Second display for new 27" iMac 5K Retina

Question

Second display for new 27" iMac 5K Retina

I'm considering the new (2020) 27" iMac with Retina 5K display and have some questions about hooking up a second display.

My goal would be a second display that matches the resolution, color and (as close as possible) the size of the built-in display. I can live with bezels, but other than that would like the two displays to appear as "seamless" as possible for use as an extended desktop.

If I'm reading the specs correctly, to connect a second monitor, all I would need would be 1) to use one of the included Thunderbolt 3 DV ports (it has two), and the second display itself - the included video card (any of them, actually) should support the internal display plus a second at up to 6K (6016x3384)@60Hz with 1 bazillion colors. I assume there's no additional display adapter or other potential complications needed (just power and theThunderbolt/USB C cable) - correct?

Bottom line: I'm looking to have both displays (the internal and an external) match, to the extent that's possible.

Can anyone suggest good options for a second monitor that would work well with this 27" iMac in a side-by-side configuration? Thanks.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Aug 8, 2020 1:53 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Malcolm J. Rayfield

Level 7

23,059 points

Aug 8, 2020 6:22 PM in response to longtimemacuser666

The 27" iMac is 5K 5120 x 2880, not 6016 x 3384.

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications

If you want an external display with the same screen sixe and resolution, you can get the LG UltraFine 5K Display from Apple.

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/HMUB2LL/A/lg-ultrafine-5k-display

Reply

Answer 2

Aug 8, 2020 5:54 PM in response to longtimemacuser666

So, I've been looking around. And I'm concluding that...Apple has made this all but impossible. Please correct me if I have jumped to an incorrect conclusion...

Apple markets the iMac display as a "5K" display, with a resolution of 6016x3384.

As best I can tell, there are no other 27" monitors that exist in the world that have a native display of 6016x3384. No separately-sold monitors claiming to be "5K" (oodles of 4K screens, some 8K), none boasting native resolutions of 6016x3384. None. The built-in iMac 27" screen appears to be the only 5K, 6016x3384 display. In. The. World.

It seems some folks are using a (scrapped?) 27" iMac as a second display on their 27" iMac. I don't have a dead or otherwise unused 27" iMac sitting around and available for use as a screen so that's not exactly practical.

I'm a bit gobsmacked by this. I find it hard to believe that I am the first person who wants a second screen for their 27" iMac (and want the display to more or less match the internal one).

So, it seems that if I want two displays for my 27" iMac, and I want them to both have the same display resolution (so there's no huge difference in appearance between content on one versus the other, like when dragging a document or open Finder window from one display to the other), then the only way to have that is to buy TWO more monitors (that match each other) and then not use use built-in display?!

Am I missing something obvious here?

Reply

Answer 3

Jeff Donald

Level 7

27,833 points

Aug 8, 2020 6:13 PM in response to longtimemacuser666

The resolution of the 5K iMacs are 5120 by 2880 pixels. I believe LG makes screens with the same or similar resolutions. If the style/cosmetics are that important you can look into older iMacs, as you mentioned, but they will not match the resolution of the 5K retina iMacs.

There are third party devices like this that would work with newer Retina iMacs.

https://shop.astropad.com/

Be sure and check the specs, vendor return policy and make sure it’ll meet your needs.

I hope this helps.

Reply

Answer 4

dialabrain

Level 10

126,389 points

Aug 8, 2020 6:25 PM in response to longtimemacuser666

longtimemacuser666 wrote:

As best I can tell, there are no other 27" monitors that exist in the world that have a native display of 6016x3384. No separately-sold monitors claiming to be "5K" (oodles of 4K screens, some 8K), none boasting native resolutions of 6016x3384. None. The built-in iMac 27" screen appears to be the only 5K, 6016x3384 display. In. The. World.

As noted the resolution is 5120x2880. The confusion is it can drive up to two 6016x3384 additional monitors with the proper GPU. You can just add one 5120x2880 monitor.

Reply

Answer 5

Aug 8, 2020 6:34 PM in response to dialabrain

Best Buy has it.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-ultrafine-27-ips-lcd-5k-uhd-monitor/6362421.p?skuId=6362421&irclickid=xl0X7hVqsxyOTa7xTSQPxVT4UkiTlC0zXTZ0yM0&irgwc=1&ref=198&loc=PriceSpider&acampID=0&mpid=78091&intl=nosplash

Reply

Answer 6

dialabrain

Level 10

126,389 points

Aug 8, 2020 6:41 PM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

Not the ones near me. They might somewhere. What's interesting is they claim they can ship it to me by Aug 17th but if I want to pick it up at the store not until Aug 19th. So makes me wonder if they can get them anytime soon.

Reply

Answer 7

Aug 8, 2020 9:14 PM in response to dialabrain

Thanks, all. And I appreciate the correction on the resolution.

I had heard of the LG (it does seem to be discontinued, sadly...as noted, still available if you look hard enough in the right places) but was thrown off by the apparent resolution. It sounds like a decent option.

I assume that any of the video cards currently offered for the 27" iMac would work adequately. I'm thinking the upgraded video cards would be "nice to have" but not critical, with better performance for games/videos, but for what I do (very limited video editing, no watching movies, no gaming, but lots of photo editing) the benefits of the video card upgrades would be limited (true?) and my extra spend would be best applied elsewhere (RAM, storage).

So I'd probably lean towards more/faster cores, maxing out the RAM (can install it myself), and bumping up the size of the SSD, rather than splurging on an upgraded video card. Does that seem like a reasonable approach? (And springing for the second display.)

Thanks again for the help.

Reply