MPB M3/External monitor compatibility

nine_tails

nine_tails

nine_tails

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I just picked up a Dell G2724D 27-inch and am using it via a CalDigit TS4 for my MPB3. Dear god the screen looks quite crap. I understand this is due to some strange scaling Mac does and feels like a total letdown. I also use a Linux laptop which seems to work much better and appears flawless.
I am still in the return window and contemplating returning it to Bezos. So I suppose i have two questions here :

- Any way to fix this poor scaling?
- Any recommendations on what i can get when i return this for the same price point which does not have scaling issues.

Cheers!
 
It's been a long time since macOS cared about low-DPI displays in any shape or form, there's no mac that ships at below 220ppi (MBPs are 250+ppi), and your screen is 109ppi. Also looking at it right next to the MBP screen really shows the difference.

There isn't much you can do except buying a monitor with higher pixel density, preferably at 220ppi or higher if you want the `retina` feeling and 2:1 scaling.
 
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HACO said:
220ppi or higher if you want the `retina` feeling and 2:1 scaling.
Click to expand...

I am not looking for a full retina translation. Just scaling could be better so the text does not appear like crap. I've hooked another lappy with linux on it and the screen is brill.
I've heard 1440p monitors also work?
 
What "Scaled Resolution" do you have it set as in the Displays section of System Settings?

If you pay around with the options that let you select different "text sizes", you might find a setting that looks decent.
 
What's the native res? It looks like it's a 1440p display?

I'm using an Alienware 1440p display with a Mac. Text looks about as good as it does on Windows. It's nowhere near as good as a retina display but it's fine.
 
Irish_Tom said:
What "Scaled Resolution" do you have it set as in the Displays section of System Settings?

If you pay around with the options that let you select different "text sizes", you might find a setting that looks decent.
Click to expand...

I swear to god , i've seen this under System Settings -> Display
nZB7ryA.png



But i can no longer locate it :/

There is also Accessibility -> Display -> "Text Size"

This however has only some impact on the text size for example in the menu items on the left , but not system wide.

reflux said:
What's the native res? It looks like it's a 1440p display?

I'm using an Alienware 1440p display with a Mac. Text looks about as good as it does on Windows. It's nowhere near as good as a retina display but it's fine.
Click to expand...

Yes mate, its a 1440p - I was confused about the specs , just double checked it.
 
I'm using a MBP M3 with Caldigit dock connected to 2 screens (27" 1x1440P HDR 240hz/34" 1x 1440p uw 120Hz & MacBook screen)
ensure your at the right res & refresh rate.

I had similar issues as default it picked was 50% off the res it should have been
 
smogsy said:
I'm using a MBP M3 with Caldigit dock connected to 2 screens (27" 1x1440P HDR 240hz/34" 1x 1440p uw 120Hz & MacBook screen)
ensure your at the right res & refresh rate.

I had similar issues as default it picked was 50% off the res it should have been
Click to expand...

What res/refresh are you running it on?
 
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everything is running at default res for screen 1440p is running at 240 UW is running at 3440 @ 165

just had to manually set them after setup
 
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HACO said:
It's been a long time since macOS cared about low-DPI displays in any shape or form, there's no mac that ships at below 220ppi (MBPs are 250+ppi), and your screen is 109ppi. Also looking at it right next to the MBP screen really shows the difference.

There isn't much you can do except buying a monitor with higher pixel density, preferably at 220ppi or higher if you want the `retina` feeling and 2:1 scaling.
Click to expand...
I plug a 27" 4K monitor into my M1 MBA - this seems to work out at only 163ppi, but set to 2:1 scaling (so 1080p equivalent sizing) and it feels pretty crisp and Retina enough.
 
I did end up buying.a 2560x1440p native monitor as I do sometimes play games on it via Geforce now, crossover or steam/native games and its a hell of a lot easier to run or stream 1440p than 4k, however I have to use it at resolution 1280x720p when browsing the internet otherwise it looks too blurry. I can live with the trade off

I doubt apple will ever bring back sub pixel anti aliasing as I read somewhere it was quite tricky and not worth the time for them to implement, and causes some problems in other areas
 
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