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Best 4k 27" monitor for a Macbook Pro?

over 3 years ago from , Growing indie maker

Hi fellow designers!

I have a Macbook Pro 16" paired with a DELL UltraSharp 23.8" monitor (U2419H).

I'm looking for an affordable 4k 27" monitor to make it as a main monitor. Budget is 500€-600€.

What would you recommend? Also, would you recommend to ditch my actual monitor and just get an ultra-wide one?

Thank you!

12 comments

  • Jordan Justice, over 3 years ago

    I typically bring up this article when someone asks me this.

    Because of this, I stayed on a 27" 1440p monitor until I had the chance to upgrade the LG UltraFine 5K.

    There are some UltraWides that are 1440p with Thunderbolt 3, which would allow you to power your MacBook and run any peripherals with a single cable, which is neat!

    TL;DR - 4K and MacOS doesn't really get along that great, with your budget, consider a 1440p display.

    EDIT: 4K at 27" is the concern here. The LG UltraFine 4K monitor (22") supports the proper scaling.

    8 points
    • Wassim BWassim B, over 3 years ago

      The LG UltraFine 5K looks nice but the price is bummer.

      I mean, if I add 600€ on that price I can get a 5k iMac!

      0 points
      • Jordan Justice, over 3 years ago

        Occasionally Amazon or Woot will run a flash sale on refurbs for around $699 USD.

        0 points
      • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, over 3 years ago

        The 5K iMac is a great choice. :)

        It sucks, but there’s just not many options right now if you want a Retina display. It’s the LG 5K UltraFine, or an iMac, or… the Pro Display XDR. The new LG 4K UltraFine is worse than the older model (lower PPI, 8bit per channel rather than 10bit per channel).

        The only caveat for the iMac is that it’s likely to get an update very soon. Waiting a little and saving for an iMac could be a sensible option!

        2 points
      • John PJohn P, over 3 years ago

        LG Ultrafine has a whole pile of issues, if you get one of the wrong models it's badly shielded so will hose your wifi signals.

        Really not worth the money and pretty shocking Apple ever endorsed it.

        0 points
  • Ollie BarkerOllie Barker, over 3 years ago

    The majority of people I work with (including me) use LG UltraFine 5K displays. They're truly brilliant, aside from the pretty boring design.

    1 point
  • Vasiliy LeytmanVasiliy Leytman, over 3 years ago

    LG 27UL650 (or a bit pricier one with USB-C). Been using twice as expensive Dell, and didn't spot that much difference when it was broken, and I had to replace it. Price is around 400-450 EUR.

    0 points
  • Alex CampAlex Camp, over 3 years ago

    I went with this one - it's pretty bomb

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CS3JGPC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    0 points
  • John PJohn P, over 3 years ago

    Dell, honestly see no other thing worth considering. Just type in the specs you want and get whatever professional non-gamer screen they have for that.

    0 points
  • Ross Levitt, over 3 years ago

    While out of your range, I've been looking at another monitor also and I was leaning toward this benQ, but I havent bought anything yet. Just thought I'd share. https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/designer/pd2720u.html

    0 points
  • Ollie BarkerOllie Barker, over 3 years ago

    Personally I'd avoid 4k displays.

    If you're designing you can't run it as a 'higher resolution' to mimic 2560x1440. It just looks wrong. So instead you have to run it at '1920x1080' (So 4 pixels for every 1 virtual pixel) which just doesn't give enough screen space.

    0 points
  • Marco Baldessari, over 3 years ago

    Samsung 28" UE590. Been using it for 5 years now, we're still buying these for our new designers. 4k resolution, great colors and viewing angle, very reasonable price. Pair it with a good thunderbolt-to-displayport cable, and an app like Switchresx to manage the resolution preferences.

    0 points