Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Best Monitor for New Mini

Tomguin said:
I have the Mac Mini i5/8gb/256 as well as an ageing gaming rig with a GTX670 2gb card.

I currently use an old Dell U2412M monitor for both which I am looking to replace.

I am stuck between going for 2x 24" / 2x 27" / 1x 34" ultrawide.

I have a wide variety of use cases:

- Amateur photography in Lightroom
- Basic holiday GoPro video editing
- Work applications (spreadsheets etc)
- Gaming (MMO, FPS, RTS etc - not on ultra)
- Logic Pro music production
- General web browsing and video watching

My original plan was to get 1x 4k Dell 24" and 1x Dell gaming 24", with the Mini mainly using the 4k and the PC mainly the gaming monitor. Then I thought it might be better to get a couple of non-4k 27" monitors.

Now I'm thinking of just getting a 34 UltraWide like the Dell 3417 as it seems as though it would cope reasonably well with everything (I don't need amazing gaming response) and also has a KVM switch which would be good for using with my work laptop.

I don't want to spend more than ~£650ish - which i should be able to get that 34" for.

I am interested to know if that would be the best option for UltraWide and if both machines would handle it.

Any other suggestions would be welcome as well!

I'm thinking of keeping my gaming pc running as long as it reasonably can and then maybe getting an egpu when they are cheaper so I can just use the mac mini so a good choice for now and the future is needed. I will probably also increase the ram in the Mini.
Click to expand...

Stumbled across this as I'm also looking for another monitor (thinking another 4K monitor though): https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/compu...ed-led-monitor-white-silver-10181380-pdt.html

It's the cheapest 3440x1440 Ultrawide monitor I can find here in the UK. Would jump for the deal myself but I think it will be too wide alongside a 4K monitor as well.
 
Dr. Dr. Evil said:
Plan to buy the same monitor.
Any experiences so far?
Click to expand...
I’ve had the Dell S2719DC monitor for a few weeks on my 2018 i5/500/16, love it. Connected to the mini via USB-C. Also have a mini-DP to DP cable that I leave attached to the monitor for my Windows work computer. The mini also is connected to an older 27” monitor by HDMI, also 2560 x 1440 at 60 H. Nice real estate for multiple apps open at once. The USB hub in the Dell monitor works fine too.
 
Chiromac81 said:
If eve



If everyone is saying that ppi and dpi is worse and worse at 4K at 27 or further detiriating at 32 inches then 43 must be TERRIBLE
Click to expand...
kinda like 1080p on 27". (looking at one now while my LG arrives. yes its terrible.)
 
Dell U2718Q 4K HDR monitor goes well with my mac mini 2018 core i3
 
Last edited:
Tomguin said:
Amazing tip! On my way to get it :)
Click to expand...

Don’t make me jealous! I’d love an ultrawide, but it would be a bit much next to a 27” 4K monitor!
[doublepost=1546170594][/doublepost]
adamcarvell said:
i like the look of that too how would it perform with my 2012 mac mini ?
Click to expand...
Ooft, sorry i just assume most folks have the 2018 model. I doubt the 2012 mini can run it at full res @60hz.

Apparently it works at 50hz: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-mini-late-2012-with-lg-34uc98-at-3440x1440.2038327/
 
Last edited:
I had been planning on buying a new iMac soon but my room is very small so I was thinking a wall mounted Mac Mini would be a good alternative.

Will the Mini work with any 4K TV as a monitor? I haven't bought the television yet but it is going to be a Sony.
 
AeroBar said:
I had been planning on buying a new iMac soon but my room is very small so I was thinking a wall mounted Mac Mini would be a good alternative.

Will the Mini work with any 4K TV as a monitor? I haven't bought the television yet but it is going to be a Sony.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, yes. A monitor will be better if you sit close, but a TV will just fine. There are plenty of relatively cheap 4K monitors on sale now which are good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AeroBar
gusping said:
Absolutely, yes. A monitor will be better if you sit close, but a TV will just fine. There are plenty of relatively cheap 4K monitors on sale now which are good.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

There will be an AppleTV 4K and an xBox One also and I hadn't given much thought to distance or the kind of seat I would when using the Mac. I hadn't even considered the set up for the keyboard and mouse. :)
 
Easttime said:
Thanks for this, but those are all 4K/5K options. I am quite happy with my less expensive 27” 2K 2560x1440 monitors on my 2018 mini. I use them extensively for my professional work, which is not in computers or photography. Sounds like there are others like me out there, and lots of professionals in other fields, who are confused about monitor options the way I was until I finally sorted it out for my use case. A broader scoped concise guide like you started would be helpful.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think there are many with older displays who would like to repurpose or determine if it's usable with the new Mac mini. Way back when, all you needed was a decent 2K monitor and a cheap Mac mini, you were good to go.

