4k Monitor on a mac mini 2012 - Is it worth?

[kissmo]

I know there have been a lot of questions and threads regarding support for 4K monitor for a Mac Mini 2012.
My config is a core i7 with 16GB of RAM and a Samsung SSD.

I noticed Photoshop runs better and faster on the Mac Mini than on a retina core i5 MBP 2015 and I would like to use the Mac Mini for this purpose - So basically working with text and Photos retouching.

I have no interest in watching movies, gaming or rendering videos on it.

Therefore - I am having strong doubts about purchasing a 4K monitor since I understand at 4K resolution the refresh rate is about 30Hz.
I cannot take the mac mini to the shop and test there.... store policies.... so I resort to asking anyone who has some experience with a 4K display on a mac mini late 2012.

Can anyone please advise me if I should bother buying one? Currently I have no working monitor for it so I need to buy a new one.
I know the mac mini supports 1440p resolution @60HZ - but how does the 4K monitor work in lower resolutions?

Any advise is extremely useful.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Fishrrman]

There's no point in getting a 4k display for a 2012 Mini.
It can't support that resolution, period.

I believe the Mini can do 1440p, however. In that case, a 32" 1440p display might be a good alternative. Perhaps something like this?
https://www.dpreview.com/news/96378...lips-monitor-with-99-adobe-rgb-only-costs-500

 

[kissmo]

There's no point in getting a 4k display for a 2012 Mini.
It can't support that resolution, period.

I believe the Mini can do 1440p, however. In that case, a 32" 1440p display might be a good alternative. Perhaps something like this?
https://www.dpreview.com/news/96378...lips-monitor-with-99-adobe-rgb-only-costs-500

Hmmm! Thanks!

I will look into this option.

 

[saulinpa]

I see at the Apple store they are now connecting the mini to a 5K LG monitor. It works at 2880 x 1800 or something like that.

 

[sublunar]

I run a 1440p display off my 2012 Mini. Be warned that you will need to connect using the Thunderbolt/Mini Displayport and the display will use over half the bandwidth available down the TB1 connector.

 

[dogslobber]

4K monitors work great at non-standard resolutions. I use a 2048x1532 resolution with a 2012 Mini and it looks great. The trouble is it's only 30hz so that might be an issue for some. The default resolution for a 4K is running at 1080p which is usually 60hz.

 

[Ubele]

I have a 2015 MBP and a late 2012 Mac mini. I recently bought a 4K Samsung AE510 monitor for my MBP, and it looks great. I tried it with my mini. Although it looks acceptable at 2160 x 1440 (similar to a conventional 1080P monitor), it lacks the razor sharpness with text that it has at 4K with my MBP. Lower resolutions look progressively worse. (Maybe this varies among different brands and models of 4K monitors.) Since my mini is my secondary computer, I use a 1080P monitor with it. If it were my only computer, and I had no plans to upgrade to a computer that supports 4K, I'd buy a 2160 x 1440 monitor for it.

 

[twalk]

I'm running a HP 4K Envy monitor on my mid-2011 Mini at 2560x1600. The picture is great