UltraWide Display
Connected to Mac Pros and
the Razer Core
Posted June 28th, 2016 by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
We connected the LG 34UM94-P UltraWide 3440x1440 IPS display to two different Mac Pros and to the Razer Core Thunderbolt 3 GPU Expander. What did we learn?
GPU GRAPH LEGEND
Core 1080 = 'early 2016' Razer Blade Stealth connected to Razer Core with GeForce GTX 1080 installed and connected via DisplayPort to the LG UltraWide display*; Windows 10 OS.
cMP 980 Ti = 'mid 2010' Mac Pro Tower with GeForce GTX 980 Ti installed and connected via DisplayPort to LG UltraWide display*; OS X 10.11.5
nMP D700 = 'late 2013' Mac Pro Cylinder with FirePro D700 GPU and connected via Thunderbolt to LG UltraWide display*; OS X 10.11.5
(*LG 34UM94-P 34 inch UltraWide 21:9 LED Backlit IPS Monitor)
Tomb Raider
Set to "HIGH" preset, we ran the built-in benchmark. (HIGHEST in Average Frames per Second = FASTEST)
Left 4 Dead 2
We used the console command "timedemo" to playback a recorded game session. Settings were Fullscreen, No AA, Anisotropic 2X, Vsync Disabled, Shader Detail Very High, Effect Detail and Model/Texture Detail both High, Multicore Rendering Enabled. (HIGHEST in Average Frames per Second = FASTEST)
Diablo III (Patch 2.4.1)
My character is standing next to the New Tristram Waypoint. Settings were Fullscreen, Reflections Disabled, no AA, all other settings "HIGH" or "HIGH Smooth." (HIGHEST in Average Frames per Second = FASTEST)
ANALYSIS
This is not so much a shootout as a spotlight on the ease at which two different Mac Pros running Mac OS X and one Windows laptop can handle the new fad in displays: UltraWide. A few older apps choked, but the vast majority handled the 3440x1440 resolution with aplomb.
The LG 34UM94-P display we tested came with 1xDisplayPort, 1xHDMI, and 2xThunderbolt input ports. The input port is selected by using a stubby joystick at the bottom center of the display. LG makes several models of UltraWide display including a curved version.
With Apple's recent announcement that they will be discontinuing the Apple Thunderbolt Display, it's good to know we have some interesting alternative displays with Thunderbolt input ports. Though there is speculation that an Apple 5K Thunderbolt 3 display is in development, it will likely require your Mac (or PC) to have a USB-C port that is Thunderbolt 3 compatible. For legacy Macs with Thunderbolt, mini DisplayPort, DisplayPort, or HDMI connectors, there's still hope for a snazzy replacement display.
Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to email me,
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WHERE TO BUY LG ULTRAWIDE DISPLAYS
Order from B&H Photo/Video.
WHERE TO BUY RAZER CORE AND RAZER BLADE STEALTH
Order direct from B&H Photo/Video.
