MacBook Pro 16 on order but need replacement screen as Apple Thunderbolt Display has gone kaput? Advice and recommendations needed.

[simon1967]

Hi all,
I've had a read through this thread:

Question - What to do, what to do?! New iMac? MacBook? Monitors?

Only get it on Apple accessories these days, no discount at all on main Apple products. 12% on other electrical, 25% on most other products and 20% off at Waitrose so I can’t complain. Luckily for me I can use my Apple discount on most Apple products, which for me will be ideal later in the...

www.avforums.com

and was very interested in all the different set-ups and options available. However, I've been pretty happy with my trusty MacBook Pro 15 (2018) and Apple Thunderbolt 27 display (2560 × 1440 resolution). Enough real estate and very reliable .... until today. The screen is totally dead so I'm going to check some things tomorrow (thunderbolt adapter etc) but may well have to look for a replacement.

I've also got a 2021 16" MacBook Pro on order (mid / late November delivery which has extra ports (yay) so that may help in the decision making. I fancy one of the wide screen / ultrawide screen monitors as I do a lot of After Effects / Premiere work so the extra space would be super useful.

The Philips one recommended by @Mr X looked good but no longer seems to be available and as the thread is quite old, a lot of the models may well be discontinued or replaced by now.

So, any recommendations or watch outs when purchasing? I'm not a gamer but with the new MacBooks having ProMotion (120hz) should I be looking for a 120Hz monitor? I'm not limited on space and don't really have a budget as it will have to last me for a few years.

Many thanks for any advice.

 

[ascender]

I've just ordered an LG UltraWide 34WK95U screen to try with my 16" MacBook Pro as its one of the few ultra wide screens which is also 5K (5120x2160). As its an LG, it will let me connect with a single cable for power & data. It will be here on Wednesday if you want me to post my impressions.

I'm hoping it works fine as retina-like displays seem to be hit and miss in terms of how good they'll look with MacBooks - seems to be issues with some displays looking very fuzzy on some Macs. You can't go far wrong by googling "best monitor for Macs" - it will quickly narrow it down to the best few models out there according to your needs and budget.

Until now I'd been using a 27" 4K LG display - I've always had good results with LGs and Macs.

Of course, it would all be a lot easier if Apple just released their own "consumer" monitor as the only one they do at the moment is the Pro Display XDR.

 

[simon1967]

I've just ordered an LG UltraWide 34WK95U screen to try with my 16" MacBook Pro as its one of the few ultra wide screens which is also 5K (5120x2160). As its an LG, it will let me connect with a single cable for power & data. It will be here on Wednesday if you want me to post my impressions.

I'm hoping it works fine as retina-like displays seem to be hit and miss in terms of how good they'll look with MacBooks - seems to be issues with some displays looking very fuzzy on some Macs. You can't go far wrong by googling "best monitor for Macs" - it will quickly narrow it down to the best few models out there according to your needs and budget.

Until now I'd been using a 27" 4K LG display - I've always had good results with LGs and Macs.

Of course, it would all be a lot easier if Apple just released their own "consumer" monitor as the only one they do at the moment is the Pro Display XDR.

Many thanks for the reply. I was beginning to think I must be the only person who wanted to connect a MacBook up to an external display>. I would love to know your impressions of the monitor.

I was surprised to see that most monitors are 1440 which is exactly the same resolution as my ageing Thunderbolt Display. I really thought that tech might have moved on from that as the latest 16" resolution is 2234px (odd size but I assume because of the notch).

How do you use your Macbook with the external large screen? With external keyboard and trackpad or use both the macBook and monitor screens? I can probably do both but so used to using a Macbook for everything. Would be interested to see how others have their home set-ups.

Thanks

 

[ascender]

Many thanks for the reply. I was beginning to think I must be the only person who wanted to connect a MacBook up to an external display>. I would love to know your impressions of the monitor.

I was surprised to see that most monitors are 1440 which is exactly the same resolution as my ageing Thunderbolt Display. I really thought that tech might have moved on from that as the latest 16" resolution is 2234px (odd size but I assume because of the notch).

