Best Monitor for New Mini

[Chiromac81]

I was considering selling my 2015 27" iMac and getting a monitor just to use as a dock station for my MBP, maybe later get a mini. But in the end the price I would sell the iMac for just covers the monitor and cables so that did not make much sense. So many decisions and so many monitors, not sure what the best setup would be. These below where some of the monitors I looked at and considered. On the 24" I was looking at dual monitors. Many of these came from users posting in this thread for there setup...

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I just ordered the P2415Q Dell 24 inch 4K minitor for my iMac mini i7 16 1TB...I was hoping to just plug it in to a HDMI cable and since most people say this size minitor is the best compromise, what would I set the scaling or resolution to for best real estate and to take advantage of the Mac mini and screen?

Whatever you suggest is what I’m going to set the screen to..,

 

[F-Train]

I just ordered the P2415Q Dell 24 inch 4K minitor for my iMac mini i7 16 1TB...I was hoping to just plug it in to a HDMI cable and since most people say this size minitor is the best compromise, what would I set the scaling or resolution to for best real estate and to take advantage of the Mac mini and screen?

Whatever you suggest is what I’m going to set the screen to..,

When you have this monitor in front of you, are you really incapable of figuring out for yourself what looks right to you?

Do you actually need a bunch of anonymous internet commenters to tell you what you are supposed to like?

This is symptomatic of what is wrong with this entire thread.

 

[IngerMan]

When you have this monitor in front of you, are you really incapable of figuring out for yourself what looks right to you?

Do you actually need a bunch of anonymous internet commenters to tell you what you are supposed to like?

This is symptomatic of what is wrong with this entire thread.

F-Train why do you have to be a bully. If you don’t have any helpful advise then you don’t need to add negative advise. It’s a place for helpful advice.

Try contributing from your knowledge. It will make this a better forum.

 

[F-Train]

Try contributing from your knowledge. It will make this a better forum.

Next time, make the basic effort of reading the thread before attacking someone, on an exchange to which you aren't even a party, for failing to share what they know/their views about the subject.

You can start with this post and the ones before and after it: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/best-monitor-for-new-mini.2151340/page-18#post-26917885

You can also read this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pros-cons-of-my-new-32-4k-monitor-display.2157978/

 

[Easttime]

I just ordered the P2415Q Dell 24 inch 4K minitor for my iMac mini i7 16 1TB...I was hoping to just plug it in to a HDMI cable and since most people say this size minitor is the best compromise, what would I set the scaling or resolution to for best real estate and to take advantage of the Mac mini and screen? Whatever you suggest is what I’m going to set the screen to..,

I can’t answer your question with authority, but you’re having the same problem I had when I went shopping for a new monitor for my 2018 mini. It’s been a few years, and I didn’t realize that monitor shopping had become so technical.

 

[Chiromac81]

When you have this monitor in front of you, are you really incapable of figuring out for yourself what looks right to you?

Do you actually need a bunch of anonymous internet commenters to tell you what you are supposed to like?

This is symptomatic of what is wrong with this entire thread.

Man, I’m just asking a question? I just received both the 2415q and the Mac mini and wanted to know what the resolution should be because I’m new here...thanks for those that gave a helpful response

 

[Stephen.R]

what would I set the scaling or resolution to for best real estate and to take advantage of the Mac mini and screen?

It should default to “@2x” (it certainly does over DisplayPort, not sure about HDMI) which means “looks like 1920x1080”.

If you’re happy with that resolution (ie things don’t look to big or too small) that’s the best scaled resolution performance wise (ie least work for macOS/gpu to do).

I personally find things too big at that resolution and use mine at 2560x1440. this is a non-integer scaled mode, so it may seem less “crisp” to you, and it will be more taxing on the Mini. If you’re doing something memory intensive it may affect the display performance.

