Apple’s new Thunderbolt Display will ship with a built-in GPU that will provide entry-level and older Macs with enough power to drive its super sharp 5K resolution, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans.
It’s been five years since Apple refreshed its standalone monitor, so the existing model is starting to look a little antiquated — especially when you still it alongside a stunning 5K iMac. But with stock now dwindling throughout the U.S., it looks like a new model is finally upon us.
And according to 9to5Mac, it’s going to be pretty special. The new Thunderbolt Display won’t just offer an insanely crisp 5120×2880 resolution, but it will pack its very own GPU that will ensure your Mac can drive it without any performance issues.
“Our sources explain that the reason for it is primarily for compatibility with as many future Macs as possible,” reads the report. It takes a lot of power to push all those pixels without impacting system performance, so older machines, and those with low-end GPUs, would struggle.
This is a problem for Apple. Its mission to make MacBooks thinner and lighter often means sacrificing some performance, which is why its latest 12-inch MacBook is no good for games and other graphically intensive tasks — despite its hefty price tag.
Apple obviously doesn’t want to offer a display that only a certain portion of users can enjoy, so giving it its own GPU solves that problem. It could also allow machines like the MacBook to run certain games more smoothly.
With its next OS X update, Apple will reportedly add a new feature that makes using that new Thunderbolt Display totally seamless. When you connect it to your Mac, OS X quickly works out which one has the most powerful GPU, then uses it, leaving the other one inactive.
It’s thought only one GPU will be used at all times, and that the two will not run in conjunction with one another.
This suggests to me that the GPU inside the Thunderbolt Display won’t be a super powerful one. To keep costs low (and profit margins high), Apple will likely choose one that provides just enough power to provide a smooth 5K experience, and not a lot else.
If you own a high-end Mac Pro with the best GPUs available, then — or maybe even a top-of-the-line iMac — it’s unlikely you’re going to get greater performance when pairing it with a new Thunderbolt Display.
It’s not yet clear how this display will connect to your Mac, but with Apple’s switch to USB-C on the MacBook — and apparently the new MacBook Pro — that seems like the most likely solution. 9to5 adds that the display panel itself will be almost identical to that in the 5K iMac.
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
8 responses to “Apple’s new 5K Thunderbolt Display could have its own GPU”
“To keep costs low (and profit margins high)…”
Yep, that’s why they’re in business.
Does the author realise that the I/O on the Mac Pro is incapable of driving 5K? This is why the update has taken so long. It may have a new Thunderbolt connection (which would also need to be on new Mac Pros) capable of driving 5K, but as it stands, the inbuilt GPU WILL provide better performance than a Mac Pro can, regardless of its CPU.
Maybe someone should tell Apple! According to its Mac Pro product page, the machine is capable of powering three 5K displays simultaneously.
As I said, the *video card* in the Mac Pro can drive them (via a non-Thunderbolt connection), but the current Thunderbolt connection does not support it.
I’ve been waiting for the Cinema Display to be updated for many years. I’m still using the old 30″ Cinema Display with aluminum bezels — primarily because it has a matte screen and still works just fine with my Mac Pro. The most important upgrade I’m looking for on the new model display is that Apple finally brings the anti-glare coating to that mirror-like glass to reduce reflections like they did on the newer model iMacs. This is hugely important to me, as I do not do well with highly reflective screens, which give me headaches. The extra resolution (5K) will be a bonus, although I must say that the old 99 pixels per inch resolution standard used on the 30″ screen is just fine.
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Killian is right. On the Specifications page for the Mac Pro on Apple’s site it clearly states the Mac Pro can drive three 5K displays (and 6 Thunderbolt displays), and this is apparently right out of the box. Nothing is mentioned about upgrading anything in order to drive these 5K displays. Looks like I’m finally going to be upgrading my venerable old 30″ to one of the new displays when they come out (hopefully with that ant-glare coating).
See my reply to Killian: the *video card* in the Mac Pro can drive them (via a non-Thunderbolt connection), but the current Thunderbolt connection does not support it.