How do you use your Macbook with the external large screen? With external keyboard and trackpad or use both the macBook and monitor screens? I can probably do both but so used to using a Macbook for everything. Would be interested to see how others have their home set-ups.

Thanks

And that's the thing to watch-for, that not all screens are equal and it seems to be a bit of a minefield when you're looking for something "retina like", especially if you're using scaled resolutions in System Preferences.

I've tended to have my laptop in clamshell mode with external peripherals, but recently have been trying different setups - using the laptop as the primary display and focus for work with other apps on the external one.... or the laptop directly in front of me with the monitor behind it... or the monitor off to the back right.

I've also started looking at how people have their laptops setup with external displays. I think clamshell mode is still most popular, but a lot of people also seem to have their laptop open on some sort of riser so they can use it as a second screen.

The new 16" has the normal 16:10 ratio screen as always, with the extra pixels being for the larger menu bar and notch.

 

[Deleted member 296722]

The screens are super simple to replace as a hole until, but expensive.

I have a LG 4K monitor and they work really well together as you say. I think I read apple use LG panels.

 

[simon1967]

And that's the thing to watch-for, that not all screens are equal and it seems to be a bit of a minefield when you're looking for something "retina like", especially if you're using scaled resolutions in System Preferences.

I've tended to have my laptop in clamshell mode with external peripherals, but recently have been trying different setups - using the laptop as the primary display and focus for work with other apps on the external one.... or the laptop directly in front of me with the monitor behind it... or the monitor off to the back right.

I've also started looking at how people have their laptops setup with external displays. I think clamshell mode is still most popular, but a lot of people also seem to have their laptop open on some sort of riser so they can use it as a second screen.

The new 16" has the normal 16:10 ratio screen as always, with the extra pixels being for the larger menu bar and notch.

This is my (very messy) set-up at the moment as I managed to get my Thunderbolt display up and running. However, Now I’ve started looking at the ultra wide monitors, I’m quite keen on making the switch anyway.

I think the clamshell mode is a bit of waste of a screen - especially the new Liquid Retina displays but with a larger monitor, maybe I won’t need it.

I’m fortunate to have the space to put in a larger screen and my workflow often means I’m jumping between different apps anyway so I need as much real estate as I can get.

The thing I have noticed is there seems to quite a large discrepancy in prices for different monitors - ranging from £800 - £1400. I do quite fancy a 49” ultra wide but it’s over a metre wide. I’m not sure my neck muscles could cope as it’ll be like watching tennis at Wimbledon

 

[ascender]

LG has arrived and I have to say, first impressions are very, very good. I'm going to get it cabled-up to my dock now, but for my desk, its the perfect size. I've previously had a 49" screen but I couldn't live with the lower-than-4K resolution and it was MAMMOTHLY HUGE.

I did wonder if 34" would be a bit on the small side - 38" seems to be the next size up, but this is a nice balance between loads of space and too much space. I don't really have to turn my head to go from one side of the screen to the next. Actually, on reflection, I guess 34" is the maximum size I'd consider without a curve to it.

I'll get it hooked up and add a couple of pictures.

 

[ascender]

Here's a few pics to give you an idea of size, how many reasonably sized windows you can have etc. Please excuse the rawl plugs which need to come out and be tidied!

For reference, the desk is 140cm wide.

One thing I like about Ultrawide is that as well as having multiple windows open on a single screen, you can also have a single app/window in the middle, framed with a backdrop either side when you want to focus on one thing.

 

[simon1967]

Here's a few pics to give you an idea of size, how many reasonably sized windows you can have etc. Please excuse the rawl plugs which need to come out and be tidied!

For reference, the desk is 140cm wide.

One thing I like about Ultrawide is that as well as having multiple windows open on a single screen, you can also have a single app/window in the middle, framed with a backdrop either side when you want to focus on one thing.

That looks decent. The challenge with these ultra wide monitors is getting to see them in the flesh as a tape measure can only tell you so much. I think I’d still like to see a 49” or a 37/38” but these are limited to 1440 / 1600px high whereas your screen is 2160px which is means smaller palettes (good) and more real estate than the larger dimension monitors. It’s all sooo confusing.