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Razzosinni

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 8, 2013
30
1
Hello, everyone.

I am looking to buy a new Mac desktop. Maybe one of the most important things for me is the screen. I had a MacBook Air for about 8 or 9 months, but I had to sell it and go with a Retina MacBook Pro. I"ll say this from the beginning : this laptop is great and it's a great work machine, for my needs. I mainly use Premiere Pro and Final Cut, and even though it doesn't have a dedicated GPU, it still works flawlessly. I now use that as my main computer, and while a 15" display is more than enough for when I'm on the go, I would like more real screen estate when I am at home.

However, I am not looking for a powerhouse. The only things that I will be doing on a new machine will be web browsing, email, iTunes and word processing, as well as watching movies. Therefore, I want :

1. A high resolution display.
2. A big display.
2. A computer that runs OS X without any issues.

The 21.5 iMac won't cut it for me, because it's 1080p. While I find the 27" iMac's resolution decent enough, it starts at 1800$ and there's no way I"ll buy anything that has a spinning hard drive. Yes, I know I can throw some flash storage in there, but that"ll make my purchase even more expensive, and at this point, I can't afford a 2000$ computer. Needless to say, I would have gone with the Retina iMac if I had the money.

So I considered two options :

1. Get a 4K monitor and use the MacBook Pro in closed clamshell mode when I am at home - while I find this to be the cheaper option, I don't think I"ll be too comfortable plugging my MacBook constantly into a monitor and also keeping it connected to a power source. This way, I would spend about 500$-600$ on a 4K display and I would have the screen estate I want on a computer I already own.
2. Get a 4K monitor and a Mac Mini late 2014, and go with the mid range model - Dual core 2.6GHz i5, 8GB RAM and get a 256SSD. I am not interested in a 2012 Mac Mini, as it only supports 1080p and the high resolution of the display is a big deal for me. If I get this, I will end up paying 1400$ for a Mac and a 4K display, which I believe is more than decent and I wouldn't have to constantly plug the MacBook into a power outlet.

As far as the 4K monitor is concerned, I am leaning towards the Samsung UHD 28" monitor. The reviews have been pretty good and I can get it for an excellent price where I live. I can hardly get other 4k monitors in that price range, so I think it's a great deal.

What should I do?
 
From the Apple Mini specs page

Video Support

Support for up to two displays at 2560 by 1600 pixels, both at millions of colors

Thunderbolt digital video output

Native Mini DisplayPort output
DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (sold separately)
VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter (sold separately)
Dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (sold separately)


HDMI video output

Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz
Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz
Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz
DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)


http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs/
 
Yes, I saw that. Is there anything in particular that I should know about the new Mac Mini running at 4K resolution?
 
Yes, I saw that. Is there anything in particular that I should know about the new Mac Mini running at 4K resolution?

It will only run at 30 Hz; fine for video viewing, but not favourite for some other computing uses. A lower resolution monitor will run at the usual computer standard of 60 Hz.
 
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