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

stopperten

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 6, 2014
3
0
Seattle
I have a late-2015 imac 27 inch and will be acquiring a 2018 mac mini in the near future. Mac mini will be used largely headless for a plex server, but I would like to have a monitor that works well with both the imac and the mac mini, as needed.

Any suggestions? Prefer high quality screen but no graphic design work or anything. Something similar to the imac screen would be great. Budget is 6-800$.
 
The iMac screen is 5K, right? So a second screen could be up to 4K per specs on everymac.com.

The iMac has 2 Thunderbolt 2 ports for a second 4K screen, or a 1080 could work as well.

A quick search on Amazon found this LG for under $400, it is one of the highest rated 27" 4K monitors on the search I did. It has 2 HDMI ports, so one from the mini (HDMI <> HDMI), and one from the iMac (TB2 <> HDMI adapter). Then switch between HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 for each Mac. I am sure there are plenty of other options, but LG seems to have a good reputation, I have had good experience with them. Of course, the 5K iMac screen would be the primary for detail work, so 4k as a second screen would be passable I would think
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
  • Like
Reactions: kohlson
I've just purchase the new 23.7 LG monitor that just recently showed up in the apple store. It's a fantastic monitor, great screen, minimal footprint, and lots of usb c plugs on the back.

From Apple's write up of the monitor:
A single Thunderbolt 3 cable (included) provides up to 85W of charging power to your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports. The display has two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, and you can use one to connect to another 4K display. Three downstream USB-C ports (5 Gb/s) offer additional connectivity and power to compatible devices and accessories.

See it here:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HMUA2VC/A/lg-ultrafine-4k-display?fnode=8a

I read a ton of reviews on similar 4k displays right before this one came out, and many are hobbled with poor connectivity, power throughput, or other quirks that this monitor does not seem to have.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.