 

[Fishrrman]

Stephen R. wrote:
"I personally find things too big at that resolution and use mine at 2560x1440. this is a non-integer scaled mode, so it may seem less “crisp” to you, and it will be more taxing on the Mini. If you’re doing something memory intensive it may affect the display performance."

I don't think it makes sense to buy a 4k display and then run it scaled at 1440p.
As you wrote, it "taxes" the Mini's resources more, and one will always be looking at a "scaled image", and not at the native resolution.

For 1440p, it just makes more sense to BUY a 1440p native resolution display "right-out-of-the-box". Can be either 27" or 32" (the latter works better for my aging eyes).

The Mini will handle 1440p breathlessly and the image itself will be "cleaner" because it will be at native resolution.

What I'd really like to see is a 3rd-party 5k 32" display.
Not 27", but 32".
I'm not even sure the panel manufacturers are making this size...

 

[Stephen.R]

I don't think it makes sense

I don’t think it makes sense to tell other people what is logical or correct or makes sense about something that is ultimately a personal preference, but here we are.

A 4K display running scaled to 1440p is still nicer to look at than a native 1440p screen at 24” (in macOS at least) IMO.

As for your specific suggestion: if I got a 27” or 32” screen 1440p would be too low resolution and everything would look too big again. That’s the whole reason I’m not using the normal “@2x” of 1080p. To get the same size elements on a 27” display I’d need it to be 2880x1620 which effectively doesn’t exist for desktop displays.

As for the load it places on the mini - yes it makes it work harder. With two displays it’s not even usable IMO. Which is why I’m getting an eGPU to run the displays. If I refused to do anything that made the Mini “work harder” it would literally never do anything. It’s a tool I use to make money, and if it working harder makes me more productive, then it’s gonna work harder.
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the latter works better for my aging eyes

Exactly how often should I expect you to be dropping into my office to use my displays?

 

[toke lahti]

What I'd really like to see is a 3rd-party 5k 32" display.
Not 27", but 32".
I'm not even sure the panel manufacturers are making this size...

Me too. So I bought 34” 5k2k. Not ”real” 5k (16:9), but closest you can get.

 

[Beancamel]

Picked up a LG Ultrafine 4k for $300. Looking forward to the new toy!

 

[Ploki]

Picked up a LG Ultrafine 4k for $300. Looking forward to the new toy!

dang that's cheap.when converted to dollars in europe new is 2,5x more.

 

[Chiromac81]

It should default to “@2x” (it certainly does over DisplayPort, not sure about HDMI) which means “looks like 1920x1080”.

If you’re happy with that resolution (ie things don’t look to big or too small) that’s the best scaled resolution performance wise (ie least work for macOS/gpu to do).

I personally find things too big at that resolution and use mine at 2560x1440. this is a non-integer scaled mode, so it may seem less “crisp” to you, and it will be more taxing on the Mini. If you’re doing something memory intensive it may affect the display performance.

If I paid for the i7 and 16GB and 1 TB then I’m sure it can handle whatever scaling I need since I’m mostly just going to be using it for internet stuff, off YouTube and iTunes and some stuff like that...

 

[Stephen.R]

Me too. So I bought 34” 5k2k. Not ”real” 5k (16:9), but closest you can get.

I saw those ultra wides and was tempted actually, but does macOS see it as high res and give you the option of “looks like X” or is it just the regular resolution picker?

 

[gusping]

Me too. So I bought 34” 5k2k. Not ”real” 5k (16:9), but closest you can get.

I’d love one of those but here in Europe they are horrificly expensive. Would be paying a lot more than I paid for my mini. What a joke.

 

[Ploki]

I’d love one of those but here in Europe they are horrificly expensive. Would be paying a lot more than I paid for my mini. What a joke.

wow they are, 1300€. They cost as much as the ultrafine 5K.

 

[marclondon]

I've got two 1920x1200 monitors on my Mini (one 24 inch , one 22 inch) but they are old now and one has got a fault that makes it flicker at times. I work with A4 pages and while i know I can twist the screens into portrait I really like the 16:10 horizontal space. Also they are under a book shelf so would have to pull them out for portrait...)

