Supersize me.

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Dual LG displays, each running at 3440 x 1440 pixels. 30″ Apple Cinema Display in back.

A custom Mac Pro build for a customer saw him requesting tests with two LG 34UM95C displays, which run $600 or so each at the time of writing. These are ultrawide IPS panels with definition just shy of 4K. The user is a video production professional and needs all the screen real estate he can get. The Mac Pro is a 2009 heavily modified by me, running dual X5690 3.46GHz 12-core CPUs, 64GB of 1333MHz registered server RAM, 4TB of mSATA SATA3 SSD drives on one PCIe card and 4 x 4TB WD Caviar Black 7200rpm HDD. The total investment of some $6,000 compares with an all in cost of $15,000 for like performance with the new (trash can) Mac Pro.

The displays are driven by an EVGA Nvidia GTX970 4GB card, model 04G-P4-3975-KR, which runs some $300 at Amazon. This card is distinguished by having no fewer than three DisplayPort sockets, in addition to DVI and HDMI. The GTX970 has the same performance capabilities as the earlier GTX680, but the latter comes with dual DVI, one DP and one HDMI sockets and while it will drive one of the LGs at maximum definition it will not drive two, both the HDMI and the DVI (using a DVI to HDMI cable) being limited to half a screen at 1720 x 720 pixels – useless. The GTX970 uses 25% less power than the GTX680 – 145 watts vs. 195 watts at full chat. That’s a non-trivial difference. If you can live with the issues in the next paragraph, this card is highly recommended.

The ports on the GTX970 – the three DisplayPort sockets are arrowed.

The stock GTX970 has two issues – there is no splash screen at start with the Mac Pro (no big deal unless you want to switch in and out of Boot Camp) and requires the use of Nvidia’s drivers which must first be installed (as a SysPrefs pane) or you will get a black screen. Further, as Apple does not include these drivers with OS X, any update to OS X may require the update of the driver first. Nvidia is very good about keeping these current as it helps them sell cards for the 9xx cards. By contrast, the 6xx and 7xx cards work with the native OS X drivers.

Nvidia driver loaded in the System Preferences pane.

If you need truly vast screen area, the LGs are recommended. There’s a costlier version with Thunderbolt sockets for the trash can Mac Pro, useless for classic Mac Pro users. The center base of the display sports a joystick which makes one-off tuning adjustments easy. The foot, a nice alloy match for the Mac Pro, is retained with two screws at one of two heights and limited tilt is provided. The displays have a very narrow frame and are both elegant and beautifully made. I would prefer the foot to be one inch taller, but that’s a personal preference.

Full definition on both, each running at 60Hz.

My copy of Unigine Heaven maxes out at 2560 x 1440, so the adjusted framing rate shown in the (stretched) screenshot below figures to 38fps – excellent performance especially when the number of pixels is taken into account.

Tested on a 12-core 3.06GHz 2009 Mac Pro which also sports an ancient GT120 card.

Performance of the displays is exemplary. There is absolutely no backlight bleed and the displays are easily tuned, being shipped far too bright for photo processing – as is the case with just about every display out there. If you need vast screen real estate – 23% more than on a 30″ Apple Cinema Display – these are a bargain, and involve none of the issues encountered with 4K displays (flickering, incompatibility, minuscule font sizes, etc.). The back is drilled for a standard 100mm VESA wall or arm mount plate. Surprisingly light for their size, each comes with a DP and an HDMI cable, and those are the only two graphics sockets on the display. A provided stick on clear sheet of plastic adds ‘slideability’ on your desktop of choice. I left it off. Unlike the current ghastly and horribly overpriced Apple 27″ Thunderbolt displays with their awful glossy screens, the LGs sport pleasantly matte screens and suffer no reflection issues. Ideal for professional use all day long.

Prices on all flat panel LED/LCD displays continue to fall rapidly – I would hate to be in that business. Here’s the trend for the LG: