Mac mini 2018 bad UI-performance with LG 5K-Display

[Hessel89]

i never had problems with my mac mini 2018 in combination with the LG 5k Ultrafine. Everything is working fine without any lag since day one. It was working fine without eGPU, but noticiable better with eGPU plugged in. It was working fine with 8gb RAM too until i upgraded it myself to 64gb RAM. For me its the perfect Combo!

What exactly do you mean by working “fine” ? Is “fine” comparable to mine in the video? Or more smooth?

 

[Ploki]

this might sound stupid, but have you tried switching TB3 ports?

 

[Hessel89]

this might sound stupid, but have you tried switching TB3 ports?

Yes.

 

[Ploki]

Yes.

Sorry; not assuming you didn't know that but i know that i sometimes forget the most banal solutions available.

if i were you i'd return it, it's supposed to be able to drive a 5K display - and it doesnt drive it.

 

[Hessel89]

Sorry; not assuming you didn't know that but i know that i sometimes forget the most banal solutions available.

if i were you i'd return it, it's supposed to be able to drive a 5K display - and it doesnt drive it.

Yeah I already returned it today. Got a slightly newer unit today as it had MacOS 10.14.1 installed instead of 10.14.0. This one does feel a bit more snappy although some animations are still a bit laggy so I guess it will never be better then what it is right now unless Apple updates their drivers. I am happy with it though because it also fixed some other things like the LG 5K blacking out every hour or so which now doesn't happen anymore. and the bluetooth is actually a LOT better now. so I guess I just had a faulty unit

 

[m_LA]

mac mini is not able to handle the LG 5k.

I got mine as a replacement for an always-docked 2016 MBP. Ran both back-to-back and the difference is clear. Even if youre willing to deal with some choppiness in Expose, Spaces, and other UI animations, large youtube videos drop frames and freeze on the mac mini. Scrolling webpages stutters. Theres also some minor bugs and glitches, i would guess driver bugs.

mac mini is base model i3/8G ram. MBP is 15" i7 radeon 455.

PS i thought about doing an egpu, but AFAIK the only TB3 egpu that can drive the LG 5k is the Blackmagic, which is almost 800$ with tax, and quite large (compared to either the mini alone or a docked laptop).

 

[F-Train]

Seven pages into this, I'm still waiting for someone to explain why, if you are purchasing a monitor and have US$1300 to spend, you'd want one that only covers the DCI-P3 colour space. Indeed, I've yet to see anyone even raise the question, which is pretty fundamental, certainly moreso than the technical mumbo jumbo that has been the bread and butter of this thread.

 

[Ploki]

Seven pages into this, I'm still waiting for someone to explain why, if you are purchasing a monitor and have US$1300 to spend, you'd want one that only covers the DCI-P3 colour space. Indeed, I've yet to see anyone even raise the question, which is pretty fundamental, certainly moreso than the technical mumbo jumbo that has been the bread and butter of this thread.

Probably people wish 220ppi screens. I know that's why i want the ultrafine 4K, but i don't like the bulky 27" size since i prefer sitting closer to the screen.
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mac mini is not able to handle the LG 5k.

I got mine as a replacement for an always-docked 2016 MBP. Ran both back-to-back and the difference is clear. Even if youre willing to deal with some choppiness in Expose, Spaces, and other UI animations, large youtube videos drop frames and freeze on the mac mini. Scrolling webpages stutters. Theres also some minor bugs and glitches, i would guess driver bugs.

mac mini is base model i3/8G ram. MBP is 15" i7 radeon 455.

PS i thought about doing an egpu, but AFAIK the only TB3 egpu that can drive the LG 5k is the Blackmagic, which is almost 800$ with tax, and quite large (compared to either the mini alone or a docked laptop).

fwiw i7 has a bit higher clocked GPU and RAM is shared.

I really don't see a reason why intel HD630 couldn't drive the 5K display if the macbook 2012 HD4000 can drive a scaled resolution at 3840x2400 and it's a crappy chip.
I mean, could be its a software issue. It's not like that would be the first Mac in 2018 that shipped with a debilitating software issue. ugh

 

[gusping]

My i7/16GB mini was fine with one 4K monitor, but I've added a 1080p monitor on the side to watch youtube vids and it causes very noticeable cursor lag. Pretty laughable that the mini can't handle one 4K and one 1080p monitor....

 

[Ploki]

My i7/16GB mini was fine with one 4K monitor, but I've added a 1080p monitor on the side to watch youtube vids and it causes very noticeable cursor lag. Pretty laughable that the mini can't handle one 4K and one 1080p monitor....

that sounds like trash uggh

 

[Hessel89]

My i7/16GB mini was fine with one 4K monitor, but I've added a 1080p monitor on the side to watch youtube vids and it causes very noticeable cursor lag. Pretty laughable that the mini can't handle one 4K and one 1080p monitor....

Sounds like you have a faulty unit too.. I have an UP3216Q (4K screen by dell) and that works buttery smooth with my Mac mini.

 

[Ploki]

Sounds like you have a faulty unit too.. I have an UP3216Q (4K screen by dell) and that works buttery smooth with my Mac mini.

Apple QC has really gone out the window

 

[Hessel89]

Seven pages into this, I'm still waiting for someone to explain why, if you are purchasing a monitor and have US$1300 to spend, you'd want one that only covers the DCI-P3 colour space. Indeed, I've yet to see anyone even raise the question, which is pretty fundamental, certainly moreso than the technical mumbo jumbo that has been the bread and butter of this thread.

