alex_dlc
Level 1 (4 points)
Desktops

Q: My 27" iMac has been missing the 1920x1080 resolution option since the day I bought it. Apple kept telling me it should be fixed in future OSX updates but that still has not happened.

I have an early 2013 27" iMac that I customized with all the best options at the time. Since I bought it, the resolution options have not displayed 1920x1080 as an option, I have tried several things like holding down the option key but noting worked. Over the past years I have asked Apple several times about this, and their answer was always "It should be fixed in upcoming OSX updates. Well, its been a few years already, and 3 new versions of OSX and the problem was never fixed. I am almost sure its an issue with the Nvidia graphics card, but I cant contact them for support because they cant really do anything about it. Its not like I can update the card drivers, Software Update is supposed to handle that.

 

I think its ridiculous that I've had this problem for such a long time with no help at all from Apple. Its not like I'm missing a non standard resolution.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), 3.4Ghz i7 · 32GB · GTX 680MX 2GB

Posted on Aug 30, 2016 7:51 AM

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alex_dlc

Q: My 27" iMac has been missing the 1920x1080 resolution option since the day I bought it. Apple kept telling me it should be fixed i ... more

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  • Helpful answers

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Aug 30, 2016 8:07 AM in response to alex_dlc
    Level 9 (58,093 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 30, 2016 8:07 AM in response to alex_dlc

    What happens when you:

     

    Set the resolution for your primary display

    1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Displays, then click Display.
    2. Select Scaled, then select one of the scaled resolution options.

  • by alex_dlc,

    alex_dlc alex_dlc Aug 30, 2016 8:14 AM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 30, 2016 8:14 AM in response to rkaufmann87

    What do you mean by 'what happens'? If I select any of those resolutions, the display changes to that resolution, but that is not the problem. The issue is that 1920x1080 is not on that list.

     

    Also, I should mention that it's not that I want my display to be at 1920x1080. The problem is that games, either from Steam or from the App Store, also dont show the 1080 option. These games just show the list of resolutions that is available on my system, and since 1080 isn't there, I cant play the games in 1080.

    Screen Shot 2016-08-30 at 17.10.26.png

  • by rkaufmann87,Helpful

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Aug 30, 2016 8:22 AM in response to alex_dlc
    Level 9 (58,093 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 30, 2016 8:22 AM in response to alex_dlc

    What happens when you scroll down below the options shown in your screen shot? Do you see an option for 1080p, if not then your 2013 simply does not offer that option.

  • by alex_dlc,

    alex_dlc alex_dlc Aug 30, 2016 8:23 AM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 30, 2016 8:23 AM in response to rkaufmann87

    No, 1080 is not there. And how can my iMac just not have that resolution?!? The iMacs before mine had it, the iMacs after mine had it, and the current iMacs have it. I have checked many iMacs over the past few years and every single one had 1920x1080.

     

     

    (btw, I just accidentally marked your previous reply as helpful. It was not)

  • by den.thed,

    den.thed den.thed Aug 30, 2016 8:29 AM in response to alex_dlc
    Level 7 (27,358 points)
    Aug 30, 2016 8:29 AM in response to alex_dlc

    Give "Display Menu" from the Mac App Store a try.

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/display-menu/id549083868?mt=12

  • by Tom Nelson1,

    Tom Nelson1 Tom Nelson1 Aug 30, 2016 8:38 AM in response to alex_dlc
    Level 4 (2,709 points)
    Aug 30, 2016 8:38 AM in response to alex_dlc

    This may sound silly, but is it an actual problem not having the resolution in the scaled list? I ask because I have my iMac set to default for the display, and I don't have any problems running games from stream, or for that matter any game no matter what the resolution the games wants to run in.

     

    Do you have some specific games that are causing the problem?

     

    Tom

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Aug 30, 2016 8:52 AM in response to alex_dlc
    Level 9 (58,093 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 30, 2016 8:52 AM in response to alex_dlc

    Yes, I agree it wasn't what you wanted to hear.

     

    I'm at a loss, try Den.Hed's solution and see if that works for you.

     

    Good luck.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Aug 30, 2016 9:07 AM in response to alex_dlc
    Level 7 (31,878 points)
    iPad
    Aug 30, 2016 9:07 AM in response to alex_dlc

    My iMac is a 2012 and doesn't have it:

     

    Screen Shot 2016-08-30 at 8.56.57 AM.png

     

    As far as I remember, they made some major changes after the 2010 iMacs - my 2010 had it, but I haven't seen that screen resolution since. And, FWIW, the resolution is higher (and therefore much more and clearer details) than a 1080. So, your iMac has not been "missing" the feature; it hasn't been available. You can still get the 1080 on an external display. Or, you can get the 1080 on a 21" iMac. Here is some screen resolution info:

     

    Screen Shot 2016-08-30 at 9.02.44 AM.png

     

    And here is a current offering from Apple:

     

    Screen Shot 2016-08-30 at 9.00.58 AM.png