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points by burner54828182 2 days ago | 0 comments

Agreed on the iMac, but disagree on the Studio Display.

I own two 2022 Studio Displays and as beautiful and overbuilt as they are, it just does not make sense to own such an expensive 60hz display today. You can get a 144hz 5k 27inch LG for $800 now. Yes, Apple makes a $3300 120hz version of the Studio Display.

Maybe it wouldn’t bother some but 60hz is pure agony at this point

[–] nine_k 2 days ago

I totally don't care about refresh rates above 60 Hz. I do not enjoy but can tolerate even 30 Hz.

What I care about is resolution, color fidelity, color gamut, viewing angles, (anti-)glare, even how quickly the monitor wakes up. I don't play competitive FPS games, I do coding, graphics, and video work on my monitors.

[–] relativeadv 1 day ago

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/tools/compare/lg-27gm950b-b-v...

The $800 LG outperforms the studio display in almost every dimension you mention.

[–] whynotminot 1 day ago

What you’re paying for with an Apple branded monitor is effectively opting out of the panel lottery.

Look at the reviews for that LG. Sure the specs on the tin are better but quality control looks like garbage.

Apple does not accept that. I have never got a bad Apple screen in any Apple product I have ever bought. Not the case from other companies.

[–] xyzzy_plugh 1 day ago

This is pretty funny. As someone who has overseen the purchase of thousands of high end LGs and maybe a hundred Apple monitors, we saw many, many more issues with the Apple monitors.

Their lower tier monitors have issues but so do literally every other manufacturer. The high-end LGs are very good and QC as of 2026 has been phenomenal.

[–] whynotminot 1 day ago

Just look at the reviews on the Amazon page for the LG in question man. It’s got like a 3 out of 5.

[–] bigyabai 1 day ago

Amazon reviews have lacked proportionality to product quality for at least 10 years now.

[–] chocochunks 1 day ago

There's plenty of bad panels in Apple displays posted on Reddit and other forums.

(e.g., https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/studio-displays-with-sc...)

Maybe the panel lottery is more in your favour but it isn't gone.

[–] whynotminot 1 day ago

Apple sells millions of these displays I did not say you wouldn’t be able to find a Reddit thread with some problems.

“But ackshully” — you fully understand the point I was making!

[–] NBJack 2 days ago

I dunno. Scrolling around at 120+hz on web pages can be hard to let go. I have a few monitors around my home running at 120 or better, and it's painful to go back to 60hz sometimes.

[–] Dylan16807 2 days ago

I don't like smooth scrolling so my web pages might as well be scrolling at 10Hz for how much it matters visually.

[–] ProllyInfamous 1 day ago

Thought this way until 144Hz; now 30Hz is cheese-grated-eyeballs, and 60Hz ponders "is something wrong/corrupted with this slow/glitchy system?"

I spent three decades @30Hz, and just the past few ≥60Hz@4K... as I've aged I appreciate the analogue more, and the jarring stutters of 30Hz are constant reminders of computized digitality.

Also, PoE at 144Hz is incredible (I went from <30Hz to 144Hz with this one simple trick: $1000 5070Ti, which turns out was actually a great investment, too [today's price $1449]). But so is scrolling through walls of text, now.

¢¢

[–] Dylan16807 1 day ago

Well I'll let you know I have a 120Hz screen and I will only game on that screen.

But a web page just sits there. And I never scroll slowly enough for refresh rate to matter, I go for big jumps that look the same on anything faster than e-ink. The benefit I get from a faster screen during normal desktop activities is slightly better mouse precision and latency.

[–] skybrian 1 day ago

It seems unfortunate to become so sensitive to frame rate that you can only buy high-end equipment. I wonder how that can be avoided?

[–] raegis 1 day ago

It can happen by accident. I assembled a system for my son (for "gaming"), and noticed that the window movement on his monitor was significantly smoother than on the cheaper monitors I'm accustomed to. It was just...nice. So I upgraded the monitor on my desktop too.

[–] ProllyInfamous 1 day ago

>It was just...nice.

In psychedelic tongue: it drips well.

