Writing for 9to5Mac, Chance Miller says the problems with LG UltraFine 5K displays and routers is a strong sign that Apple should return to the display business. He’s right, and I still hope for a Thunderbolt Display with an integrated GPU that has been rumored in the past.
A GPU, or graphics processing unit, is a single-chip processor that creates lighting effects and transforms objects every time a 3D scene is redrawn. These are mathematically-intensive tasks, which otherwise, would put quite a strain on the central processing unit (CPU). Removing this burden from the CPU on the computer itself frees up cycles that can be used for other tasks.
![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/60B71D2C-B4C2-4DFF-9A05-733B84248BB3.jpeg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/60B71D2C-B4C2-4DFF-9A05-733B84248BB3.jpeg)
I’d love to see a next gen Thunderbolt Display that features a 5K resolution display of 5120×2880 pixels (as does the iMac with 5K Retina Display) and integrates a dedicated external GPU into the display itself.
It takes a lot of graphics power to push 5K worth of pixels, which means that normal super high-resolution displays require connected computers to include significantly powerful GPUs. Since Apple seems obsessed with making Mac laptops as thin and light as possible, their built-in GPUs can only be so powerful.
I expect new iMacs within the next couple of months. I don’t think Apple will, but I’d love for the company to take the display design of the all-in-ones screen and give us an Apple-branded monitor as it has in the past — but with a built-in GPU.
![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/7E2675C6-9415-4B3D-86C0-DAA123E3BD60.jpeg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/archive/7E2675C6-9415-4B3D-86C0-DAA123E3BD60.jpeg)