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

Jimmy James

macrumors 603
Original poster
Oct 26, 2008
5,489
4,067
Magicland
I'm looking to purchase a second hand 2014 Mini to use with a 1920x1200 monitor via Displayport to DVI adapter.

Does this system support 1920x1200? Does Monterey affect this (i.e. is the resolution software dependent)? Best I can tell the newer Macs don't support it.
 

joevt

macrumors 604
Jun 21, 2012
6,962
4,257
I think all Macs can do 1920x1200 regardless of what OS they are running.
 

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,948
4,883
New Jersey Pine Barrens
Worked fine with my 1920x1200 23" Apple Cinema display and adapter. That was long before Monterey however. ;)

I don't think there's any problem with 1920x1200 on "newer Macs". The problems are related to the DVI interface and adapters. From what I've read, using the HDMI port with an adapter is more problematic than the USB-C interface.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jimmy James

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,233
13,298
BEWARE!

BEFORE
you buy it... how much RAM does the 2014 Mini have?
If it's only 4gb, DO NOT buy it!
The RAM IS NOT upgradeable on these.

If it's 8gb, then it's worth considering.
But again, DO NOT BUY a 2014 Mini with 4gb of RAM...!!

You will regret it... very soon afterwards!
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,874
12,854
Works fine in Monterey. The Mac mini 2014 supports up to 2560x1600. In fact, that's what I'm typing on right now - 30" Apple Cinema HD Display. However, my 1920x1200 23" Apple Cinema HD Display also works in Monterey. The Mac mini also supports HDCP if your monitor supports it.

Worked fine with my 1920x1200 23" Apple Cinema display and adapter. That was long before Monterey however. ;)

I don't think there's any problem with 1920x1200 on "newer Macs". The problems are related to the DVI interface and adapters. From what I've read, using the HDMI port with an adapter is more problematic than the USB-C interface.
He's thinking of using the mini-DisplayPort, which will work fine. But actually, HDMI should also work fine.

Come to think of it, with a 2015 MacBook Pro I didn't have a mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapter, so in a pinch I used a mini-DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, and then an HDMI to DVI adapter, and that worked fine at 1920x1200.

If anything, I've had more problems with USB-C.

And yeah, as @Fishrrman says, don't buy the 1.4 GHz i5 with 4 GB RAM model 2014 Mac mini. They're all over the place. The good news is the 2.6 GHz i5 with 8 GB RAM model 2014 Mac mini is also all over the place. You just need to be careful to read the details when buying used.

Also, you can buy a hard drive model, and then install your own NVMe SSD. You just need to buy the adapters and tools. The actual SSD install is dead simple. Takes a beginner literally less than 10 minutes (not counting installing the OS).
 
Last edited:

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,948
4,883
New Jersey Pine Barrens
He's thinking of using the mini-DisplayPort, which will work fine. But actually, HDMI should also work fine.

I'm sorry, no I'm not. I was responding to the OP's statement "Best I can tell the newer Macs don't support it". The 2014 Mini is not a "newer Mac". Newer Macs have USB-C ports, and people seem to have better luck using DVI adapters on those instead of HDMI.

As I also said, I don't think there will be any problem with 1920x1200 on the 2014 Mini using either the HDMI or Thunderbolt 2 port.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,874
12,854
I'm sorry, no I'm not. I was responding to the OP's statement "Best I can tell the newer Macs don't support it". The 2014 Mini is not a "newer Mac". Newer Macs have USB-C ports, and people seem to have better luck using DVI adapters on those instead of HDMI.

As I also said, I don't think there will be any problem with 1920x1200 on the 2014 Mini using either the HDMI or Thunderbolt 2 port.
I was talking about the OP, not you. The OP wanted to use DisplayPort.
OP said:
I'm looking to purchase a second hand 2014 Mini to use with a 1920x1200 monitor via Displayport to DVI adapter.
But for some strange reason you started talking about HDMI adapters, and in fact you’re still talking about HDMI.

Also, he asked if newer Macs support 1920x1200, not if they supported DisplayPort.
OP said:
Does this system support 1920x1200? Does Monterey affect this (i.e. is the resolution software dependent)? Best I can tell the newer Macs don't support it.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Jimmy James
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.