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Does the new Macbook Pro 15" (late 2013) supports 4K via Thunderbolt/Displayport?

I understand that the new Macbook Pro 15" (late 2013 with Nvidia) supports 4K screen resolutions via HDMI at low hertz. But does it support 4K via Thunderbolt/Displayport? I read on Intel's web that the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB memory in theory can support it. Would be important as a range of new 4K 32" monitors will come out over the next year. Would be great for photo, video editing etc.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Oct 24, 2013 2:48 AM

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Posted on Oct 26, 2013 10:30 AM

I also am very confused by this because per apple's support page it only supports 4K via HDMI at 30Hz but SHOULD support 60Hz via a mini display port 1.2 specification built into thunderbolt 2.


However, I think it does include 60Hz support (although not mentioned on apple's website). My evidence of this is that on the ifixit teardown they found a an Intel DSL 5520 Thunderbolt 2 controller which according to Intel's and Wikipedia's website is falcon ridge which means it should support Display port 1.2 natively. Plus, on apple's thunderbolt page they specifically mention connecting a 4K display to a macbook pro through the thunderbolt port (not which is suggested by the support page listed above):


"Now with Thunderbolt 2 built into the new Mac Pro and MacBook Pro with Retina display, you can connect the latest 4K desktop displays and get double the bandwidth for your peripherals. And the two generations of Thunderbolt technology are compatible with each other."



Also, the Apple mini displayport support page has not been updated since 2012 but I believe it is just showing old information


The BIG piece of evidence against the new macbook pro's supporting 4K through the thunderbolt port is that on apple's tech specs page they specifically mention 4K under the HDMI section but make no mention of it under the thunderbolt 2 section.

312 replies

Mar 7, 2014 2:36 PM in response to ivancucer

Unfortunately there is no 4k @ 60 Hz for rMBP in the beta 10.9.3 because Khaos Tian (the person who had announced the improvements of this beta release on the Internet) has just confirmed that "rMBP has the new option for resolution scale but not 60Hz" and his rMBP is the high-end 15'' with the Nvidia 750M. Given this, in my opinion it is unlikely 60 Hz would be available for low-end 15'' rMBP with Iris Pro and 13'' rMBP with Iris.


See his twitter conversation in this regard: https://twitter.com/KhaosT

Mar 7, 2014 8:30 PM in response to mg428

mg428 wrote:


Thanks for the links guys. I've gone through all of them and it seems the models of the Haswell rMBP subjected to this test have not been indicated in those links.


Confirmations from Haswell rMBP owners who happen to have 4k 60Hz monitors would be greatly appreciated. Please kindly indicate which particular Haswell rMBP you own.


Mine is model MacBookPro11,3 and configured as described in my previous posts.


mg428 wrote:


Unfortunately there is no 4k @ 60 Hz for rMBP in the beta 10.9.3 because Khaos Tian (the person who had announced the improvements of this beta release on the Internet) has just confirmed that "rMBP has the new option for resolution scale but not 60Hz" and his rMBP is the high-end 15'' with the Nvidia 750M. Given this, in my opinion it is unlikely 60 Hz would be available for low-end 15'' rMBP with Iris Pro and 13'' rMBP with Iris.


See his twitter conversation in this regard: https://twitter.com/KhaosT


Look closely at the picture in my previous post and note the vertical refresh rate.

Mar 8, 2014 4:50 AM in response to kogir

Thank you, Kogir. I did not think that screenshot was taken by you.


I guess 11.3 was a typo?? Did you mean the Haswell 13.3, if so which particular model? According to the first page of this thread you seem to own the high-end 15.4 inch Haswell rMBP with Nvidia 750M GPU. That's why I am confused. Which monitor did you try it by the way? Because, if you got this refresh rate with the high-end rMBP, then the fact that Khaos Tian could not get it with the same computer can only be attributed to different monitors. Or perhaps either you or Khaos disabled the 750M and got 60Hz through the Iris Pro.

Mar 8, 2014 9:45 AM in response to mg428

mg428 wrote:


I guess 11.3 was a typo?? Did you mean the Haswell 13.3, if so which particular model?

11,3 is the 11th Generation MacBook Pro 15" late 2013, afaik with Iris Pro and GT 750M.

11,1 is the 13" Iris model:

User uploaded file.


Btw i could not find anything solid confirming the 4k 60Hz capability of the 13" MBPr. Considering the intel spec sheet its not looking good i guess. (i own a 13" as well and would buy a 4k display only if 60Hz support is confirmed)


But very nice that apple will make this possible for the 15" MBPr. And of course the HiDPI modes for those desparate Dell 24" owners.

Mar 9, 2014 1:21 AM in response to mg428

mg428 wrote:


Dear Aron77,


Please kindly state which particular 4k monitors you have tried on and try not only 750M, but also the Iris Pro (by disabling the 750M) and let us know if any/either/both of the GPUs is/are capable of 4k@60Hz.

Aron,


What has happened to your post? Has the Apple Support Communities deleted it? I don't see it anymore.


Anyhow, just to let you know that Khaos Tian, the person who first discovered the new scaled resolutions and 60Hz refresh rate broader compatability upon the 10.9.3's release, has just declared his own setup on Twitter-- he has the exact same rMBP and monitor you have but he cannot get 60Hz. This is quite intersting...

Mar 9, 2014 3:41 PM in response to aron77

aron77 wrote:


Yes, the support guys deleted it. Anyhow, the beta won't stay beta forever...

This is ridicilous, as if you are disclosing an classified information.


Anyway, I really cannot understand why Khaos Tian could not get the 60 Hz refresh rate while you could with the exact same rMBP and Dell monitor. May be this is the reason why they removed your post. As a side note, Khaos states that the option for selecting refresh rate was not available at all.

Mar 9, 2014 5:17 PM in response to Holger G.

Holger G. wrote:


It actually seems to be the case that Khaos Tian’s 15" rMBP does output 4K at 60 Hz to the Dell UP2414Q, as his screen’s OSD indicates:


https://twitter.com/KhaosT/statuses/442733969994313729


He states, however, “Both rMBP and nMP says 60Hz (…) but it feels different …” (https://twitter.com/KhaosT/statuses/442733770483851264)

Thanks for sharing this. He first said 60Hz is no-go for rMBP but I guess he has discovered it works. It is very apparent from the youtube videos he has posted that 60Hz on rMBP is laggy compared to nMP, which might be expectable given the different specs.


Perhaps kogir or Aron may comment on how smooth the 4k 60Hz experience is and compare it to Khaos's videos below?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD6x8Ja-F5o&feature=youtu.be


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxaTEq4ANb8&feature=youtu.be


If you guys concur that 4k 60Hz is not smooth as in Khaos's video, then it is very obvious we should not expect a pleasing experience at all on Iris Pro and Iris, let alone 4k at such refresh rate.

Mar 10, 2014 8:35 AM in response to johnniecache

Fair enough. (Nonetheless I'd love to hear Kogir's and Aron77's comments because Khaos Tian's youtube videos demonstrates a very laggy 4k @60hz performance on Haswell 750M rMBP)


Isn't there a single Haswell Iris 13'' and Haswell Iris Pro 15'' rMBP owner who also has a 4k 60Hz monitor that may check if they get 4k @ 60Hz, at least on Windows??

Does the new Macbook Pro 15" (late 2013) supports 4K via Thunderbolt/Displayport?

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