Shopping for a new monitor

I just bought a new notebook and my iMac died on me three days after I came back to Argentina.

I am now shopping for a new monitor. The new Apple Studio, priced at 1500 USD in the US, is not an option. Hence, I am looking to the non-Apple monitor which is closest to a Retina monitor.

I think I need a 4k and some people on ML asks if monitors are IPS. Is this better in any way? I won't use it for gaming, but a nice crisp image is less tiring on my eyes.

It would be nice to be able to view a few options in persona, but Garbarino, Rodo and the like have very little selection.

Monitor LG 16:9 27´ 27ul500-w 4k - $ 93.500

Disfrutá de todas las cualidades que el monitor LG 27UL500 tiene para ofrecerte. Vas a percibir las imágenes de una manera completamente diferente y podrás…

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Monitor Led 28 4k Hdc 4k2800ar-s Hdmi Dp Ultra Hd 5ms 60hz - $ 69.990

MONITOR LED 28" 4K 3840 x 2160 ULTRA HD 4K2800ARINCLUYE CABLE HDMI 2.0 y CABLE DISPLAY PORT.Panel 28" (16: 9) TFT, retroiluminación LEDTipo de panel:…

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I will be connecting it to a MacBook Air M1 with Retina display.

Over the past years, my smaller devices (iPhone (mobile phone), MacBook (notebook) etc.) were updated to Retina screens and the difference with my old non-Retina iMac was noticeable. I found that the older iMac screen was more tiring on my eyes. This is why I am trying to find a monitor that is similar to Retina.

I had a similar issue when I tried to use my old TomTom GPS device: its touch screen, which was innovative and quick at the time, was unbearable compared to modern smartphones.

I only dodocument editing and occasionally watch webinars online, so I don't need a high frequency rate. I admit my ignorance on the tech specs of a monitor I should focus on in my case. This is why I am posting for help!

It seems only gamers care about their monitor, but I imagine their needs are different than mine.

Thank you for your advice. My new Macbook Air supports up to 6k, so that should be good.

Quote

Video Support 

Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:

• One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz

Thunderbolt 3 digital video output

• Native DisplayPort output over USB-C
• VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

A due update on the monitor saga. Upon @Splinter's advice I started investigating on monitor on ML and - of course - the best option was the first one he linked, the LG 27UL500.

The hardest part was, for me, shopping for a monitor based on its tech specs only. Call my old fashioned, but at least for something visual like a monitor I'd like to actually see it before buying. A professional seller was only willing to let me buy and eventually return the item (and he would return the money, he promised), but it sounded too a long and complicated purchase/return/purchase/return until satisfied. That monitor, new costs about 158k ARS which is over 750 USD at the blue rate. That's way over what I was willing to spend, also because it seems that no monitor is like an Apple Retina monitor, so I knew I wasn't getting exactly what I wanted.

However, I found 1900+ reviews on this monitor on amazon.it , some specifically about using it with my new Macbook Air M1. I am no longer tech savvy but I know that Apple M1 processors can be tricky with certain software and hardware. Now that I had found the model, it was time to shop for the best deal.

Luckily, on ML there were also 3 used LG 27UL500. One seller had it listed in Villa Crespo but after various messages turned out he has it in Bariloche (he was willing to ship it for free - however I wanted to see it turned on). Another one was in Villa Urquiza for 79,000 ARS, but was willing to close at 70,000 and he was willing to let us see it turned on. However, he was not willing to accept cash nor to bear ML's commissions (11%) for that discounted price.

The whole operation started to look like a Bond movie, with my husband leaving me at the seller's bank, ready to deposit the money on his account if the monitor was deemed suitable, and my husband actually going at the seller's place to try the monitor with my new Macbook Air M1.

I am still fiddling around with the monitor to find the best settings (there are a tons) for my needs. I have taken some pictures with my cell phone of my current setting. You can see the Macbook Air M1 on the left with a dark green hard shell, the monitor, a led light bar on top (also a great purchase from amazon.it from my recent trip to Italy), and Wireless Magic Keyboard and a Wireless Magic Mouse.

