I just purchased a new MAC Studio M4 and i am using an Alienware 27 Gaming Monitor - AW2723DF. The display is fuzzy using just using the HDMI cables - i believe i need to connect differently but i dont know what cable i need to get the best resolution
that AW2723DF display appears to be a 2560 x 1440 display capable of 10 bits/color using FRC dithering.
Interfaces
for HDR=ON 10 bits/color, standard DisplayPort over USB-C is limited to 144 Hz refresh
for HDR=ON 10 bits/color, standard HDMI over PREMIUM cables is limited to 100 Hz.
[ Higher speeds over HDMI Would be available using HDMI 2.1 and ULTRA cables, BUT are Not because the DISPLAY does not support HDMI 2.1
for HDR=OFF 8 bits/color, refresh rates of up to 144 Hz are available using at least PREMIUM cables.
Even higher refresh rates are available over TWO cables, one from the HDMI port, and the other with an adapter to HDMI, each showing half the screen (Left/Right).
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HDMI cables you want for HDMI-only Displays (higher resolutions than 720p TV sets) are marked as Certified with an anti-counterfeiting tag and are labeled:
"PREMIUM High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "with Ethernet" (up to 4K at 30Hz) --OR--
“ULTRA High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "48G" (supports higher resolutions and backward-compatible)
Cables with No Certification tags are good for your standard 720p TV set, and not much more.
HDMI was invented for HD TV sets. it works great at its original resolution of 720i or 720p. At higher resolutions, it quickly develops issues that are complex to solve, and the cables and adapters required to solve are NOT intuitive.
Part of the issue may be that this monitor has standard pixel density – and that modern versions of macOS do not support a feature called "sub-pixel anti-aliasing" that Apple once used to improve the appearance of text on such screens.
Thank you!
Please let readers know what you decide to try next, and what results you obtained.
Resolution issue with Mac Studio M4 and Alienware 27 Monitor
