HIDPI on 5120 x 1440 not getting sharper

[Qwin]

Hello everyone,

So just started using this product and try it out on my 5120 x 1440 monitor (samsung odyssey g9 49"). So the highest hidpi choice I get using a USC - C to DP on my m1 pro mac is the 3840 x 1080 choice (5120 x 1440 low res) which sadly really cuts down on my vertical perspective. I was thinking of somehow getting hidpi on 5120 x 1440 using a dummy and I actually got it working with internal resolution of frame buffer to 10240 x 2880 and 5120 x 1440 actual resolution, yet for some reason it still doesnt look sharp. It feels still low res and if I compare it to my macs retina I can still see the pixels and the words are still pixelated. Another thing is also that it goes to 60hz instead of 120hz but I am not much of a gamer, just using it for coding, so text sharpness is more important.

I am using the high res experimental feature of BetterDisplay, so was wondering if there is any tips / hints how I can improve the 10240 res sharpness. (could it be that its not working because the 8k restrictions on m1 pro gpus)

It looks sharp when using the 3840 x 1080 (which in turn sets the framebuffer to 7XXX x 2XXX I believe).

UPDATE: Actually I might be understanding hidpi wrong and thinking its just a anti aliasing of pixels, I might actually need to select a smaller size like 4096 x 1152, which should at least make it vertically a bit sharper. I will keep this thread open if I am still misunderstanding.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,
Robert

[waydabber]

Hi there, I think you are doing everything all right. The sharpness however really depends on the PPI (pixel density) of the display which is a physical property. The Odessy G9 has a low PPI (109) which is nowhere near the PPI of 200 for most Apple displays or approx 150 common for 4K 27" displays which might still be considered "retina quality". If you are using a frame buffer of 10240 x 2880 with HiDPI, you practically do a 2x supersampling. As you lower the resolution, more physical pixels are allocated to a logical pixel (4 framebuffer pixels) which will increase GUI clarity.

[waydabber]

I'll convert this to a discussion. Let me know if my explanation is not clear or you have any questions! :)

[Qwin]

Ok that totally makes sense! Thank you for clarifying it!

[kikky7]

I use same size monitor, just oled version. Using MacBook M2 Max 16, connected via hdmi 8k cable. Max resolutions available through default iOS display are not in 32:9 ratio. So I installed this app, there was no option for new resolutions and then I installed switchResX. Now resolutions are available, but text, colors, icons and everything else just looks terrible on any resolution I select, either 3840x1080 hidpi or 5120x1440.

So how to setup that f*cking screen to look decent using betterdisplay app?

[kikky7]

@xbtmatt just throw that monitor in the trash, or return it if you can.

[xbtmatt]

@kikky7 I actually figured out what the issue was- I had game mode set to on on the monitor. When you do this, it disables a lot of finer control over the settings for whatever reason. It unlocks 240 hz so I use it when I'm on Windows, but I forgot that it can mess with everything on this.

After disabling Game Mode and using BetterDisplay, it looks passably decent again, to the point where I would've been okay with it previously.

[xbtmatt]

I agree that the monitor is sort of crappy in a lot of regards. But ultrawide gaming on Windows does look great, and in general thing look great on Windows.

[kikky7]

I 100% disagree, monitor is utter crap on any system under any settings, regardless of mode - and I tried everything since I paid it around 1800 eur and can't return it or resell for some decent money return, even on Windows, when used for anything but ultrawide games. The Dell one I mentioned is superior in every possible aspect I am using the monitor.

[chonty]

@kikky7 settle down champ

[sashaaldrick]

Hi @waydabber, thanks for you time and effort on this. I also have this screen and macOS, and it looks quite blurry. I can not seem to get a HiDPI version of 5120 x 1440, is there a physical limitation for this?

[Lojyk]

@crash91 think I managed to set this up but the text is still blurry:

The monitor is showing the input as 3840 x 1080 @ 120hz. It's in game mode but there doesn't seem to be any setting on the monitor to force a certain resolution. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Honestly close to giving up here

[crash91]

@Lojyk how are you connected to the monitor? Also which Mac do you have? From my searching, HDMI 2.1 is only present on M2 Pro and better so that may be a possible reason. Maybe 60Hz is worth trying too since its better than nothing.

Also maybe check if "input signal plus" or whatever its called is enabled on the monitor for that input.

[Lojyk]

@crash91 I've got the M4 Pro Mac Mini so should be good on that end, and signal input plus is on for the HDMI port.

Have tried 60hz and it's the same issue. I'm using this cable: https://www.cablematters.com/pc-1663-124-usb-c-to-8k-hdmi-cable.aspx

What about you? Which cable worked for the 5120x1440 HiDPI 120hz?

[crash91]

@Lojyk, hm I'm using the HDMI to micro HDMI that came with the monitor. I don't really know what else could be wrong. Maybe a silly question but: have you tried restarting the Mac? I remember I had some stuff only work after a reboot. Otherwise I don't really know what could be wrong, I'm sorry :(

[13parsecs]

@crash91 I've got the M4 Pro Mac Mini so should be good on that end, and signal input plus is on for the HDMI port.

Have tried 60hz and it's the same issue. I'm using this cable: https://www.cablematters.com/pc-1663-124-usb-c-to-8k-hdmi-cable.aspx

What about you? Which cable worked for the 5120x1440 HiDPI 120hz?

Apple prefer to "see" Displayport at the monitor end, not HDMI. You'll need a - high quality - USB-C to Displayport cable.