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

I Think you're in the wrong thread friend...

Whoops, didn't read your earlier post... Yeah I have the original TB and just sold it for $860 on eBay.

Does this not let the consumer assume that the newest MBPr will be able to drive a 4K display through the Thunderbolt 2 Port? I would say yes it does, but the TB2 Ports can't power a 4K display because, as previously stated, MST is disabled in Mavericks for the 15" MBPr Late 2013.

yes, but it's only a refresh rate issue, you can drive a 4k Display via Displayport/Thunderbolt, but only at 30Hz.

Unfortunately no change with latest 10.9.2 Beta 2.

But that's not true either! There is no display port 1.2 functionality with the Thinderbolt 2 Ports through OSX. You can only use first gen SST through the TB2 ports... The ONLY way to hook up 4K is through the HDMI port which is only 1.4 (not 2.0). How do u know that there's no support in 10.9.2 Beta? Evidentially there was a new build released today.

DannyWoods wrote:

But that's not true either! There is no display port 1.2 functionality with the Thinderbolt 2 Ports through OSX. You can only use first gen SST through the TB2 ports... The ONLY way to hook up 4K is through the HDMI port which is only 1.4 (not 2.0). How do u know that there's no support in 10.9.2 Beta? Evidentially there was a new build released today.

3860x2160@30Hz (Dell UP 3214Q) works just fine over displayport!

the lack of 60 Hz (currrently only possible via Multi Stream Transport MST, and this is not implemented in OSX Geforce graphics driver) and missing HiDpi functionality is the problem...

I'm pretty sure Apple just wants everyone here to buy a new mid 2014 computer to get the functionality of 4K 60hz under Displayport even though they could just update the drivers to support it. They want you to buy a new computer. It's the Apple way. For example, the first gen retinas 2011 could support 4K 30hz through a workaround and were not officially supported for it. Then next year Apple officially supported it, but only for the 2012 model. This year the same thing except the drivers need to be for 60 and the port supports it. It's called something like artificial limitation or planned obsolescence and Apple thrives on it. They simply want you to, if you really need the feature to simply buy a new machine.

You mean *late* 2014? (For the Macbook Pros at least.) Here's hoping late 2013s have a good resale value. The 2012's lost over $700 in value instantly, and that's the new price.

Seriously, though, how long has it been since we've had to buy a new computer just to support enthusiast class monitors? When Apple launched the first 30" monitor, you did need dual-link DVI to support it, but AFAIK, all the Macs had it at the time, and all the graphics chips supported it. Now, at least 4 vendors have released 4K monitors, not to mention a slew of 4K televisions that could also be used...

Apple prepared for retina displays years in advance - they should have been ready for 4K.

So basically, even though my new MacBook Pro Retina 15" (Late 2013) Maxed out version (16/1TB). has Thunderbolt 2, I can't use it to drive any 4K displays at MAXIMUM REFRESH RATE currently?

What about the new Thunderbolt 2 LG displays coming out soon?

Once again, that monitor is for the Mac Pro, the only machine currently capable of 4K through Mac OSX. Apple wants you to buy a 2014 MacBook Pro to experience 4K. They do not want to update their drivers for 4K60hz for the 2013 model as they believe it would jeopardize sales of the 2014 MacBook Pro model. They know that the pro's that demand 4K60hz will take no compromises and opt for the newest model. It's a smart business decision for them as a whole, because ultimately even though it could make some small percentage of people unhappy it gives them a big selling point for the 2014 model. In other words, they know most people won't know that the 2013 MacBook Pro model is technically capable of 4K 60hz and they're right. Because they won't update the drivers.

You may be right, but what makes this so sad is it means that there really wasn't anything that compelling to make the 2013 rMBPs more valuable than the 2012 rMBPs. The main interest was that DisplayPort 1.2 meant breaking the 10 gigbit barrier, which isn't needed for sub-4K resolution.

Without that driver, the only real advantages I see to the 2013 model are a faster hard drive and AVX2 if you do SIMD programming. (Unless you use it as a Wintel laptop...) I wonder if it's possible for a third party to write video drivers? After all, you don't need to jail break Macs yet...

I am trading up my MBPr Late 2013 for the Mac Pro. **** all that 4K business with the MBPr. I don't need a laptop and it never leaves my house (or desk for that matter). I got one only for the reason in case I needed to get work done elesewhere, or with a client which to date, hasn't happened. For 1000 more bucks I can get a loaded 6-core with 4 times the power and the capability for 4K at 60Hz times 2. Worth it in my opinion. Also much more open for expansion (not as easily as the last MP, but still expandable). Folks are already making 3rd Party SSD's and there's talk about reverse engineering the daugter board with a 3rd Party GPU. The newest Mac Pro should last me 5 years...

Just an extra $1000 or more for the Mac Pro and the an additional $2000 for a quality 4K monitor.

...yeah, really cheap.

Never said it was cheap, but in the long run will pay off vs having to buy an entirely new MBPr every time there's a needed hw update. Like a previous poster mentioned (and I also know this from experience) that the MBPr loose a third of their value right after a new update. This doesn't happen with the MP, or at least hasn't in previous years. Even new info I've encountered is that the CPU is completely upgradeable as noted by overseas Mac supplier, OSW, who was able to swap out the Xeon processer with little complications.

There is another angle to your argument that Apple won't update drivers in the late 2013 15" rMBP as a form of planned obsolesence to drive sales of the 2014 version. Once Apple releases a new TB2 4k display, it seems obvious to me they would want to provide a compelling reason to as many people as possible to purchase that display. Wouldn't Apple want to open up the market for that display to the most amount of customers possible? I, for instance, own an older 24" Cinema Display and now a fully maxed out late 2013 15" rMBP. I have no interest in upgrading the Cinema Display until something comes along as fully featured as the current model TB display and has 4k. It would be baffling to me if Apple released a 4k display, but artificially excluded some of their existing customers from taking full advantage of the new display specs by refusing to update drivers. Here's to hoping that driver updates come no later than Apple's eventual release of a TB2 4k display.

In my opinion Apple will likely never release a 4K display but will release a display in a future time frame with 2X the display resolution of their current Thunderbolt display. We know this because this is how Apple operates now. That means that the resolution will be 5120x2880. If Apple wants anything to work it will be that monitor and only that monitor for high resolution external connectivity on the Late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina.