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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Consumer Hardware & Components > Will Apple release a 4K Thunderbolt Cinema Display Soon ? This Year ?

Will Apple release a 4K Thunderbolt Cinema Display Soon ? This Year ?
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Anto39x
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Mar 9, 2014, 08:47 AM
 
Hi there,

I have had my Apple 30inch Cinema Display now for going on 10 years and when it bought it first it was the most expensive screen I ever purchased at €2,300 approx.... it has served me so well... and still does.... but I want to upgrade as my screen is now set ay 100% brightness and it just seems to dull and flat compared to the newer 27" displays.... I had made my mind up last week until there was a posting about 10.9.3 giving full compatibility with 4K displays.... that made me stand back and wonder if I should wait.

I'm a principally and old skool graphic designer using QuarkXPress, Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator... I'm not really involved in video... but if I invest in something I try and research it as best I can and buy the latest technology so that it will serve me well for the next 8-10 years.

I have a mid/late MacPro 12 Core with 512GB SSD Drive, QTY 3 x 3TB Internal Drives + 32GB RAM. I'm going to hold off buying the new MacPro until more apps take advantage of the new processor architecture, so a new monitor is really something I want.

Originally I said I couldn't justify the $3999 or €2900 price tag for a screen.... but with 4K becoming more and more popular with consumers... could Apple release a monitor close to what I paid for my original monitor all those years ago ($3299 or €2300)... as if so... maybe I would go for it to have the very best and to have a future proof piece of hardware that will work with my new MacPro also when I take the plunge on that next year.

Any advice or comments most welcome.


Regards,
Anthony MacCarthy
Irish MacUser and MacAddict
     
HamSandwich
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Mar 9, 2014, 01:34 PM
 
Hello,

well, there are a few 4K threads around here already. Anyway, I think only the new MacPro and the Retina MacBook Pros support 4K displays! (even the 13" rMPB). In addition, I think it is safe to say Apple will release new 4K displays during the next months. The design is there, like the new iMac, OS X supports it for a while, applications have been redone, some Macs support it and several manufacturers are coming to market with these displays. If they will really relase a 24" and 30" display both at 4K resolution, or two smaller ones, or if they will wait until even higher resolutions could be supported by a faster Thunderbolt, I don't know.
However, several 27"-30" 4K displays have been announced or are already available at reasonable price points, so I think: Yes, but you need a new Mac.

Greetings,
Pete
     
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Mar 9, 2014, 05:53 PM
 
As for your question in the title... It wouldn't surprise me. Apple has been pushing Retina rather hard, and there are others who have pre-announced 24" Retina displays (but not shipped them). The 4K displays out there are 32", which is a somewhat low ppi. Do not expect to be able to run that on an older MP, however. It depends on the exact GPU you have, but basically, your GPU has to support either DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 2.0 to fully support 4K displays (HDMI 1.4 supports 4K, but only at lower refresh rates - up to 30 Hz - and not the 60 Hz we're used to as the minimum for computer displays).

What do you mean by "holding off until more apps support the new processor architecture?". All apps support the processor (CPU) arch, and it is quite a bit faster than the old model - what is not widely supported is moving so much compute processing onto GPUs. Out of your applications, Photoshop does support it, but you will likely bottleneck on the CPU anyway. I would argue that you do not need top-of-the-line processor performance anymore, however, and that Mac you have is still quite powerful.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Mar 11, 2014, 05:16 AM
 
This thread has zero to do with the Apple TV.
     
HamSandwich
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Mar 13, 2014, 08:55 AM
 
We could all do something seriously useful and give the best advice possible.

a) I also think signs are geting stronger these diaplays are getting to market. Actually, there is a Dell 24" UltraSharp display that created some furore. It is already available in Germany, I think.

b) Are there graphics cards for not-the-latest Mac Pros to be able to drive 4k displays? I thought Apple had only just started to ship machines with GPUs that can do it, right?

Pete
     
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Mar 13, 2014, 04:42 PM
 
There are these:

EVGA - Products - EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition - 02G-P4-3682-KR
SAPPHIRE HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 MAC Edition

You can also make most PC cards run with some hacking, it seems.

The 4K monitors out there are not quite fully baked. The cheap Dell one is locked at 30 Hz, which is essentially unusable. Asus has one that appears to fix that, but both of them are still TN. No IPS just yet.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
HamSandwich
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Mar 14, 2014, 04:27 AM
 
Google says, with anything above DisplayPort 1.2, you can drive the displa at 60 Hz (this one: Dell 860-BBDT UP2414Q). However, reading through reviews, it might or might not be a bit of a quick introduction. Some say this display is a beauty, I don't. Some say they are generally surprised at the great image quality, some note part of the image is not as brillant as your would expect from other displays. Additionally, I also read resolution was be fixed, even with 10.9.3, so while icons are big enough, gaming would not be possible (?! my mistake maybe). The stand is also not so stable, hmm.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Mar 14, 2014, 07:44 AM
 
Dell is notorious for using good panels in the first run (the one that gets reviewed), and then switching suppliers for the following production runs, making it a roulette game of whether you'll get something usable for your money.
     
HamSandwich
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Mar 14, 2014, 10:46 AM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Dell is notorious for using good panels in the first run (the one that gets reviewed), and then switching suppliers for the following production runs, making it a roulette game of whether you'll get something usable for your money.
Gosh. Apple wouldn't do this.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Mar 14, 2014, 11:50 AM
 
Apple uses different suppliers for their display panels, but the quality differences aren't *nearly* what I've read about Dell's hardware.
     
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Mar 14, 2014, 07:39 PM
 
Originally Posted by PeterParker View Post
Google says, with anything above DisplayPort 1.2, you can drive the displa at 60 Hz (this one: Dell 860-BBDT UP2414Q). However, reading through reviews, it might or might not be a bit of a quick introduction. Some say this display is a beauty, I don't. Some say they are generally surprised at the great image quality, some note part of the image is not as brillant as your would expect from other displays. Additionally, I also read resolution was be fixed, even with 10.9.3, so while icons are big enough, gaming would not be possible (?! my mistake maybe). The stand is also not so stable, hmm.
Dell has announced three 4K displays, 24", 32" and 28". A 32" is not too hard to make (just take 4 16"ish 1080p laptop panels and don't cut) and I think that that's the one that's out first. Do they deliver the 24" one yet? The 28" was going to be the last, I think, and the cheapest.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
HamSandwich
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Mar 17, 2014, 03:15 PM
 
In Germany, amazon lists it as shipping...

The one review there is, additionally, claims he drives the display at 60 Hz even... Might be mistaken, though.
     
P
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Mar 17, 2014, 04:12 PM
 
Yes, I see it here in Sweden as well, at multiple retailers. It seems that that model uses the MST hack to achieve 60Hz. Still the reviews I can find are, shall we say, less than satisfactory. Color fidelity seems to be terrible.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
   
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