Can an iMac display 5120x1440 full resolution to external monitor?

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Can an iMac display 5120x1440 full resolution to external monitor?

Hi. I have an iMac 27in 5K (Late 2015) and I have Samsung CRG9 as my second monitor (to duplicate display). Is it possible to get the full resolution of that monitor (5120 X 1440) from the iMac?

The Samsung display doesn't have a Thunderbolt connection, but it has HDMI 2.0 and DP 1.4

I’m currently using Thunderbolt 2 to HDMI, but max at 3840X1080 resolution.

When I tried Thunderbolt 2 to DP 1.4 cable, display goes wild/colored pixels.

I already tried two DP 1.4 cables (CableMatter & Accell)

please help. And thank you.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Jun 8, 2020 12:06 AM

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Answer 1

onaiR125 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 8, 2020 3:00 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

Thank you for the link.

please correct me if I’m wrong, that ”dual-cable external display” means that it require two DisplayPort cables (?)

My Samsung CRG9 only has HDMI 2.0 and DP 1.4 only

does that mean I would need an adapter/special cable?

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Answer 2

Jun 8, 2020 3:59 AM in response to onaiR125

The Samsung CRG9 has two DisplayPort inputs and supports PBP (Picture by Picture). See page 37 in the manual.

https://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/201906/20190620123947635/BN46-00901B-Eng_for_India.pdf

This should make it act as two displays of 2560x1440

Connect it with two Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cables.

In "Mission Control" system preference, disable "Displays have separate spaces".

In the Arrangement tab of Displays system preference, make sure the two external displays are side-by-side.

You should be able to drag windows to the external display and size them to use the entire screen.

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Answer 3

onaiR125 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 8, 2020 10:15 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

Thank you. I did what you advise.

two Mini DisplayPort to two DisplayPort 1.4 cables

Using PBP (Picture by Picture), I was able to get 2560x1440 display side by side w/o spaces in the middle.

So is this what Apple meant by "dual-cable external display' (??)

With this setup, unfortunately I have to pick 'Extend Display' ....vs 'Mirror Display'

This won't work for me because I didn't want to use the build-in display/iMac because of damage/crack on the screen.

So it seems there is no other way for me to display 5120x1440 in one screen?

Unless Im wrong?

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Answer 4

Jun 8, 2020 11:30 AM in response to onaiR125

Mirroring wouldn't have worked anyway because the display shape is so different from the iMac.

in the Arrangement tab of Displays system preference, drag the white menu bar from the image of the iMac's display to the image of the exterior display. That should make the external display act as the main display, with dock and menu bar.

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Answer 5

Jun 8, 2020 6:43 AM in response to onaiR125

The Apple spec saying dual-cables is for 5120-by-2880. Since the display is only 5120x1440 it should work with one cable, but since that gave problems, the dual-cable mode may be better.

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