The hardest part was configuring the Macbook Air M1 so that the external monitor would not shut down when I closed the Macbook Air M1's lid. Apparently, Apple has a so called clamshell mode and the thing is not that intuitive. To be honest, it kinda sucks because it was not an issue when I used my Macbook Air M1 with my old Philips TV on HDMI, and it drove me crazy why it was acting like this with the new LG 27UL500. After one hour in frustration, I gave it up and decided to disable entirely the Sleep mode from my Macbook using the command

sudo pmset disablesleep 1

Which I am NOT happy about because what is it going to happen when I use the notebook on the move? But for now, that's as far as I got.

Yes, I am, It was important for me to have crisp image with no visible pixel. Many gaming monitor had a HD resolution but this one had a higher resolution, is 4k etc.

Not sure what of those specs actually contribute to the final result to my eye, I went for the best available monitor for the money I was willing to spend (300 USD).

It is opaque and it is better in my case because I am sitting next to a window. The iMac had a glare.

I am experimenting with my new monitor and for some reason I am not getting the full 30 Hz refresh rate. Even if I am just doing office work (Word files), the mouse pointer seems to lag, whereas on the Macbook Air screen it is fluid. There are two things between my computer and my monitor: one is the cable and one is the USB to HDMI adapter.

I am using the original HDMI cable provided with the monitor, so I do not think that is the issue. More likely it is the adapter. Which is a shame because I have just paid this 9-in-1 hub 40 USD! When I bought it, I just thought about the occasional football match to watch on our old Sony TV, so 4k was not into play.

Quote from Trands Hub specs

• Support 4K@30Hz or 2K@60Hz, easy to duplicate or extend the laptop screen to TV, monitor or projector directly.

My MacBook Air only has two USB-C ports.

No, the newer models are pretty simple and bare. My older 2012 Macbook Pro has many more ports, including a HDMI one.

I am attaching a picture from the Internet showing the ports of current Macbook Air and Pro. On the other side there is just a 3.5 jack for audio.

Today I ordered from ML a USB-C to HDMI cable rated 4k @ 60Hz. It should arrive today. Price was less than 15 USD delivered. Turns out I had to tweak my keywords to get cheaper results.

Cable Usb C 3.1 Type C A Hd Para Macbook Ventij3 2 Metros M0 - $ 2.296,58

* * Cable adaptador USB-C a HDMI/HDTV 2m AMITOSAI MTS-USBCHDMI200 * **** IMPORTANTE *** Somos Distribuidor Oficial Nro 1 en Mercado LibreProducto original…

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ML is the best we have in Argentina, however the algorithms behind it are nowhere are accurate as on Amazon. I have noticed that some items exist also in Argentina, they are just never prompted to me and I can find them only with certain keywords.

It takes it 2 minutes (literally) to show any image on my external monitor.

I am not happy with the whole setup, to be honest.

It seems that recent Macbooks M1 have this issue. Some users reported fixing it using a USB-C to DisplayPort cable.

I did not have that issue when using the HUB @30HZ, but the mouse pointer was lagging, sometimes it didn't "flow" at all. Now it doesn't do that, but if I get up from the computer and it goes in stand-by... God forbid!

I would return the Macbook Air if I hadn't bought it on the other side of the world. Little did I imagine the pain that it would be to attach it to an external monitor.

Having to deal with the cable rating, the different ports etc. is a PAIN.

I want to be a bobo user, not a tech savvy one. I no longer have the time to research for hours on cables, monitors and tech spec.

I should have stayed with my old 2002 MacBook Pro. 15" was great even on the move, had no issue when connecting to an external monitor, also because it was HDMI to HDMI. Apparently, LG claims that when a video format conversion is involved (which is the case with newer Apple models that only have a USB-C ports), they no longer guarantee the same performances.

This is all very frustrating.