The 24" Dell P2415Q has a published native resolution of 3840x2160 at 60 Mz. It has DisplayPort input. Can I expect that my MacBook Pro 13 with Retina Display (Iris Graphics) will successfully drive this Dell monitor? Are there better 4K monitor options?
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)
Just to clarify that to make it work at 60Hz you'll need mDP to DP v1.2 cable.
It will work like charm, except that your fans will run at about 3500 -4000 rpm all the time.
For sound you'll need to connect external speakers either via display or your Mac's aux 3.5 port.
The experience is overall great though 😉
This should answer your question 🙂 Using 4K displays and Ultra HD TVs with Mac computers - Apple Support
Thanks. I have read the Apple Support article you cite. It does not list the new P2415Q monitor, though it is similar to the one of the Dell monitors Apple has certified. My main concern is whether the MacBook Pro 13 will drive the monitor at 60 Hz or will it be limited to 30 Hz?
This is from their website:
You can use 4K displays and Ultra HD TVs at the following resolutions and refresh rates via the built-in HDMI port.
3840 x 2160 at 30 Hz refresh rate
It will only do 4k @ 30Hz (limitation of Iris graphics) Specs https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/ , I did see in the Dell manual ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-produ...uide_en-us.pdf that it does a 1:1 pixel mapping so still should be able to do HiDPI @ 60Hz ( maybe 2560x1600 => 1280x800 Retina "best for display" or some other variant ) via SwitchResX with black borders.
This is an update on the question about the use of the Dell P2415Q 4K monitor with MacBook Pro 13" and 15" w/ Nvidia graphics card installed. The monitor works very well with both systems and is automatically identified when connected. The 13" machine with Iris Graphics defaults to 2560 x 1440 at 60hz. This was very workable, matching the Apple Thunderbolt Display for resolution. I was not able to set the display for full 4K at 3840 x 2160, even at 30hz. Just not enough horsepower with the basic Intel CPU with Iris Graphics. But make no mistake, the setup works well and the screen looks great.
The 15" with Iris Pro Graphics and the Nvidia GeForce GT 575M discrete graphics card also recognized the display and drove it at full 4K, 3840 x 2160, 60hz with no problems. Running in clamshell mode required a bit of fine tuning with the Apple display settings. But nothing major.
Due to a relatively small workstation, I selected the 24" version of the Dell monitor. If you are looking for a relatively large monitor with near "retina" resolution, the P2415Q is a perfect pairing for the MacBook Pro - and a terrific bargain. I paid $530 on the Dell website.
This is great news ... does anyone know if this Dell P2415Q 4K monitor would also work fully (3840x2160 @ 60hz) on my 15" MacBook Pro (late 2013) with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB graphics card?
Hugh
Click on the link provide by AlfexOmega in his first response.
Ciao.
That article doesn't refer to the P2415Q ...
I presume that the connection is through the one of the TB2 ports, leaving the second to plug in (for example) a thunderbolt hard drive. I guess I don't really understand what MST means.
Hugh
HughGriffiths wrote:
That article doesn't refer to the P2415Q ...
I presume that the connection is through the one of the TB2 ports, leaving the second to plug in (for example) a thunderbolt hard drive.
Yes.
I guess I don't really understand what MST means.
MST = Multi-Stream Transport
Ciao.
Thanks. And now a really basic (i.e. maybe silly!) question. What cable do I need to connect MBP to the Dell monitor - I assume a Thunderbolt to full Displayport is what I'm after.
Hugh
On the Mac side you will need a cable with a minidisplay port fitting. You will have to determine the connection requirements for the 4k monitor. I do not have one so I cannot advise you on same.
Ciao.
The DisplayPort cable you need is included with the Dell monitor. The monitor has a MST setting in its onscreen menu, but no set up is required. The monitor is plug and play. Connect the monitor to you MBP via Thunderbolt2, the monitor is recognized and driven at full 4K resolution, 60Hz. I'm sure Apple Support will eventually update their 4K monitor recommendations to include the P2415Q. One additional point, if you need/want sound, you'll need a pair of speakers. I recommend the Bose Companion2, Series II for $100 for decent sound quality. The monitor includes an audio output jack to drive the speakers, thus only two connections to the MBP are required - power and DP. Very tidy arrangement.
Thanks cirrus15! I am not that great at music - so my MBP speakers are adequate (although I can see the time when that won't be true). I also have a 4TB Seagate thunderbolt drive attached to the laptop: would I be able to daisy chain that from the monitor, or would I need to use the 2nd thunderbolt port?
Hugh
When you plug in an external display, the MBP onboard speakers are disabled - so if you want sound, external speakers are necessary. (There may be some work around to keep the MBP speakers online. I'm just not aware of the method, if there is one.) Your Thunderbolt drive would need to be connected to one of the MBP TB ports. The Dell monitor has provision for additional USB ports, but no TB ports. This is one advantage that the Apple Thunderbolt display has over the P2415Q.
Can I use a Dell P2415Q 4K monitor with my new MacBook Pro 13?