For me personally: I got so used to my 5K iMac's screen that I thought 4K would be too much of a step backward.. Now that I have a 4K screen (as a replacement for a broken Dell screen) 4K is definitely not as bad as I thought it would be.. but when I saw a deal last week where I could get an LG 5K for only €699,- I just had to jump on it. And in all honesty it does look fantastic. It's just that the 2018 Mac Mini isn't QUITE ready for it. Which is quite deceptive in itself since Apple promotes this as the perfect partner for a Mac mini...
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Apple QC has really gone out the window

Sad right?
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I really don't see a reason why intel HD630 couldn't drive the 5K display if the macbook 2012 HD4000 can drive a scaled resolution at 3840x2400 and it's a crappy chip.
I mean, could be its a software issue. It's not like that would be the first Mac in 2018 that shipped with a debilitating software issue. ugh

I do think it's a software issue. Let's hope it is!

 

[astrorider]

Ultrafine 27 works perfect for me. Completely smooth unlike the video posted earlier. Must be installed software, or hardware config differences (I’m using the i7 with 64GB). I got the factory reconditioned one that Woot has been selling on and off for $629. Coming from a 27” iMac, I liked the idea of having a built-in camera, speakers, and that you could control sound and brightness from the keyboard. It does all that and doesn’t have the image retention my iMac was showing. Nice upgrade!

 

[OLDGUYWITHAHIFI]

For me personally: I got so used to my 5K iMac's screen that I thought 4K would be too much of a step backward.. Now that I have a 4K screen (as a replacement for a broken Dell screen) 4K is definitely not as bad as I thought it would be.. but when I saw a deal last week where I could get an LG 5K for only €699,- I just had to jump on it. And in all honesty it does look fantastic. It's just that the 2018 Mac Mini isn't QUITE ready for it. Which is quite deceptive in itself since Apple promotes this as the perfect partner for a Mac mini...
[doublepost=1544975749][/doublepost]

Sad right?
[doublepost=1544976089][/doublepost] I do think it's a software issue. Let's hope it is!

I'd like to rule out any Virus software or other third party nonsense hogging resources. OP?

 

[Hessel89]

I'd like to rule out any Virus software or other third party nonsense hogging resources. OP?

nope.

 

[Hessel89]

Ultrafine 27 works perfect for me. Completely smooth unlike the video posted earlier. Must be installed software, or hardware config differences (I’m using the i7 with 64GB). I got the factory reconditioned one that Woot has been selling on and off for $629. Coming from a 27” iMac, I liked the idea of having a built-in camera, speakers, and that you could control sound and brightness from the keyboard. It does all that and doesn’t have the image retention my iMac was showing. Nice upgrade!

that's odd. is launchpad smooth too?

 

[vanc]

but I believe the issue is in memory, since it needs about 3.5-4GB to run 2 4k displays

A 4K (3840x2160) monitor has around 8M pixels. With 32-bit encoding (ARGB), it requires about 32M VRAM. Of course, video cards may store pixels in different ways and multiple frame buffers might be in-use which increase VRAM usage.

You do need a lot of VRAM for 3D, especially for gaming software. But if you just want to run word processors, email client, a cheap video card with 1G VRAM works fine for a 4K monitor.

 

[astrorider]

that's odd. is launchpad smooth too?

Yep. I don't normally use it, and the first time I ran it there was a slight stutter switching to a new screen of apps. I exited and tried again and now there's no stutter. I guess they build a cache of each screen of apps the first time it loads or something. Animations entering/exiting launchpad, launching apps and switching screens are all smooth.

 

[Hessel89]

Yep. I don't normally use it, and the first time I ran it there was a slight stutter switching to a new screen of apps. I exited and tried again and now there's no stutter. I guess they build a cache of each screen of apps the first time it loads or something. Animations entering/exiting launchpad, launching apps and switching screens are all smooth.

That's great but try pressing fullscreen in Logic Pro X while you have a 50+ channel project open. mine lags horribly.. and not only the graphics.. the audio also...

 

[Ploki]

That's great but try pressing fullscreen in Logic Pro X while you have a 50+ channel project open. mine lags horribly.. and not only the graphics.. the audio also...

I will test this on mine when i get it, but i’ll only get a 4K display.
That’s literally my use case

 

[astrorider]

That's great but try pressing fullscreen in Logic Pro X while you have a 50+ channel project open. mine lags horribly.. and not only the graphics.. the audio also...

I don’t use Logic, but maybe you don’t have enough RAM since the GPU shares system RAM and it sounds like you’re already taxing the system?

 

[dspdoc]

My i7 32GB mini arrives today and all this talk about UI issues is making me nervous. I already have my Core X w/ Vega 64 eGPU all set up too. I’ll be using two 2560x1440 BENQ displays.

 

[Hessel89]

I will test this on mine when i get it, but i’ll only get a 4K display.
That’s literally my use case

I have both a 4K and a 5K screen here at home and at least with 4K the lag is noticeably less.
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My i7 32GB mini arrives today and all this talk about UI issues is making me nervous. I already have my Core X w/ Vega 64 eGPU all set up too. I’ll be using two 2560x1440 BENQ displays.

if you're running 2x 2560x1440 I don't expect any trouble at all. that's still 2x less pixels then 5K.

 

[dspdoc]

I have both a 4K and a 5K screen here at home and at least with 4K the lag is noticeably less.
[doublepost=1545066787][/doublepost] if you're running 2x 2560x1440 I don't expect any trouble at all. that's still 2x less pixels then 5K.

I hope you are right. UI sluggishness will send my OCD through the roof.