is the defaul display for a 27" iMac meant to be 5120×2880?

[milomak]

because i don't think mine is at that display

 

[lclev]

If your iMac is a 2015 Retina 5K model then yes you are correct. To check go to System preferences -> Display -> Under Resolutions, select the Scaled radio button and see what your choices are.

Lisa

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

You're of course referring the latest iMac Retina display. Please read the following Apple KB article which describes resolutions and how to use a retina display. LINK

 

[milomak]

so what do i do if the default for display is not this resolution?

edit - i'd upload a pic but the forum doesn't seem to want to

 

[milomak]

here is what happens when i use scaled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikXElYMVYAY

 

[chscag]

What exactly are you trying to do? There is no way you're going to be able to view your iMac at 5120×2880 as the characters on the screen would be too small. (unless you have super eyesight)

What resolution are you trying to scale up to? You should be viewing your iMac at 2560 x 1440 which is the correct resolution for that 27" screen. And, did you read the Apple article about retina screens?

 

[milomak]

In Display in About This Mac, it says I am running at 3840 x 2160

Which is one to the right of Default in Scaled

 

[pigoo3]

Like already asked. What are you trying to do…and/or what is your concern?

- Nick

 

[milomak]

What exactly are you trying to do? There is no way you're going to be able to view your iMac at 5120×2880 as the characters on the screen would be too small. (unless you have super eyesight)

What resolution are you trying to scale up to? You should be viewing your iMac at 2560 x 1440 which is the correct resolution for that 27" screen. And, did you read the Apple article about retina screens?

Mac computers with Retina display

These Mac computers come with a built-in Retina display:

    MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012) and later displays have a 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors.
    MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) and MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013) and later displays have a 2880-by-1800 native resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors.
    iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) and later displays have a 5120-by-2880 native resolution with support for millions of colors.
    iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015) displays have a 4096-by-2304 native resolution with support for millions of colors.
    MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015) and later displays have a 2304-by-1440 resolution at 226 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202471

I've always understood native resolution to be a default one. Am I wrong?

 

[chscag]

The link you provided above is the same one I gave you in my first reply. (Post #3) Did you read it then?

What happens when you set the display for default which is what the article shows as highlighted? Is yours the same as what is shown in the Apple article? If it is, then the resolution of your 5K iMac is set to 5120 x 2880.

 

[usagora]

What exactly are you trying to do? There is no way you're going to be able to view your iMac at 5120×2880 as the characters on the screen would be too small. (unless you have super eyesight)

What resolution are you trying to scale up to? You should be viewing your iMac at 2560 x 1440 which is the correct resolution for that 27" screen. And, did you read the Apple article about retina screens?

I don't know why resolution is always so confusing to me, so pardon the question. But what's the point of the "5120-by-2880" resolution screen if you can't use it at that resolution? I read the article, and that confused me more

Also, if yo watch the OP's YouTube link, it appears he is having distortion issues in a certain program.

 

[Ember1205]

What exactly are you trying to do? There is no way you're going to be able to view your iMac at 5120×2880 as the characters on the screen would be too small. (unless you have super eyesight)

What resolution are you trying to scale up to? You should be viewing your iMac at 2560 x 1440 which is the correct resolution for that 27" screen. And, did you read the Apple article about retina screens?

Can you elaborate on these statements? When I look at the About This Mac -> Displays information for my Late 2014 Retina iMac 27" (5k), it shows 5120x2880. I have touched absolutely NOTHING with regard to display resolution, pixels, type size, etc. and I can see everything quite fine from 24" or more of distance.

 

[chscag]

This is all been explained before Ember... by Apple and in several Magazines. You're viewing a "scaled" display not a true 5120 x 2880 on a 27" screen. The characters would be way too small for normal eyesight. Not that I'm saying you "couldn't" view it at that resolution, but that it just isn't practical.

 

[Rod]

Like my 13.5" MBP has a default display of 2560 x 1600, if I go to displays and change the preference to Scaled everything remains the same BUT, and this is something I was unaware of until just now, when you tick Scaled a range of options become available and I see that the default only "looks like" 1280 x 800. There are 3 other options between "Larger Text" and "More Space" 1024 x 640 - 1680 x 1050 but the important bit is "Looks Like" because the default never really changes.
Does that explain it?

 

[milomak]

Also, if yo watch the OP's YouTube link, it appears he is having distortion issues in a certain program.

it's not just a certain program. it happens to every and all windows that i move when i chose a scaled display that is not default

 

[milomak]

This is what my Default looks like

http://imgur.com/a/KWCQN

 

[Ember1205]

This is all been explained before Ember... by Apple and in several Magazines. You're viewing a "scaled" display not a true 5120 x 2880 on a 27" screen. The characters would be way too small for normal eyesight. Not that I'm saying you "couldn't" view it at that resolution, but that it just isn't practical.

Hmmm.

My understanding is that a pixel is a pixel is a pixel. And, resolution "is what it is". The scaling comes in when you're talking about how MANY pixels are used to draw things on the screen - no?

 

[usagora]

This is all been explained before Ember... by Apple and in several Magazines. You're viewing a "scaled" display not a true 5120 x 2880 on a 27" screen. The characters would be way too small for normal eyesight. Not that I'm saying you "couldn't" view it at that resolution, but that it just isn't practical.

The article linked earlier from Apple says:

If you need to adjust the resolution of your display, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu. The Retina display offers scaled resolutions. These allow you to have text and objects appear larger and more visible, or smaller, which provides more space for windows and apps. Your Mac will show either four or five scaled resolution options depending on the model.

So that implies that you're only viewing a scaled display if you choose so, and by default you are viewing a 5120x2880 display (for the iMac 5k)

And the settings themselves imply this (it separates "Scaled" from "Default" - implying that the default isn't scaled):

 

[lclev]

Maybe this article will help: http://teknosrc.com/resolution-vs-pixel-density-in-displays-all-you-need-to-know/

Lisa

 

[Ember1205]

Maybe this article will help: http://teknosrc.com/resolution-vs-pixel-density-in-displays-all-you-need-to-know/

Lisa

Kind of reinforces my thinking...

The display's resolution is "x" always and forever. You can scale that to make it seem better or worse, but the monitor / display has a specific resolution it's capable of. The scaling affects the size of a pixel, but at "default resolution", the pixel size is what it is and everything else is related to how MANY pixels get used to draw something that determine actual size on the screen and how easily it's viewed at any particular distance.