mini + U2711

[cichlid81]

Looking at the mini as an alternative to another imac and using my Dell U2711. Question is I am looking at the server which does not offer a discrete GPU and was wondering if anybody has experience with this setup, (or any large monitor) I will be upgrading to 8GB of memory. I will not be doing any gaming, just need it to be smooth without any stuttering, i.e. Expose. Thanks.

 

[SR45]

Until someone with the same monitor as you have, I have a basic MacMini with Intels graphics, and used it with both a Dell U2412M monitor and a Dell 3007FPW monitor and have had no issues with stuttering. I have 8 GB of memory as well. I don't think you will have issues with the U2711 monitor and no gaming.

Others will weigh in with their set ups.

 

[elliotn]

Have a look at this thread - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1160859/ - and specifically post #24:

I have the U2711 with an AMD Mac mini and I wouldn't say that the animations are smooth, I would rather describe them as sluggish and jerky. It works but nothing more...

I'm using the same mini with a 27" Eizo CG275w and would agree that OS animations are not smooth. My simple test is to bring up Launchpad - the animation stutters. I previously had the mini Server, which was worse. But the AMD mini is only slightly better. I'm hoping Apple will fix this with the next update of Lion.

 

[cichlid81]

Thanks for the replies. I guess this this is something that I would need to try out for myself and judge. Your two answers seem to corroborate everything that I have been reading so far, some say no problem and others say sluggish. Unfortunately I will have a hard time trying to find a proper setup to test. I guess I can wait for ivy bridge, which is unfortunate considering that the current setup besides the graphics is more than adequate for my needs. I am by no means a hardware expert but it seems to me that powering a monitor is such a basic function that it is odd that any graphics, discrete or not would not be able to adequately work.

 

[dolphin842]

Thanks for the replies. I guess this this is something that I would need to try out for myself and judge. Your two answers seem to corroborate everything that I have been reading so far, some say no problem and others say sluggish. Unfortunately I will have a hard time trying to find a proper setup to test. I guess I can wait for ivy bridge, which is unfortunate considering that the current setup besides the graphics is more than adequate for my needs. I am by no means a hardware expert but it seems to me that powering a monitor is such a basic function that it is odd that any graphics, discrete or not would not be able to adequately work.

Yeah, this has been a complaint of mine as well. I have a 2010 mini with the nvidia graphics and Mission Control is almost unusable at times due to the stuttering (I have a 1920x1080 and 1280x1024 monitor). From 10.3->10.5, the GUI got smoother on identical hardware. Now from 10.6->10.7, things are moving backward in many regards. It's a shame that the OS X GUI still can't run smoothly on modern entry-level Macs.

For what it's worth, the minis in the Apple Store are usually hooked up to 27" monitors. That said, all of the Macs in my local Apple Store have weird graphics performance issues since Lion was put on them (window rearrangement in Mission Control is usually 0 fps even on high-end iMacs!), so what you see in the store may not be what you get when you take one home.

 

[thekev]

Have a look at this thread - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1160859/ - and specifically post #24:



I'm using the same mini with a 27" Eizo CG275w and would agree that OS animations are not smooth. My simple test is to bring up Launchpad - the animation stutters. I previously had the mini Server, which was worse. But the AMD mini is only slightly better. I'm hoping Apple will fix this with the next update of Lion.

You know... that really is stupid (that the machine is still giving you problems). Even with the discrete graphics, you're still having trouble. I would blame it on software and the OS. Basically bloated code, horrible OpenGL implementation, and bad graphics drivers, because there is absolutely no reason that any current gpu on the market shouldn't be able to handle simple OS animations. Apple has been irritating me lately. No sign of 10 bit RGB drivers on the horizon, bad opengl, really bleh mac pros. Any computer they release should be able to handle basic OS animation stuff without stuttering.

For what it's worth, the minis in the Apple Store are usually hooked up to 27" monitors. That said, all of the Macs in my local Apple Store have weird graphics performance issues since Lion was put on them (window rearrangement in Mission Control is usually 0 fps even on high-end iMacs!), so what you see in the store may not be what you get when you take one home.

I hate Lion. Every OSX release has been plagued with bugs at the time of a .1 release. Snow Leopard was fixed by this point though. Leopard wasn't as amazing, but it was usable by this point in the product cycle.

 

[cichlid81]

I think I will be better off just letting this generation go by, which is unfortunate because my G5 is getting more and more frustrating to use by the day. Hopefully the graphics improvements that supposedly will come with ivy bridge won't be mucked up by crappy drivers. Thanks for the responses everybody.

 

[elliotn]

I just upgraded to 10.7.3 and the animations on my Eizo 27" are now noticeably smoother. I can still see the occasional stutter, but overall I would say that Launchpad, Mission Control etc. are now very usable.

 

[Riverrun]

I just upgraded to 10.7.3 and the animations on my Eizo 27" are now noticeably smoother. I can still see the occasional stutter, but overall I would say that Launchpad, Mission Control etc. are now very usable.

Haven't noticed any improvement on the Graphics side but it seems that my i7 Mini with discrete GPU is running 3º - 5º C cooler since upgrading to 10.7.3.