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

Hi all,

I am the guy who posted on Rene's site. I have tried various Mac combos as you can see in my post there:

http://rene.rebe.de/2014-01-27/dell-ultrasharp-24-4k-up2414q-on-mac/

I think someone wanted a clarification on my bootcamp Iris scenario. Intel has something called collage mode which allows you to put two monitors together and be seen as one ( similar to eyefinity ). It works, but only if you use just the external display. You have to keep your laptop closed or else it will attempt to join that to the collage and it just isn't workable.

So if you want 60hz in Bootcamp with rMBP 13" ( late 2013 ), you get one monitor. Otherwise you can run with multiple monitors and the O/S will then see the external display as 2 monitors instead of one ( this is a driver detail ). Perhaps Intel will fix the drivers. Also, it does not work at all in 60hz under Mavericks 10.9.3.

I have also tested this with the Samsung 28" 4k display. It was awful. The dell blows it away. That samsung is super low quality, leaks light, and was just generally unpleasant.

I hope this helps someone.

-t

yes i have. The Samsung display was abysmal quality compared to the Dell. I sent mine back and got a second Dell.

It was functional at 60hz w/rMBP 15 (n750). It was just such a poor quality monitor that it was not worth it for me.

thanks! So it does work with the 13" MBPr 2013 (i own one too).

How was the 4k@60Hz performance, was it ok?

I checked this morning and I don't have any kind of icon added near the wifi symbol, and it doesn't seem to detect it connected at all, eg:

$ system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType

Graphics/Displays:

Intel Iris Pro:

Chipset Model: Intel Iris Pro

Type: GPU

Bus: Built-In

VRAM (Dynamic, Max): 1536 MB

Vendor: Intel (0x8086)

Device ID: 0x0d26

Revision ID: 0x0008

gMux Version: 4.0.8 [3.2.8]

NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M:

Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x8

VRAM (Total): 2048 MB

Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID: 0x0fe9

Revision ID: 0x00a2

ROM Revision: 3765

gMux Version: 4.0.8 [3.2.8]

Displays:

Color LCD:

Display Type: Retina LCD

Resolution: 2880 x 1800

Retina: Yes

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Built-In: Yes

Dell U2713H EDID override:

Resolution: 2560 x 1440 @ 60 Hz

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Display Serial Number:

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Rotation: Supported

Connection Type: DisplayPort

@jonniecache:

yes it works on bootcamp with some caveats. please read the link i posted to rene's site where i explain the quirks. it does NOT yet work @ 60hz under Mavericks.

This is an important point you make. Knowledge Base article HT6008 makes no distinction between the 13" and 15" late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina with reference to supporting 60Hz on the displays they tested. Apple support told me that the KB article explicitly identifies the 13" model as supporting 60Hz. It's looking like when 10.9.3 dropped, for whatever reason, the engineers pulled support for the 13" though it would seem that it does support 60 Hz (as many here and elsewhere have already identified). My tech support call is running up the ladder to the graphics engineers for a find answer.

I'm using the Dell UP2414Q connected to my MBPr 13" late 2013, and I'm not getting 60Hz even with DP 1.2 enabled on the monitor, nor do I see the scaling icons as shown in the HT6008 KB article.

It's surprising to me that Apple wasn't more thorough with the KB article--I mean people are making purchasing decisions based on that information--which is exactly what I did.

Lol wow Apple. Check your link they have updated the article today as of 5/28/2014 to specifically state only the 15inch model.

I'm actually quite happy with the Dell UP2414Q, even at 30Hz connected with my late 2013 13" MacBook Pro. For me, 4K is a game-chaning improvement. For what I use it for--mainly writing, web surfing, and light photo editing work--it's fine, though I note that window interactions like minimizing, displaying dialog sheets, etc., seem a bit stuttery. I'm sure my next Mac will support 60Hz (though I still hope Apple will offer 60Hz for the late 2013 13" MacBook Pro with a future software update. Anyone out there care to comment on the interface performance difference between 30Hz and 60Hz as it relates to the Iris graphics and the Dell UP2414Q? In other words, I wonder if Iris Pro at 60Hz is dramatically better with the UP2414Q than what I've got now.

Resurrecting this thread....

Does anyone know if the 15" Macbook Pro (late 2013 or mid 2014 models) with Iris Pro ONLY (not with discrete Nvidia 750M chip) supports 60Hz output with SINGLE stream transport mode (not using multi-stream transport)? There are a couple monitors that have been introduced since the last post in this thread that have new hardware scalers that support 60Hz refresh rate without relying on the multi-tile trick used by MST. The monitors are 28" Samsung U28D590D and the 28" Asus PB287Q. I'm curious if anyone has hooked up the 15" Macbook Pro with Iris Pro to these monitors and seen if it can output 60Hz with SST. Anyone tried out this combo?

I have that model - that Late 2013 rMBP 15" with only Iris Pro graphics, and I have it attached to an LG 34UM95-P running at 60Hz.

As far as I know, I'm using SST - I have not done anything special to enable/use MST. I just bought the monitor and plugged it in using a mini-DP to DP cable.

Let me know if you need more details. Thanks.

Hi Larry,

Thank you for your reply and feedback about your setup. However, I'm not sure it quite settles my question because the resolution of the LG 34UM95-P monitor doesn't need the MST workaround. As I'm sure you know, the LG has an atypical aspect ratio but its resolution of 3440x1440 (4,953,600 pixels) isn't that much more than the resolution of my old 30" Apple Cinema Display (2560x1600 = 4,096,000 pixels). Monitor scalers have had the capacity to handle around 5 million pixels without any tricks - it's only with Ultra HD/4k monitors with 3840x2160 resolution and 8,294,400 pixels that the monitors needed to resort to MST until new scalers could be rolled out that could handle all those pixels without multiple tiles.

So, still wondering if any has an 15" rMBP Iris Pro only plus Ultra HD monitor w/ SST that can answer my question...anyone? 🙂

VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Guys,

As you would remember, late/October 2013 15'' rMBPs (both the low-end models with Iris Pro 5200 and high-end model with discrete Nvidia 750M became capable of outputting 4k 60Hz without any problem with 10.9.3. However all late/October 2013 13'' rMBP models, all of which sporting Iris (non-Pro) 5100, were opted out at that time.

I've confirmed with TFannon that his late/October 2013 13'' rMBP can now output 4k 60Hz with both 10.9.4 and 10.9.5 updates! However, the current Yosemite Beta can only do 4k 30Hz!

There are also some improvements on the Bootcamp side with the latest Intel driver 15.36.3.64.3907. Now the Iris 5100 can output 4k @ 60hz AND use the built in display as a side monitor-- previously, when the collage mode was enabled, you could get 4k @ 60Hz where Windows recognizes the monitor as one external screen, but you could not use Mac’s screen at all. In addition, Iris 5100 can also power a 3rd display (non-4k) just fine.

I hope Apple would not revert to 4k 30Hz with the final release of Yosemite...

I'm running Yosemite Public Beta 3, which outputs 4K @ 60 Hz. In fact, I think all the public betas have output at 60 Hz.

Sam,

1) On which particular rMBP can you get 4k 60 Hz? Is it late/October 2013 13'' rMBP with Iris 5100?

2) Not the public beta, but Yosemite Developer Preview #8 cannot do 4k 60 Hz. My bad.

Sorry, I'm on a rMBP late 2013 Iris Pro (non discrete) 15", so perhaps my machine is irrelevant to this convo.