BenQ 27" 4K PhotoVue and 2018 Mac mini

[dimme]

I am thinking of selling my 27" 2015 5K iMac for a BenQ 27" 4K PhotoVue and 2018 Mac mini with 500 ssd and 32GB of ram. I use Lightroom & Photoshop, word, excel, mail etc. Sometimes I may fly using Xplane. What attracts me to this setup is I have a PC which I use for testing that runs windows and linux, so I was hoping to share the monitor (not at the same time of course). I have a Dell 24" with 4 inputs and it is easy to switch between different computers on the front panel, can I do the same with the BenQ? How is the performance of the mini with a 4K screen? Do I want a eGPU? I have read the benchmarks but looking for opinions for photo people with this setup.
Thanks

 

[harriska2]

I have a 40” Samsung 4k monitor shared across 3 computers: 2018 mini and 2 windows 7 pcs. It works wonderfully. That said, the monitor, as nice as it is, will not be as good as the 5k. I am able to share the keyboard and mouse across all 3 (dell) using a switchbox and I use a magic trackpad 2 for the mac only. I love, love, love my setup. I use Final Cut and Affinity Photo along with Photos. No egpu and only 8 gb memory so far. Will update memory at some point.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I am thinking of selling my 27" 2015 5K iMac for a BenQ 27" 4K PhotoVue and 2018 Mac mini with 500 ssd and 32GB of ram. I use Lightroom & Photoshop, word, excel, mail etc. Sometimes I may fly using Xplane. What attracts me to this setup is I have a PC which I use for testing that runs windows and linux, so I was hoping to share the monitor (not at the same time of course). I have a Dell 24" with 4 inputs and it is easy to switch between different computers on the front panel, can I do the same with the BenQ? How is the performance of the mini with a 4K screen? Do I want a eGPU? I have read the benchmarks but looking for opinions for photo people with this setup.
Thanks

I have the BenQ SW271 and Mac Mini set up and it works fine. Yes you can switch between the different inputs. I have my Mac Mini connected with USB C and I connect my work MacBook Air with the display port to mini daisplayport (thunderbolt). Both cables and an HDMI come with it.
I use the HDMI for my second monitor as I like a two monitor set up.
I don’t have an eGPU and I’m happy with the performance for LR and PS.
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I have a 40” Samsung 4k monitor shared across 3 computers: 2018 mini and 2 windows 7 pcs. It works wonderfully. That said, the monitor, as nice as it is, will not be as good as the 5k. I am able to share the keyboard and mouse across all 3 (dell) using a switchbox and I use a magic trackpad 2 for the mac only. I love, love, love my setup. I use Final Cut and Affinity Photo along with Photos. No egpu and only 8 gb memory so far. Will update memory at some point.

Why won’t it be as good? The iMac screens are glossy and nowhere near as nice as the professional mat screens that BenQ and others sell.
People forget Apple ditched the professional market years ago.
But some people still read
Apple = better.
Not always I’m afraid.

 

[stillcrazyman]

I have a 32" ViewSonic 4k display on my Mini. BenQ was on my short list.
It's a great display. I run it off an eGPU with a good video card - mostly for the acceleration of photo editing tools. I didn't have a 5k iMac before (old 2012 iMac), so I can't compare the display quality. But for what I do, it's more than enough.

 

[gnohz]

I have a 32" ViewSonic 4k display on my Mini. BenQ was on my short list.
It's a great display. I run it off an eGPU with a good video card - mostly for the acceleration of photo editing tools. I didn't have a 5k iMac before (old 2012 iMac), so I can't compare the display quality. But for what I do, it's more than enough.

Hi stillcrazyman, I am looking to get a mini with similar specs to yours, i7, 8GB RAM (self upgrade to 32GB), 512GB SSD.

But I was wondering if without an eGPU (before you got one), was there any noticeable lag or responsiveness issues in the apps you use for photo editing when connected to a 4K monitor? Thanks.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Hi stillcrazyman, I am looking to get a mini with similar specs to yours, i7, 8GB RAM (self upgrade to 32GB), 512GB SSD.

But I was wondering if without an eGPU (before you got one), was there any noticeable lag or responsiveness issues in the apps you use for photo editing when connected to a 4K monitor? Thanks.

I don’t see any lag without the eGPU in LR or PS.

 

[gnohz]

I don’t see any lag without the eGPU in LR or PS.

Thanks a lot for verifying, Apple fanboy!
Currently I'm running an external 4k connected to MBPro mid-2015, i7 chip, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and for some reason, the lag in LR gradually gets worse by the minute as I edit in the Develop module until I restart LR or reboot. I'm guessing it's either the bad memory utilisation by LR, or not enough RAM, or both.

I'm also guessing an eGPU does not make a tonne of difference to speeding up LR.

By the way great monitor you're using there

 

[Apple fanboy]

Thanks a lot for verifying, Apple fanboy!
Currently I'm running an external 4k connected to MBPro mid-2015, i7 chip, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and for some reason, the lag in LR gradually gets worse by the minute as I edit in the Develop module until I restart LR or reboot. I'm guessing it's either the bad memory utilisation by LR, or not enough RAM, or both.

I'm also guessing an eGPU does not make a tonne of difference to speeding up LR.

By the way great monitor you're using there

I’d guess RAM was the issue to. My retired 2012 iMac had 16GB RAM and the lag when using the cloning tool was very noticeable.

 

[stillcrazyman]

Hi stillcrazyman, I am looking to get a mini with similar specs to yours, i7, 8GB RAM (self upgrade to 32GB), 512GB SSD.

But I was wondering if without an eGPU (before you got one), was there any noticeable lag or responsiveness issues in the apps you use for photo editing when connected to a 4K monitor? Thanks.

Before I used the eGpu I didn’t really notice a lot of lag except for some of the cloning and healing tools. It seems most processes that use brushing will push the limit of the mini’s graphics. I could do all the editing I do without the eGpu.

It’s a ‘nice to have’ option.

 

[gnohz]

Before I used the eGpu I didn’t really notice a lot of lag except for some of the cloning and healing tools. It seems most processes that use brushing will push the limit of the mini’s graphics. I could do all the editing I do without the eGpu.

It’s a ‘nice to have’ option.

Thanks stillcrazyman. I read somewhere that quite a bit of resources are required to drive a 4K monitor, hence the question

 

[stillcrazyman]

Thanks stillcrazyman. I read somewhere that quite a bit of resources are required to drive a 4K monitor, hence the question

More memory helps a great deal. 32GB should do well.