With retina quality 4 and 5K displays becoming the norm, it gets confusing having to factor in scaling, video cards and RAM. Kind of wish Apple would just come out with perhaps a 24" and 32" displays that are optimized for the Mac mini and upcoming Mac Pro.
 
adamcarvell said:
Might be better off saving up for the 2028 mini then
Click to expand...
Good idea. One with an i7/16GB ram will keep you going for years if you’re managing with a 2012 mini. Versus the MBPs they are very cheap imo. I love mine so far.
[doublepost=1546182499][/doublepost]
AeroBar said:
Thank you.

There will be an AppleTV 4K and an xBox One also and I hadn't given much thought to distance or the kind of seat I would when using the Mac. I hadn't even considered the set up for the keyboard and mouse. :)
Click to expand...

No problem. Any wireless M&K will do. I’m sure you could get a tray or something made for using a M&K on a couch. Search around maybe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AeroBar
gusping said:
Good idea. One with an i7/16GB ram will keep you going for years if you’re managing with a 2012 mini. Versus the MBPs they are very cheap imo. I love mine so far.
[doublepost=1546182499][/doublepost]

No problem. Any wireless M&K will do. I’m sure you could get a tray or something made for using a M&K on a couch. Search around maybe.
Click to expand...
Deciding whether to get new Mac mini then new monitor and the space grey keyboard and mouse or go for the iMac which might work out cheaper.
 
adamcarvell said:
Deciding whether to get new Mac mini then new monitor and the space grey keyboard and mouse or go for the iMac which might work out cheaper.
Click to expand...

The current iMac is ancient. In 3-4 years, having a 4-core CPU will show its age I think. Either wait until WWDC for a new iMac, or get a Mac mini. I'd also get a cheaper keyboard and mouse if I were you go with the mini, but it depends what you want I guess. The current 'magic' keyboard is not worth £100, and the Magic Mouse is truly horrible to use imo. I guess I like my real buttons and clicks too much :p
 
gusping said:
The current iMac is ancient. In 3-4 years, having a 4-core CPU will show its age I think. Either wait until WWDC for a new iMac, or get a Mac mini. I'd also get a cheaper keyboard and mouse if I were you go with the mini, but it depends what you want I guess. The current 'magic' keyboard is not worth £100, and the Magic Mouse is truly horrible to use imo. I guess I like my real buttons and clicks too much :p
Click to expand...

I doubt. Most people dont even use one
 
Ploki said:
I doubt. Most people dont even use one
Click to expand...
Maybe, but however you look at it, buying a 4-core iMac right now is poor choice given how old it is, and the speed on the CPU vs the modern 6-core CPUs. Give it 18-24 months (hopefully no longer although Apple isn't the quickest) and the new 10nm Intel CPUs will be out, which should provide substantial gains.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ploki
gusping said:
Maybe, but however you look at it, buying a 4-core iMac right now is poor choice given how old it is, and the speed on the CPU vs the modern 6-core CPUs. Give it 18-24 months (hopefully no longer although Apple isn't the quickest) and the new 10nm Intel CPUs will be out, which should provide substantial gains.
Click to expand...
Not saying that it's good value, just saying most people don't realize the potential of even 4 cores.
 
My current set up is apple wired keyboard Magic Mouse Mac mini 2012 i7 ssd with an acer 27 inch monitor that I’m not happy with tbh hence the reason for asking about that Samsung monitor or a dell one or hp envy not sure which is best to go for my monitor would be my first purchase
 
adamcarvell said:
My current set up is apple wired keyboard Magic Mouse Mac mini 2012 i7 ssd with an acer 27 inch monitor that I’m not happy with tbh hence the reason for asking about that Samsung monitor or a dell one or hp envy not sure which is best to go for my monitor would be my first purchase
Click to expand...

I have an LG 27UK650-W (27” 4K fake HDR) which i use on my 2018 mini, Xbox One X and PS4 Pro. Couldn’t recommend it enough. There is a 600-W variant that has a non-adjustable stand and an 850-W variant with USB-C. I’m waiting for CES 2019 to see if any new monitors are announced, otherwise I’m going to buy another.
 
  • Like
Reactions: adamcarvell
adamcarvell said:
The 650 model is £468 here in the uk the 850 is £540
Click to expand...
I’m from the UK too. Amazon don’t seem to sell the 650 themselves. The 600 snd 850 are both out of stock but can still be ordered. The 600 is £400 and the 850 is £480. I’d get the 850 do you can use USB-C and hopefully ignore the USB-C to DisplayPort cable problems on startup (screen only shows once you log in).
 
gusping said:
I’m from the UK too. Amazon don’t seem to sell the 650 themselves. The 600 snd 850 are both out of stock but can still be ordered. The 600 is £400 and the 850 is £480. I’d get the 850 do you can use USB-C and hopefully ignore the USB-C to DisplayPort cable problems on startup (screen only shows once you log in).
Click to expand...
That monitor better than the curved Samsung?.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back