I decided to switch back to "Dual Monitor" mode. The Single Monitor mode works perfectly but I need to share parts of my screen via Skype pretty often doing it in 2 monitor mode works a lot better. The only other adjustment I needed to do is to make sure the color profile is the same for "both" monitors.

Nov 1, 2019 11:02 AM in response to wolf879

Agreed. To follow-on, the 3840x1080 resolution (non-native) actually looks pretty good but once you see it native you won't want it. Many people are probably thinking that resolution is native when it's not.

etcook

Level 1

9 points

Nov 1, 2019 11:34 AM in response to AxelBigDog

Honestly, I'm likely getting rid of the monitor and going back to my dual 4Ks because of the lack of resolution. When I purchased the monitor, it didn't even dawn on me I wouldn't get retina resolution. Once I plugged it in, I was shocked at how much difference it makes, especially when working with text (coding) all day.

Nov 4, 2019 5:03 AM in response to Mark from 2Much

After installing Catalina I tried connecting my MBP 13” to my LG 49” monitor using a single USB-C cable and the highest resolution I see is 3840x1080. I would very much like to get the full resolution with the single USB-C cable but I cannot.

Your success seems to be an anomaly because no one else is able to repeat it. I went back to PbP in the mean time because its the only way I can get the full resolution.

Nov 4, 2019 9:31 AM in response to AxelBigDog

Hi AexelBigDog,

Something strange is going on somewhere because definitely works properly on my Mac mini 2018.

If you want, lets talk via Skype or phone. What I can do is tell you my exact settings and maybe we can figure out what the difference is, and post it here for Apple and other users to help clarify this.

Nov 4, 2019 10:16 AM in response to Mark from 2Much

If you go to the Apple logo in your top left corner, click "About this Mac" and then click the Displays tab, what is the text in that screen? Mine shows "Dell U4919DW Display, 49-inch (5120x1440), Radeon RX 570 4GB Graphics"

Nov 4, 2019 10:56 AM in response to AxelBigDog

Hi again,

I'm terribly sorry but you are right. Normally I operate in "dual" mode as I explained earlier. When I upgraded to Catalina, I tried it in single mode @ 1440 vertical resolution and saw that it worked. Today though it seems not to work.

It is possible that I chose the scaled version (by pressing the control key) but I really don't think I did that because running in scaled looks awful and I would have seen it right away I think.

Anyway regardless, you're right. It still does not work properly. Sorry to have wasted your time.

In reviewing my notes on the issue it seems to be an OS or graphics driver problem as it clearly isn't a Mac Hardware problem.

Nov 22, 2019 6:12 AM in response to Mark from 2Much

It is interesting you have seen a change after updating to Catalina. I have done the same on a mac mini 2018, but it still only gives me max 3820x1080. The option for a resolution of 5120x1440 is simply not in the list. And I have taken all the steps you described.

Is there anyone else that has gotten it to work with Catalina on 5120x1440?

Nov 22, 2019 6:54 AM in response to christiaan97

I spoke to an executive relations rep at Apple, and after a long while, they forwarded me the following statement from the engineers:

Based on specs outlined by Intel, the 5K resolution of your Dell display is not actually supported, which is why your original report was sent back as expected behaviour.

Here is a deeper explanation for you:

Intel's data sheet on the processor graphics can be found here, https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/196449/intel-core-i7-10510u-processor-8m-cache-up-to-4-80-ghz.html. As listed under the Processor Graphics section, the max resolution supported is 4096x2304. The one thing that isn’t easily gleaned from this page, is how the Intel processor handles “simple” and “complex” displays. Complex displays present the system with multiple tiles, allowing the processor to recognize larger-than-4K resolutions. The LG 5K display sold in Apple stores is one of those displays. Your MacBook supports and outputs a 5K resolution with that display. Your Dell display, however, is a “simple” display which presents a single tile to the processor, therefore limiting the resolution it can output to the maximum capability of the graphics processor. In this case, a maximum resolution of 4K, which is what your MacBook Pro is doing.

Regarding your Windows 10 boot camp partition being able to drive the display at 5K, is something we are unable to explain as it is beyond the spec Intel has explicitly outlined. Answers to that, unfortunately, can only be answered by Intel or Microsoft, as we are only able to speak on the behaviour of macOS.

BennetS

Level 1

4 points

Nov 26, 2019 4:42 AM in response to AxelBigDog

Are you 100% sure the Macbook Pro 15" is working with the resolution 5120x1440 out of the box as single display? I'm thinking about to order the display and fear that I run into the same troubles. I will own the new Macbook Pro 16" (which I orderd last week) I guess when the 15" works, the 16" should work as well.

Nov 26, 2019 2:55 PM in response to BennetS

I can confirm Dell U4919 works at full resolution with MBP 15” via single USB-C cable.

The only catch is that the USB-C supplied with MBP wont support the resolution so you need to use the cable supplied with monitor.

Using a Mac Mini on Dell U4919DW Ultrawide Monitor.