And it's getting so inexpensive (I can easily price many 120Hz systems, barely above $1000)!

How much (approx) was your son's build?

[–] ProllyInfamous 1 day ago

I cannot distinguish between 120Hz and 144Hz.

I avoid any-higher refresh rates, by your own reasoning =P

I still maintain an entire fleet of 30Hz equipment, but my main two machines are each 144Hz (sharing one screen $$). The $600 Mac Mini handles this easily. Obviously the other's nVidia GPU is a different $tory$$$$ == PoE@144Hz so_pretty

My favorite digital reading method, conversely, is probably less than 1Hz (eInk)? But even hundred of pages of text I'll always prefer printouts.

[–] sgt 1 day ago

Exactly - I've looked at a lot of monitors. Including top end Dells, one of which I have currently. But nothing that I see beats the Studio Display at its price point. Also 60Hz is perfectly fine on that screen, maybe 60Hz feels different on others for those who feel this is inadequate.

[–] stingraycharles 2 days ago

Interesting, I have used Samsung 5K displays for a year or two with my Mac Studio, and recently bought an Studio Display after one died. I am SO much happier with the studio display, it powers on so much faster, the black is much more "black", etc. The built-in camera is also really good.

I'm almost considering getting rid of the other two Samsung displays and replacing them with Studio Displays because it's just so much better.

[–] AdamN 1 day ago

Apple will be head and shoulders better than the Samsung display - it just costs more than you feel like it should.

[–] stingraycharles 1 day ago

Well yeah but that’s the case with all Apple products, not?

[–] MrBuddyCasino 1 day ago

Not the laptops.

[–] stingraycharles 1 day ago

Isn’t that equally subjective as, say, the price of the iPhone?

It just depends on what you value. A MBP with 32GB memory and 2TB disk is much more expensive than a Dell equivalent.

(I say this as someone who owns a MBP)

[–] AdamN 20 hours ago

Dell laptop hardware doesn't really match MBP hardware - objectively.

[–] MrBuddyCasino 1 day ago

I don't think there exists a laptop with a similar value proposition as a MacBook Neo or a MacBook Air?

For phones its not as clear, I agree, but at least they added iPhone 17e starting at $599.

[–] jltsiren 2 days ago

I recently chose a Studio Display over the alternatives, because I wanted something with an integrated camera to use as the primary display. There are already too many devices on my desk, so anything that needs an extra cable or comes with a battery that must be charged feels like a poor choice.

And I don't really see much value in high refresh rates outside gaming. The difference between 60 Hz and 144 Hz is minimal in most uses. Given what displays were in the 90s and 2000s, I would have chosen a different career if I was too picky about display quality.

[–] disillusioned 2 days ago

I mean, to this point, my Logitech Brio sits atop my monitor, with a tightly cinched cable hanging down, plugging straight _into_ said monitor. It might not be the cleanest possible option, but it's not adding desk clutter.

[–] havaloc 2 days ago

They also have fans in them, that's not necessarily good for longevity. Thermally, yes, until the fans clog up or start making noise.

[–] a1o 2 days ago

I think quite a few monitors that have USB-C input also have fans in them.

[–] bdavbdav 2 days ago

I have a few Huawei Mateview 27 monitors. No branding facing you, brushed Alu, slightly higher that 4k (as they’re 16:10 not 16:9 - bonus), very accurate and beautifully designed - as if they were made for the Mac.

Real shame they discontinued them.

[–] gregglain 2 days ago

I work with 30hz and cannot tell the difference. Mind it's mostly iTerm work.

[–] saussianglat 2 days ago

why doesn't 60 hz work for you?

[–] SoftTalker 2 days ago

60hz on old CRTs used to give me headaches as the flicker was subtly perceptible. On modern displays it's fine for me (though I mostly look at text so there's not a lot of movement happening).

[–] Dylan16807 2 days ago

Well, flicker usually has no connection to framerate on LCDs.

[–] mcs5280 2 days ago

Yes, but does your LG monitor have an Apple logo on it?

[–] gnabgib 2 days ago

It does if they take the case off.

[–] 0xWTF 2 days ago

That's funny. If only LG could do proper design.