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Mac mini 2018 bad UI-performance with LG 5K-Display
- Thread starter johnscully
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Or you can downshift it a couple gears
So how much use are you really getting out of the BMeGPU? I was considering getting one but according to the Geekbench scores I've seen it only performs 4 to 5 times better then the iGPU.. So is it really worth it? I'd be using it for Autocad and some gaming (flightsims mainly)
its not an ideal solution, youre stuck with an older card, and its much more expensive than the card alone. i was considering even selling this monitor in order to just use a different solution. for example my hackintosh workstation runs 2x 4k monitors on a used rx580 i picked up for 150$ - i got the BMeGPU used for 600$ and it still seemed crazy.
but overall im happy with the setup. i'm able to handle tons of windows/videos with no lag, access some casual 3d web contents and games, and occasionally use 3d apps that i normally use at my workstation.
the good parts is its dead silent, and you can attach it to any mac (or pc even) with thunderbolt3 (i wonder if the new "modular" mac pro will use tb3 for its graphics btw?) and you can remove it if you take your mini travelling.
re: difference with iGPU, to do a car analogy again, a lamborghini engine with 700 horsepower 'only' performs 4-5 better than a Camry engine with 150hp ;-)
you should see a big difference in your games and CAD apps (at least for heavier files)
but overall im happy with the setup. i'm able to handle tons of windows/videos with no lag, access some casual 3d web contents and games, and occasionally use 3d apps that i normally use at my workstation.
the good parts is its dead silent, and you can attach it to any mac (or pc even) with thunderbolt3 (i wonder if the new "modular" mac pro will use tb3 for its graphics btw?) and you can remove it if you take your mini travelling.
re: difference with iGPU, to do a car analogy again, a lamborghini engine with 700 horsepower 'only' performs 4-5 better than a Camry engine with 150hp ;-)
you should see a big difference in your games and CAD apps (at least for heavier files)
I've been reading this thread since picking up a Mac Mini with the i5, 8gb RAM. I had some noticeable lag in the UI on a 4k screen with the Scaled "looks like 2560x1440", since default resolution made everything massive. After receiving my Razer Core X and installing an RX 570 8gb into it, all of that lag is gone. In fact, the whole experience is so much better.
Also, a strange thing I noticed while using only the Mac mini at first. I noticed everything in the UI was sharp and only anything red, like a badge or icon, etc, was blurry around the edges. After installing the eGPU system, those badges and icons are all just as sharp as the rest of the UI. Weird! Anyway, hope this info helps someone
I know this is old. But are you sure this isn't the Mac Mini bluetooth issue you are having? Where the USB ports can interfere with bluetooth performance?
I didn't really believe that the 2018 MM could be that bad, but the 2018 MM is slow and laggy with a my LG OLED 4K TV. Pathetic performance for a $1000+ mini desktop.
I thought it could replace my 7 year old 2012 MM i7 as it can't drive 4K....
Yes, I did let run for several days to make sure all indexing was done and cpu usage was close to 0. It's the i5 256gb model with 8gb ram. It does run slightly faster if I turn off scaling, but my partner's 2017 rMBP 15 driving the same 4K TV is much smoother in animations and it's noticeable right away...
For those who think it's "perfectly fine" either aren't sensitive to lag, just don't care, or can't compare against a dGPU equipped Mac. Too bad intel gimped the H series CPU's and didn't put iris pro in them!
It's going back to the Apple Store tomorrow....
I thought it could replace my 7 year old 2012 MM i7 as it can't drive 4K....
Yes, I did let run for several days to make sure all indexing was done and cpu usage was close to 0. It's the i5 256gb model with 8gb ram. It does run slightly faster if I turn off scaling, but my partner's 2017 rMBP 15 driving the same 4K TV is much smoother in animations and it's noticeable right away...
For those who think it's "perfectly fine" either aren't sensitive to lag, just don't care, or can't compare against a dGPU equipped Mac. Too bad intel gimped the H series CPU's and didn't put iris pro in them!
It's going back to the Apple Store tomorrow....
There's your problem. The 2018 Mac mini's iGPU uses system memory, and its not pre-allocated, its adjusted dynamically.
Upgrade the memory to 16GB or 32GB and you'll be fine.
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Also, this comparison is meaningless as the MBP's have a dedicated GPU which is always enabled for external displays.
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Or.. have enough memory. Yes it's ****** that Apple don't make it clear 4K won't be smooth on 8GB of memory, but it is what it is. With more memory it'll run your display fine.
Got a Vega 56 used in a breakaway box 550 and 32gb of SODIMM on deck. Running a single LG 27UK650-W 4k montior for now. I tested the eGPU last night on my wife's 13" 2017 i7 macbook pro with 16gb RAM running Mojave through the Samsung X5 eSSD. Ran heaven benchmark and getting outstanding frame rates on all settings. The Ultra 1440p settings were around 45-50FPS. Now all I need is the darn MM i7 and I'll be off to the races. Currently only have Macbook Pro 15" Late 2013 Retina with dual graphics. Great laptop, but want more.
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I can confirm that the Mac mini 2018 i3's UI performance is good with a 32GB ram upgrade.
I am using the LG 34WK95U UltraWide 5k2k monitor.
I am using the LG 34WK95U UltraWide 5k2k monitor.
Not only that, I can confirm that adding another 4k monitor to the HDMI port is also good.
I have a Mac mini 2018 i5 32GB ram and a LG 27UK650 4K display + iPad Pro with Luna Display.
