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

Agreed; my money is on 10.9.2 adding MST support.

So the consensus is that 4k@60Hz via MST is simply a hack - a necessary stepping stone until it can be done the right way?

Correct. All current prosumer 4K monitors (at least as far as I know) achieve 4K @ 60HZ by using MST, which, as you stated, is basically a hack -- two 1080p 30Hz streams joined together; but this "hack" works just fine on Windows, and the refresh rate, color depth, etc. are all great. I'm betting Apple will update the drivers in 10.9.2 as I said, but let's wait and see. Either way, for current mac owners, at least there is SOME solution (windows).

If you are really interested in a 4K monitor and want it to be future proof, I suggest you wait until the monitor manufacturers start producting monitors that support HDMI 2.0 -- with HDMI 2.0 it will not be a "hack" -- but again, it will require a new video card, and of course, a new mac that actually supports HDMI 2.0 (none do thus far, not even the "new" mac pro).

I highly suggest checking out CES 2014 -- it will be the year of HDMI 2.0 and true 4K support.

Well, I guess the goal is determined by the title of the thread, which is "Does the new Macbook Pro 15" (late 2013) supports 4K via Thunderbolt/Displayport?" I assume the creater of the thread must have meant "full" support of 4K in the title. i.e. 4K @ 60Hz, which the discussion revolves around in the entire thread.

Therefore, any means and adapters in this context that would lead to outputting 4K @ 60 Hz is IMO greatly relevant. Especially if we go through the worst case scenerio where Apple won't update the drives for Mavericks (which is quite possible given Apple's statement on the Sharp 4K monitor), then such adapter is the only way to output 4K @ 60 Hz with Mavericks. Even if Apple updates the drivers, such adapter would still be great because HDMI is ubiquitous and Mac users would prefer connecting from the Mac OS instead of Windows. This will also obviate the need for installing Windows for the people who will be installing it just to connect their Mac to a 4K display.

Regarding MST and full DP 1.2 support on Mavericks, of course that is ideal, but it does not constitute the "core" of this thread.

Am I missing something here? What was their "statement" on the sharp 4k monitor? I thought the statement only mentioned HDMI, which has nothing to do with displayport...but I could be wrong. Can you post a link?

EDIT:

Nevermind, you're right...wow....

Link:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/HD971LL/A/sharp-32-pn-k321-4k-ultra-hd-led-mon itor

Statement:

Note that 4K DisplayPort operation is only compatible with the new Mac Pro (Late 2013).

If they don't upgrade the drivers for the retinas that have TB 2.0, I'll be ****** ******. That was the whole point of TB 2.0 -- to get 4K displays working.

And Intel Iris and Iris pro are fully capable of doing 4K @ 60Hz, and so is the NVidia...what the heck apple?

Maybe they will update the statement on their site after 10.9.2 comes out?

Man...this is not looking so good now...

Message was edited by: NiqueXyZ

i think this post is quite interesting.

And just out of curiosity: How does the current Thunderbolt Display get its video signal? That other thread is also discussing a new generation of displays, which uses Thunderbolt directly as an Interface, instead of Displayport 1.2 HBR via Thunderbolt?

But i thought that Thunderbolt is nothing but a combination of Displayport, Power and PCIe? And the PCIe won't help much without an external video adapter, which will not be integrated in any display, right? Also, Thunderbolt2 claims a data rate of up to 20 GB/s, while Displayport 1.2 HBR is 17.28 GB/s, so there shouldnt be much capacity left?

Anyway I still expect apple to have a plan for the thunderbolt 2 interface on the current MBPr's. They have to come up with an own 4k display eventually, and it would be quite stupid to exclude all those recent MBP buyers due to incompatibility. Maybe we are actually meant to wait with any 4k purchase until that apple display comes out?

Just to correct or clarify terminology: as far as I know (please correct me if I am wrong), DP 1.0 or 1.1 uses HBR, and DP1.2 uses HBR2. As a matter of fact, since TB2 incorporates DP2, both TB2's and DP2's claimed data rate should theoritically be the same.

I've just found this information http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5918?viewlocale=en_US

Note that these displays default to 30 Hz (instead of 60 Hz) and need to be manually configured to 60 Hz using the display's built-in controls.

• For the Sharp PN-K321, you can modify this under Settings > DisplayPort STREAM.
• For the ASUS PQ321Q, you can modify this under OSD menu > Setup > DisplayPort Stream.

kogir wrote:

I'm out of town for a bit, but once I get back, I'll try first with 10.9.1, and if needed, 10.9.2. Hopefully I'll have good news to report.

And nope. 😟

no changes in 10.9.2?

Correct. So that confirms it -- *all* of these current "4k" monitors get to 4K by using MST.

They're not using HBR at all. And that's why none of them support HDMI 2.0

None of these displays will be future-proof at all man -- not a single one of them.

If you're really wanting to spend that much on a display, I'd wait for a proper one.

The only reason we (my company) bought them is for testing purposes.

Guy from reduser says apple will update the drivers to support HBR in the future when HBR displays start coming out...it's not that far fetched I guess. I just don't understand why they won't enable MST on OS X right *now*

NiqueXyZ wrote:

Guy from reduser says apple will update the drivers to support HBR in the future when HBR displays start coming out...it's not that far fetched I guess. I just don't understand why they won't enable MST on OS X right *now*

So the new Mac Pro also can't drive any current 4k Display at 60Hz?

Would be really kind of embarrassing for apple...

http://store.apple.com/us/product/HD971LL/A/sharp-32-pn-k321-4k-ultra-hd-led-mon itor

"Note that 4K DisplayPort operation is only compatible with the new Mac Pro (Late 2013)."

That's definitely wrong, my new MacbookPro also can drive the new Dell UP3214Q via displayport, but only at 30Hz.

You need to enable MST on the monitor itself to get 60 hz

NiqueXyZ wrote:

You need to enable MST on the monitor itself to get 60 hz

we know that 😉 but you can't enable MST in Mavericks...

MST *is* enabled in Mavericks, but ONLY on the new mac pro.

This is a driver issue -- the NMP has those AMD firepro whatevers.

As far as why Intel and Nvidia haven't updated their drivers to enable it (for the retinas), I have no idea.

Maybe the performance ***** when you're driving an external 4K display @ 60HZ and the internal retina display at the same time?

Also -- something else I thought to try when I get back into work with the "old" mac pro -- try MST with an NVidia GTX 680.

I bet it will work just fine.

In fact, I will email my NVidia contact and ask him if it works.

EDIT:

Guess not. LOL. They're not going to update the driver to support MST on OS X for the GTX 680. Wow.

http://forums.evga.com/tm.aspx?m=2045884