LG Ultrafine 5k. I have used two of them for 10 years. Still the finest display I’ve ever used. $795 on Amazon.
The monitor’s shielding could be at fault.
In 2017, all new LG Ultrafine Displays experienced a problem after the release of macOS 10.1.2.4. macOS turned off the display for few seconds every 5 minutes. Apple diagnosed the problem as improper shielding on the LG monitors. LG repaired all units for free. Problem gone.
An easy test to discover the culprit: Cover the sides and back of the display with aluminum foil. If the problem continues, send me the foil, and I’ll fashion myself a hat.
Good suggestion. However, the problem was the Thunderbolt cable. A new one from OWC fixed everything.
So has anybody here worked on an ASUS ProArt PA27JVC 5K display? There are a couple reviews online, but “influencer” videos are not my idea of an unbiased review, so I’m hoping somebody here might be able to share their honest opinion.
The ViewSonic VP2788-5K and BenQ PD2730S are not available here (yet?) so if I do not want the 5K Samsung or the LG, this is right now my only bet for a Studio Display alternative. With its specs and for $800 it sounds like an interesting option, but I’d be curious to hear from somebody who has worked in front of one for hours before I order one just to try it out myself.
I’m considering one of those options as my second monitor, I have a Studio Display and want another 27" 5k, mostly curious about the ViewSonic but local suppliers are quoting end of July…
The Benq is now available in the UK.
And of course the Asus already was.
In the end I didn’t go 5K. Instead I bought an external 2K monitor (so I can have a portrait display when I’m working away) and pre-ordered a Nintendo Switch 2. Priorities, I guess. ![]()
I have the 5k LG 27" Display connected to my m1 Mini; love it in all of its Retina fabulousness.
I also have a 2k (or QHD) Lenovo 24" panel that I use with my work at home Dell notebook. Before I got the 5k LG, I used it with Mini too.
Both provide the workspace of 2560x1440 (effectively). Of course the retina 5k looks best, but a 2k QHD at 24" is pretty nice. I think the pixels might be more noticeable if it was a 2k QHD at 27".
My usual recommendation - if you can afford it a 5k 27" Studio Display or LG, etc. is best. But if that’s not doable, a 2k QHD in 24" or 27" is perfectly serviceable, and far more useful than the 24" 1920x1200 I have at work (and especially the 24" 1920x1080 I had before I begged IT for an upgrade).
If the choice was between a 24" 2k QHD and a 27" 4k, I would choose the QHD over the 4k, as a super sharp 1920x1080 would just look ridiculous on a 27" screen. A 22" at 4k would be quite nice if I wasn’t already used to the extra screen real estate.
Some PPI comparisons.
23.8" 1920x1200 = 95 ppi
24" 2560x1440 = 123 ppi
14.1" 152x982 = 127 ppi
Bottom one is a MBP 14" at retina resolution
MacRumors review:
Unfortunately, the ViewSonic review is not great considering its $950 price tag. Its ergonomics are just silly with the TB4 uplink sticking out the bottom. The BenQ 5K is $1400 so while it’s inexpensive compared to an ASD with nano texture and height adjustable options (at an absolutely preposterous $2300), it’s just too much for me to justify. I have now had our IT people order me the 5K Asus. It’s fully height/swivel/rotation adjustable, comes standard with a non-glossy surface at no extra charge, and it also offers multiple inputs (which to me is always nice since I run several computers at my desk). But it’s also backordered several weeks. Anxious to see how well it does once it finally gets here.
Specs are nice but there seem to be a number of complaints about quality control issues on the Amazon page.
If you want a built-in webcam, it limits the options.
You have to be very careful how you read those though.
Note that often times Amazon has mutliple products being sold through the same product page. Like here, where the 5K Asus is being sold on the same page as their 2.6K 24", 2.6K 27", 2.6K 100 Hz 27", and 4K 27". And sure enough, all the reviews for all those products get lumped together without any clear way to filter on reviews only pertaining to a specific model.
When I go take a look at the negative reviews, I see only very few which actually pertain to the 5K and that’s either about poor customer support (not an issue for me) or about color accurcay. I’m colorblind, so I can safely ignore that. ![]()
It does.
But I don’t want a little detail like webcam to limit my display options.