My main use is Graphic design and the performance of Photoshop (2018) is was bad
(I get a better screen redraw on a iMac 2012 with 16GB running Photoshop 2017)
and after dealing with the sluggish UI I find some things that can make a better experience for those problems in the UI:
- Disable Transparency (System Pref > Accessibility > Display > Reduce Transparency)
- Set the Resolution to 1920 x 1080 (really huge UI won't recommend)
- Set the Res to 3840 x 2160 (really small UI only for big displays)
If you set any of those you see the UI works really smooth in all the stuff. The problem are the scaled ones (as many pointed out here).
- hold Option while clicking "Scaled" and tick "Show low resolution modes". and set the resolution to 2560 x 1440 x1.
I eventually switch between 2560 x 1440 x1 and 2560 x 1440 x2 depending on what I am doing.
Hope this helps.
My main use is Graphic design and the performance of Photoshop (2018) is was bad
(I get a better screen redraw on a iMac 2012 with 16GB running Photoshop 2017)
and after dealing with the sluggish UI I find some things that can make a better experience for those problems in the UI:
- Disable Transparency (System Pref > Accessibility > Display > Reduce Transparency)
- Set the Resolution to 1920 x 1080 (really huge UI won't recommend)
- Set the Res to 3840 x 2160 (really small UI only for big displays)
If you set any of those you see the UI works really smooth in all the stuff. The problem are the scaled ones (as many pointed out here).
- hold Option while clicking "Scaled" and tick "Show low resolution modes". and set the resolution to 2560 x 1440 x1.
I eventually switch between 2560 x 1440 x1 and 2560 x 1440 x2 depending on what I am doing.
Hope this helps.
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Unless I’m missing something. Catalina only allow me to set the x2 2560x1440 resolution. And there is a significant improvement in my case using the same res but at x1
Mojave certainly allows setting 'regular' 2560x1440 on a 4k display - just hold Option while clicking "Scaled" and tick "Show low resolution modes".
I'd be surprised if it's removed in Catalina. Can anyone confirm removal/remaining?
I've just discovered this thread about a week too late. This discussion has been extremely helpful in explaining why a 4K TV (43" Samsung RU7100) in use as my main display for my Mac Mini 2018 did not go as planned. I'm on Mojave, and even with an i7 and 32GB RAM, using Logic Pro X was untenable on the ideal, scaled resolution of 2560x1440. 1080p worked well but the Logic UI was too large to be effective for my uses. Likewise for the native 4K resolution - ran well but UI was too small. I comment here, now, for posterity as I've found little information regarding the use of 4K TVs as displays for music production. People seem to be doing this more and more - I guess with more powerful computers.
I currently use an ASUS 27" WQHD (PB278Q) set to 2560x1440 - I like it just fine but my goal in getting a 4K TV was to get more screen real estate with a clear picture. I've learned now that with MacOS scaling and the Mac mini's iGPU - that's not possible for me when using Logic Pro X all day everyday - the performance was terrible.
So my question is - does a 32" 4K display, say the Dell U3219Q, operating at native 3840x2160 look/feel like my ideal setting of 2560x1440? Based on others responses here, I guess I could pick up an eGPU and confidently use whatever display I want, scaled to 2560x1440, but at that point I might just consider a new Mac altogether
I currently use an ASUS 27" WQHD (PB278Q) set to 2560x1440 - I like it just fine but my goal in getting a 4K TV was to get more screen real estate with a clear picture. I've learned now that with MacOS scaling and the Mac mini's iGPU - that's not possible for me when using Logic Pro X all day everyday - the performance was terrible.
So my question is - does a 32" 4K display, say the Dell U3219Q, operating at native 3840x2160 look/feel like my ideal setting of 2560x1440? Based on others responses here, I guess I could pick up an eGPU and confidently use whatever display I want, scaled to 2560x1440, but at that point I might just consider a new Mac altogether
I've had the Dell up3216Q monitor for a while (In the end I choose the LG UF5K but in hindsight the Dell was actually quite a bit from several perspectives) and 2560 x 1440 HiDPI at 4K looks fine. You only notice the difference when you have it side by side with an actual 5K monitor but at the distance most people would be sitting there is no real difference. It looks sharp.
Now you know why they offer the LG 5k monitor. I have a 5k monitor w/ a 2018 Mac mini (upgraded from 8GB to 64GB RAM) and have no UI sluggishness problems. Using the default scaling for an equivalent 2560x1440.
Makes sense. Do you recall how the Mac performance was while using the Dell in 2560x1440 HiDPI?
Yeah, things tend to fall over more when you need to have the GPU scale the buffer to fit the screen (i.e. 5K to 4K). It's not terrible, but it does lag compared to a cheap eGPU doing the same thing.
It seemed just a tad smoother then with the LG Ultrafine 5K. Even though it's rendering the same resolution internally.
I plan on hooking my Mac mini up to a 3440x1440 display and using native resolution. Is there a reason why people are scaling?
When a monitor's DPI deviates a lot from 110 (Traditional Mac) or 220 (Retina Mac), you have to take extra measures to end up with UI elements that are sensible physical sizes.
If your 3440x1440 monitor is a 34" Ultrawide then it's bang on 110 DPI.
I have 2 of the 21.5" LG ultrafines that are full 4K so 4096x2304. Running at native resolution makes everything tiny. Unless you are on a 32" monitor, 4K tends to make UI elements far too small at native res.