5120 x 1440 Resolution

Question

Level 1

16 points

5120 x 1440 Resolution

Hello Community,

I cannot seem to get 5120 x 1440 to work on my new MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) with a Philips Brilliance 499P9H (5120 x 1440 @ 60hz).

The specs for the Air read "One external display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at up to 60Hz" via Thunderbolt 3.

I have used a few other people's Windows PCs with success to make sure that it's possible. I have tried various Thunderbolt 3 cables with no success on my Air as well it is always 5120 x 1080 @ 60hz.

I have tried the 'close the laptop', 'i have tried the laptop powered by usb and the monitor', and 'mission control: displays have separate spaces' from forums.

FWIW, I have looked at the SwitchResX details and it doesn't have 5120 x 1440 as a possible resolution.

I am connecting directly to the monitor from the laptop, not with a magnetic dongle or usb-c port replicator / dock or similar.

Thanks for you help.

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on Jun 3, 2019 8:01 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jun 27, 2019 1:30 AM in response to gmillerd

I think with the supplied USB-C cable by Philips will not work. From looking at the Philips spec sheet of the monitor, it just has USB-C and not Thunderbolt 3, so maybe that is the issue. I assume you are getting 3840 x 1440 as the max resolution.

Saying that, you could use the dual input method that some other users have done with the Dell and LG 49" models. Enable PBP on the Philips and feed in 2 inputs from your MB Air (1x USB & 1x HDMI for example). The MB Air would see it as 2 2560 x 1440 displays, which should give you the same resolution you are after.

Reply

Answer 2

KoSoVaRv

Level 1

13 points

Oct 28, 2019 7:08 AM in response to Weotch

Hey all -- this is not a problem with the cable you're using (most likely). Several other folks around these forums and other forums are reporting this same problem. User Leo971 on this forum posted in this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8641919. It appears the problem is related to EDID overrides and Apple has not corrected this for displays at 5120x1440 for Intel integrated graphics yet..

Reply

Answer 3

DuCousso

Level 1

4 points

Aug 14, 2019 2:17 AM in response to gmillerd

It's a (not very well) known issue. The approach here should work, but it's not without its own idiosyncrasies.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250079605?page=2

Reply

Answer 4

Tesserax

Level 10

158,592 points

Sep 7, 2019 9:30 AM in response to gmillerd

As you know your 2018 MBA can support 5120 x 2880 @ 60Hz via its USB-C port directly or via a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter. If using the latter, the display must support, at least, the DisplayPort v1.3 standard for 5K @ 60Hz.

In addition, as RichardN has eluded to, the cable must be able to support the high data transfer rates needed for 5K. For DisplayPort, it would have to be a HBR3-type cable. Finally, the cable length is also critical. I believe the standard is 2m or less. Anything longer will have difficulty with the higher resolutions.

You may also find the following article helpful:

Use 4K displays, 5K displays, and Ultra HD TVs with your Mac - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 5

gmillerd Author

Level 1

16 points

Jun 27, 2019 3:58 AM in response to Richard.N

As stated, I have used a number of cables, cables that have produced the resolution on this very monitor using other machines. The Philips cable is a 40gb half meter cable, pretty much what the other cables are.

No the resolution isn't 1440, "it's always 5120x1080".

The only way through this is a SwitchResX profile (not scaled) it seems. People say they have this working, but there aren't any details on what they used (a profile with 5120x1440@59.9 and so forth doesn't work). I have contacted the author and the feedback is very guarded. The laptop knows what 5120x1440 ought be and conflicts with setting this exactly, so a slightly different resolution or frequency is needed so apple won't see it as a conflict.

Or like you say throw away everything and go with a two input solution. Using a cable and a dongle with two video or two cables As inputs with a dongle. This is a pretty horrid experience. I am sure it's not noticeable with two monitors, but it's odd with the ips. Something on the laptop doesn't like this. When I use my work laptop (does 5120x1440 and has a dock with extra dp ports) the strange lag between monitors doesn't occur. It's as if the arrangement is glitched.

Reply

Answer 6

Oct 9, 2019 1:17 AM in response to gmillerd

I can confirm now it works on Catalina I have a MacBook Pro 2016 Touch Bar with a 49 inch Philips WideScreen

Reply

Answer 7

gmillerd Author

Level 1

16 points

Jun 4, 2019 10:08 AM in response to kaz-k

Thank you Kaz, I did the procedure. I can see that it was successfully executed as it changed the contrast and volume. But this did not change the resolution issue.

Reply

Answer 8

rhsr

Level 1

4 points

Sep 7, 2019 7:12 AM in response to gmillerd

I Have the same issue with my Imac 27"5k 2019 !

Reply

Answer 9

gk2012

Level 1

8 points

Oct 12, 2019 10:04 AM in response to robinG_76

Hi RobinG, i use Catalina 10.15 with 499P9H and can not use 5120x1440 resolution. Only option is 5120x1440 (low resolution) under display settings. Can you advice how you did?

Reply