Fortunately, Apple has blessed us iPhone users with Continuity Camera. The only thing I still need to get for that is a little $4 iPhone stand.
I took your advice and bought a AOC Q24G4RE (new for 2025: 24" size, 2560x1440p resolution, HDR10, up to 180Hz, 0.5ms refresh rate, £144)
But, I’ll be sending it back for the following reasons:
- The goal is roughly the same physical size for controls as my MBP at its default resolution (5K would guarantee it)
- Everything really is too small at that size/ppi, I would have to sit with it a lot closer to be comfortable (I’d say controls are approx half the size of on my MBP)
- It’s worrying that macOS seems to know this and defaults the display to a scaled view (1080p)
- Maybe 27" at 1440p would be better but my head would need to move more to view the increased size
- 16:9 aspect ratio is really too long to be used in portrait orientation
- HDR support seems to be a minefield, I just can’t get it to work even though I’ve switched it on in macOS Display Settings
- (High framerate was a nice bonus for Switch 2, but it seems hardly anything runs at that rate, definitely not Mario Kart World)
So I’ll abandon the idea of one monitor for business & pleasure, and go back to my trusty Lenovo T24d-10 (24", 1920x1200p) for work alone, until I can find a 5K in stock here in the UK.
A 24" 1440p display is about 122 dpi (2937 diagonal pixels per 24"). This is higher than Apple’s preferred 100-110 dpi. It’s not so much higher that it would bother me (I think), but definitely not Apple-preferred.
1080p at 24" is 91 dpi (2203 / 24). Making everything bigger than preferred (and non-integer scaling, so a GPU load). I wouldn’t worry about Apple picking it as a default - they always need to pick something and 1080p at 24" is a common resolution.
1440p at 27" is 109 ppi (2937 / 27), which is right about what Apple designs their UI around. But if the physical size is too big for you, then that’s not really an option either.
Isn’t HDR only use for video playback and some high-end media editing apps that explicitly have the support?
And yes, high refresh rates are mostly only useful for gaming. Bumping the referesh rate from 60 Hz to 72 or 75 may help to remove visible flicker (if you notice it at 60), but I agree that it’s otherwise really only useful for gaming.
My (very old now) current display is also a 24" 1200p display. This is 94 dpi (2264 / 24) and works very well for me.
Not surprisingly, it’s close to your 24" 1440p display scaled to 1080p. The scaled 1440p resolution might or might not look better. On the one hand, text and vector graphics will be sharper, because it will be rendered at a higher resolution. But some have reported fuzziness because of the non-integer scaling (75% of full-resolution) involved. Whether or not you like it better will be strictly a matter of personal preference.
Setting this new 1440p display to only show 1080p is a no go.
The goal is more real estate than 1200p, not less!
Had a brain wave and decided to ask Gemini if there was a retina equivalent to my 1920x1200 display and—lo and behold!—there is a very close match: 28.2" 4K 3840×2560 which is retina 1920×1280 with a 3:2 aspect ratio and is sold for productivity use.
The panel was only ever sold by two companies:
- Huawei (as MateView 28.2", now discontinued and prone to failing due to one part on the PCB being too low value rated and so burns out if the monitor is run at high brightness for too long, but can be repaired so it doesn’t fail. But no portrait pivot)
- BenQ (as RD280U with stand or RD280UA with arm) as part if it’s “Programming Series” (and IF Design Award Winner 2025) stand version can be vesa mounted, ergo arm version can pivot.
- both with some cool and some gimmicky features
Anyway, I ordered a BenQ yesterday and it arrived today. It is exactly what I wanted: simply what I had but in retina, and ever so slightly taller (or wider for me, as I use it in portrait orientation). By far the highest quality panel and build quality monitor I’ve ever owned. It is about 2x the weight and price of my Lenovo.
I’m sure it’s not ideal for everyone, but I couldn’t be happier. ![]()
Thanks for that tip. I didn’t know that aspect existed at all. Now I have something new to consider.
When I was searching for 2400p screens, there was nothing to be found. And I could only find 1600p (16:10 aspect variant of 1440p) on small portable displays, not on full-size desktop screens.
My pleasure. Given that the MateView has been discontinued and stock levels of the BenQ seem low, the one I bought was the only one in stock at a large computer hardware retailer …I wonder if they’ll ever make monitors with this aspect again?