What is the highest resolution external display that can be driven by the Late 2012 13" Retina MacBook Pro

The MacBook is configured with 2.5 GHz Intel i5 processor, 8 GB of RMA and the Intel HD Graphics 4000 with 768 MB shared memory.

It's running Mac OS X 10.8.5 (12F45).

In particular, I'm wondering if it can drive Ultra HD display with a resolution of 3840 × 2160?

Solution 1:

If you are talking about the non-Retina version, then the highest it can go is 2560 x 1600 pixels for one display. (Source (under "Graphics and Video Support")).

If you are talking about the Retina version, then it can also go up to 2560 x 1600 pixels, but up to two displays. (Source (under "Graphics and Video Support"))

Conclusion: you should still be able to use the display in question, but your Mac will only let your monitor go up to 2560 x 1600.

Solution 2:

Here is the official link that says that you can connect a 4k monitor but at 30HZ, and on some setups (e.g. macbook pro retina late 2013) at 60HZ

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht6008

Also, the support article on thunderbolt FAQ is relevant to what monitors can be driven at high resolutions:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3382#11