MacBook Air M1 with 4K Dell monitor

Question

Level 1

11 points

MacBook Air M1 with 4K Dell monitor

Hey,

I was thinking about getting a new external monitor for my MacBook Air M1. From what I can tell, the Dell P2721Q 27-inch 4K USB-C Monitor seems like a good choice.

I would like to get 4K at 60Hz through USB-C, so that I can use the Monitor-MacBook as a "one-cable-setup" .

From what I have read on this forum/page and also others, some people say that it's a great choice and it works, while other say they get nothing but issues with the P2721Q-M1 duo (screen flickering, 4k only at 30Hz, can't get RGB output,...) .

What I'm most interested in: Does anyone (by any chance) use the P2721Q monitor with the M1 successfully and could describe their setup (what cable, setting, etc.), they use to get 4K at 60Hz.

Additionally:

Is the M1 Air appropriate for running a 4K external monitor, or will I run into performance issues? I mean, 4K means a lot of pixels to push...

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Mar 19, 2021 4:52 AM

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Answer 1

DonH49

Level 6

16,716 points

Mar 19, 2021 6:16 AM in response to luka_s

you have a difficult problem to deal with because of Dell not supporting Apple systems. They work fine if selecting a model which conforms. I've run into that issue multiple times and have experienced the 27 inch Dell 4k 2718Q and the 32 inch 4k 3219Q both work fine. On all types of Macs although I've not tried on a M1 Mac but it should work. I think you should not be hung up on a one cable system though. Use what works and just because a vendor says that the device has this and that does not mean they all work reliably.

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Answer 2

Mar 25, 2021 6:01 AM in response to luka_s

Hi,

I'm currently using the Dell P2721Q, and I've experienced the said flickering screen. Right now, I'm using Macbook Pro 13" 2020 M1 version. I do not consider it is like flickering, but at times it just likes shaking on the pictures when there's too much color, i.e., scrolling through websites with dark and colorful pages. Not too sure is that the USB cable C issues, or I will need to go ahead and purchase the Thunderbolt 3 USB-C cable. Not too sure.

Regards,

Danny

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Answer 3

luka_s Author

Level 1

11 points

Mar 19, 2021 6:57 AM in response to DonH49

So you had no problem with the P2721Q on Macs? Do you think LG would be a better choice than Dell, when used with Mac?

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Answer 4

DonH49

Level 6

16,716 points

Mar 19, 2021 8:34 AM in response to luka_s

no comment. I'll only say that when 4k first came out and I had their best 4k ($1300.00) , the only thing I have currently from it is the 4k cable. I don't use that because I don't have faith in it.

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