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I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014) and bought a Samsung U28E590 4k monitor. It looks great, but it seems like I have to pick and choose between resolution and refresh rate.. (I'm only getting 30Hz)

I have it hooked up with a thunderbolt -> DisplayPort adapter I bought. But even with that I seem to have a limited amount of display options, none of which are any good.

Is there a way I can fix this?

my display options

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  • Can you confirm that you bought a thunderbolt to DisplayPort 1.2 cable and not a lower standard adapter/cable?
    – CConard96
    Jul 30, 2016 at 21:55

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A. You need to verify the limit of your graphics card. In the specs, it will define the maximum frequency it can deliver. This means that the product of the number of lines on the screen and the frame frequency needs to be below your graphic card limit. Example: you want 60 Hz * 2000 lines (typical for 4K screens) = 120 KHz. Can your graphic card deliver that (that's pretty high...)?

B. If the graphic card is not the limit, check the specs of the ports you are using. HDMI 1.1 for example can only do 1920 lines by 60 Hz; I don't know the limits for Thunderbolt; I know that DisplayPort can do that. Each component needs to be able to deliver this rate, obviously

C. The final (and easiest) issue might be the OS you are using. I don't know Mac, but under Windows you can add manually resolutions and frequencies you want (in the graphics driver software, typically). this is probably not your issue, though

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  • There are various levels of HDMI as well, I believe HDMI 1.3 can do 4K, but only at 30FPS, where HDMI 1.4 or 2.0 can do higher rates
    – Mokubai ♦
    Jul 30, 2016 at 22:06
  • yes. I just mentioned HDMI 1.1 as an example for a limitation.
    – Aganju
    Jul 30, 2016 at 22:30

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