Apple Adds High-End 15" Retina MacBook Pro to List of Macs Supporting Dell's 5K Display

dell_up2715k_5kApple has updated a support document on its website to reflect that the high-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, equipped with AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics, is capable of driving Dell's dual-cable UP2715K 27-inch 5K display. Apple initially released OS X 10.10.3 in April with support for the dual-cable 5K monitor on the Retina 5K iMac and 2013 Mac Pro, but no notebooks supported the display at the time.

Dual-Cable Displays

Some displays with resolutions higher than 4K require two DisplayPort cables to connect the display at full resolution. With OS X Yosemite v10.10.3 or later, the Dell UP2715K 27-inch 5K display is supported on the following Mac computers:

Mac Pro (Late 2013)
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014 and later)
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) with AMD Radeon R9 M370X

Dell's dual-cable 5K display requires more bandwidth than is currently supported over a current single DisplayPort cable, so it uses a dual-cable solution that takes up two Thunderbolt ports on a Mac. The availability of Intel's Skylake platform with DisplayPort 1.3 support later this year will enable Apple to update Macs with support for external 5K displays that function over a single cable, at which point the company could theoretically release a 5K Thunderbolt Display.

The support document also lists the high-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro as capable of driving most single-stream 4K displays (4,096-by-2,160) at 60Hz on OS X 10.10.3, becoming the first notebook to support single-stream 4K displays alongside the Mac Pro (Late 2013) and iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014 and later).

Apple initially listed the high-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro with AMD Radeon graphics as capable of supporting an ultra-wide display with up to 5,120-by-2,160 resolution at 60Hz, but has since updated the notebook's technical specifications to reflect its ability to drive a single external display at up to 5,120-by-2,880 resolution at 60Hz.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Caution)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

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Top Rated Comments

furi0usbee Avatar
140 months ago
The race for "thinner" and "higher resolution" is killing Apple's computers IMO. The point will be here soon where I have this thin piece of crap that can drive a 5k display with, but can't do much else due to the crippling of hardware/software and the lack of any usefulness.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. When I get a new iPhone, the first thing I did was put all Apple's apps in one folder and put them on page two. I then went and downloaded third party apps that were better and did what those Apple apps should have done.

Now, when I install Yosemite, I do the same thing. I don't use any Apple apps any longer, except really Aperture. Yosemite has to be the worse OS X version I've ever used. All I do all day it seems is force quit apps, and that's after a clean install.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBG4 Dude Avatar
140 months ago
Not sure why anyone would buy a Dell UP2715K when for $300 more you can get a whole 5k iMac.

In a few years, when the iMac is obsolete, the Dell 5K display will be able to migrate to a new computer. The iMac 5K display will not.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Going Digital Avatar
140 months ago
Not sure why anyone would buy a Dell UP2715K when for $300 more you can get a whole 5k iMac.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Benjamin Frost Avatar
140 months ago
Does anyone know if the Apple Watch can run this display?

----------

The race for "thinner" and "higher resolution" is killing Apple's computers IMO. The point will be here soon where I have this thin piece of crap that can drive a 5k display with, but can't do much else due to the crippling of hardware/software and the lack of any usefulness.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. When I get a new iPhone, the first thing I did was put all Apple's apps in one folder and put them on page two. I then went and downloaded third party apps that were better and did what those Apple apps should have done.

Now, when I install Yosemite, I do the same thing. I don't use any Apple apps any longer, except really Aperture. Yosemite has to be the worse OS X version I've ever used. All I do all day it seems is force quit apps, and that's after a clean install.

I can hear the violins from here.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
elmateo487 Avatar
140 months ago
Exactly. $300 more for a new Mac and a vastly superior display to the Dell. Dude, don't buy the Dell.
I am pretty sure the point of a laptop is to have a laptop.... you know. So you can take it places and put it on your lap.

*smacks forehead*
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scott911 Avatar
140 months ago
Not sure why anyone would buy a Dell UP2715K when for $300 more you can get a whole 5k iMac.

Because all in ones are as smart as having a vcr or dvd player built into your tv set.

That notion fails everywhere except apple thanks to it's marketing.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)