I just read through all 28 pages and man my mind is shot. Right now I have an 2009 24in imac at 1920x1200. My plan was to wait for imac refresh before deciding on mac mini or imac but the refresh imo sucks and the mac mini i7 will outperform most of the new imacs.
Now the problem lies with a monitor. I'm so confused over this ppi and screen resolution and scaling. If I'm correct from reading all of this a 27in 2560x1440 is the best overall option, but will lack the sharpness I'm seeking right? If i want sharpness on a 27in i will have to go with 3840x2160 or is a 27in 2560x1440 with a high ppi the way to go? high ppi as in 163-200?
i realize the 3840x2160 will make the font smaller but that would increase the sharpness right?
I have a Dell 4K 38" 3840 x 1600. The UI (Font) size is comparable to my previous 27" 5k iMac, running the monitor at native settings. But by no means is the Font as crisp as the 27" 5k. I don't see how it could be when you are comparing any 4k large screen monitor to the 27" 5k 220ppi. My PPI is 111.
For me the picture quality and video quality is superb. It is only the text that is not as crisp as my old iMac. I am going on a couple months or close and I am fine with it. It took a little bit to get use to, coming from the 5K. I do enjoy the screen size, its like have 2 screens side by side in one panel.
I have a eGPU but the mini will run the screen fine with the eGPU off and hooked to the HDMI port. I have not noticed any problems using office and web, watching video etc using the mini GPU. I got the eGPU for occasional gaming and creating some video down the road.
Given I have a eGPU I try to run my monitor at HIDPI which would be PPI 222. But it looks no different, the text is not twice as crisp. I think it is a monitor limitation and not the eGPU. My monitor states max resolution 3840 x 1600 even if I feed it double it does not show it. I just changed it in SwitchRes app and copied the system report below to show it looks like it should be HIDPI but it is not. Again I think this is the monitor limitation.
DELL U3818DW:
Resolution: 7680 x 3200
UI Looks like: 3840 x 1600 @ 60 Hz
Framebuffer Depth: 30-Bit Color (ARGB2101010)
Display Serial Number: 97F8P8C30LFL
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Automatically Adjust Brightness: No
Connection Type: DisplayPort