What would be good replacements at 16:10 if they exist and at possibly higher resolution?

 

[Ploki]

I've got two 1920x1200 monitors on my Mini (one 24 inch , one 22 inch) but they are old now and one has got a fault that makes it flicker at times. I work with A4 pages and while i know I can twist the screens into portrait I really like the 16:10 horizontal space. Also they are under a book shelf so would have to pull them out for portrait...)

What would be good replacements at 16:10 if they exist and at possibly higher resolution?

The only I can think of is the UltraFine 4K. Most monitors are 16:9.
sorry these are 16:9.

i don't know any 16:10 from the top of my head

 

[Spectrum]

Ye

I've got two 1920x1200 monitors on my Mini (one 24 inch , one 22 inch) but they are old now and one has got a fault that makes it flicker at times. I work with A4 pages and while i know I can twist the screens into portrait I really like the 16:10 horizontal space. Also they are under a book shelf so would have to pull them out for portrait...)

What would be good replacements at 16:10 if they exist and at possibly higher resolution?

ah. I also think it is a pain that there are no 16:10 hires monitors. 3840x2400 and 5120x3200 for example don't exist.

One option would be to replace your pair of 24 inch 1920x1200 with a single widescreen that has similar DPI.
Perhaps an ultra wide 3840x1600? And run it at 1x rather than 2x scaling? This will actually give you more vertical space and pixels than currently so long as it is large enough...

Edit: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/375...3840x1600-dp-hdmi2-usb-c-5ms-10001-300cd-m2-7
Huge price though...

 

[marclondon]

Y
Edit: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/375...3840x1600-dp-hdmi2-usb-c-5ms-10001-300cd-m2-7
Huge price though...

Wow - looks nice. I'm VAT registered so will cost me 'only' £873 and also set against profit. I'd like to see a review:

oh here's one:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/monitor-reviews/dell-ultrasharp-us818dw-review/

looks good apart from contrast. Must admit I like PVA monitors (both of my current ones have lovely deep blacks). Will give it some thought.

 

[toke lahti]

I’d love one of those but here in Europe they are horrificly expensive. Would be paying a lot more than I paid for my mini. What a joke.

I paid 1134€ without VAT from amazon.de.
I paid more for my new i7 mini.

 

[toke lahti]

I saw those ultra wides and was tempted actually, but does macOS see it as high res and give you the option of “looks like X” or is it just the regular resolution picker?

My new BTO mini is still on the way, so the 34incher is still in the box...

 

[toke lahti]

wow they are, 1300€. They cost as much as the ultrafine 5K.

UF5k is only 27”. I wanted bigger pixels.

 

[Spectrum]

Wow - looks nice. I'm VAT registered so will cost me 'only' £873 and also set against profit. I'd like to see a review:

oh here's one:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/monitor-reviews/dell-ultrasharp-us818dw-review/

looks good apart from contrast. Must admit I like PVA monitors (both of my current ones have lovely deep blacks). Will give it some thought.

An alternative would be one of the slightly smaller but higher resolution 34 inch 5K x 2K LG screens mentioned earlier in the above posts: https://www.lambda-tek.com/LG-34WK95U-W-AEU~sh/B42268845
But the pixel pitch will be much smaller. But you could run in scaled mode of ~3840x1650 (or whatever scaling you prefer).
Some people on these boards seem to not like or appreciate the macOS way of scaling the UI, but, personally, I think it is very useful - and to my eyes - at regular viewing distances, I can't tell that much difference between scaled and "native 2x" in terms of "crispness" of the fonts.

 

[Ploki]

Got the ultrafine 4K today.
i like it so far.

i appreciate the speakers and native brightness control. Also the panel is beautiful, I'm running it native @2x.

Viewing angle leaves a little to be desired, blacks tend to wash out fast.

edit:
no lag tho, even when scaled and opening launch pad.