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I've been Googling so much my eyes hurt.

I have a 2014 rMBP.

I want to use it with a 4K display or UHD TV at 60Hz that's at least 30" big.

From my research, this means either using something with a DisplayPort input, or with HDMI 2.0.

The MBP only has HDMI 1.4 (I think) and is thus limited to 30Hz.

There are no >28" 4K monitors for less than $3,000.

But what if I used one of these DP-to-HDMI2 adapters? Would that make it possible to use a UHD TV with HDMI2 like this one?

Has anyone tried this kind of set up? Are there any decent 4K TVs/monitors for less than $1,500?

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Your question has two parts: whether an rMBP can drive a 4K display, and whether any exist within your price range.

Apple's support site lists compatibility between their laptops and 4K displays.

If your Retina Macbook Pro is one of the 15" models, it can drive 60Hz MST displays at 60Hz through the thunderbolt port.

If it is a 13" model, it cannot - you are limited to 30hz regardless of output.

If your laptop does support it, the Asus PQ321Q is a 32" monitor that accepts a 60Hz image via MST. It is $2000.

There are also numerous 28" models that support 60Hz over DisplayPort 1.2. One example would be the $500 Samsung U28D590D.

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  • The 28" looks good but what about performance (on web browser and application like Photoshop) ?
    – benoît
    Nov 2, 2014 at 9:45
  • On a 15" using scaled resolutions (for example, 1920x1200 equivalent), the laptop is already driving a virtual 4k display, that's then downsampled to fit on the laptop screen. In other words, go to System Preferences > Display > Resolution, choose "Scaled", and select "More Space." If the applications you mentioned don't have performance problems, it is likely they will be ok on a 4k monitor. NOTE: this assumes you're using the laptop in clamshell (closed) mode. If you want to drive both displays simultaneously, I don't know if there's an impact.
    – dshack
    Nov 2, 2014 at 18:31
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stumbled across this question 5 months later, but here are my findings after my own googling as of april 2015:

You cant run a 4k TV with only HDMI inputs at 60hz from any Mac. I recently purchased the exact TV you linked, the 40" samsung UHD. It only has HDMI inputs, and my rocketfish DP to HDMI adapter cable going from my mid-2014 rMBP with OSX 10.10.3 does not work at 4K at all. According to my googling none of the DP-to-HDMI cables output HDMI 2.0. ALthough there may be some coming to market in the next few months (from accell/bizlink).

Going from the HDMI 1.4 output on my rMBP I can get 4k, but only at 30hz.

Also, a samsung online chat rep informed me that none of their TV's have displayport inputs. Only their 28" and 32" computer monitors.

So, regretfully, I'm about to return my beautiful 40" TV to bestbuy and get a smaller 28" monitor with DisplayPort input. The world isnt quite ready for running OSX on a 40" TV at 60hz.

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