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4k output off of a 2014 Mac mini?

M

mellofello

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 1, 2011
1,259
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I think I have decided to move away from the iMac for my next computer. I change them out every 2 years, and the old model moves to a family member. So spring of next year it will be time to upgrade.

My main impetuous is that I want a larger screen then 27 inches, and I want 4k. What are my options as far as outputs? Is the new mini hdmi 2.0 or only 1.4?

I will never game or do heavy duty tasks with the mini. Will it be able to play 4k media smoothly?
 
mellofello said:
I think I have decided to move away from the iMac for my next computer. I change them out every 2 years, and the old model moves to a family member. So spring of next year it will be time to upgrade.

My main impetuous is that I want a larger screen then 27 inches, and I want 4k. What are my options as far as outputs? Is the new mini hdmi 2.0 or only 1.4?

I will never game or do heavy duty tasks with the mini. Will it be able to play 4k media smoothly?
Click to expand...
From the Mac mini specs:
HDMI video output

Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz
Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz
Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz
Click to expand...
 
i've also been searching for that answer, so far best explanation was: you can output 4k with 52Hz only using displayport 1.2 cables. (using switchrex obviously. a software for configuring manually resolution and refresh rate)

new mac mini has almost same configuration as macbook pro retina 13. people tried 4k screens with that computer.
 
If anyone does find themselves in a room with a 4k monitor and a 2014 Mac mini please post your findings. I don't game so I could get away with 30hz but definitely not ideal.
 
LizardRumsfeld said:
The Iris chipset does not support it, that's why. You're not getting 4k at above 30hz from the mini.
Click to expand...

Oh really? I thought I read somewhere that the 15" MBP can output 4K at 30hz and above. The base model also uses Intel Iris graphics. Am I missing something here? Is there a reason why the Mac Mini with Intel Iris graphic (the mid and high end Mac Mini) can't output 4K higher than 24hz?
 
lsquare said:
Oh really? I thought I read somewhere that the 15" MBP can output 4K at 30hz and above. The base model also uses Intel Iris graphics. Am I missing something here? Is there a reason why the Mac Mini with Intel Iris graphic (the mid and high end Mac Mini) can't output 4K higher than 24hz?
Click to expand...
Most "4k" monitors are actually 3840x2160 - I haven't even seen a 4096 horizontal res display on the market. So it's somewhat of a misnomer to refer to them as 4k yes, but that's the res most are actually displaying at when they advertise 4k. Just think of it as 4X the pixels of 1080p. Regardless, as I said you're not getting above 30fps at 4k.

Regardless, 30fps vs 24 is meaningful for video I guess, but navigating even the GUI at 30hz is pretty damned painful, let alone 24. Even at 30fps it would really only be advisable to check some output but I can't see working extended periods in it, so if you're thinking of hooking up a mini even to a "just" 3840x display to get 30fps, I think you'll be in for a disappointment. I've read experiences from PC users who used the first cheap 4k displays that only supported 30hz, and the experience of the desktop really blows at 30fps.
 
LizardRumsfeld said:
Most "4k" monitors are actually 3840x2160 - I haven't even seen a 4096 horizontal res display on the market. So it's somewhat of a misnomer to refer to them as 4k yes, but that's the res most are actually displaying at when they advertise 4k. Just think of it as 4X the pixels of 1080p. Regardless, as I said you're not getting above 30fps at 4k.

Regardless, 30fps vs 24 is meaningful for video I guess, but navigating even the GUI at 30hz is pretty damned painful, let alone 24. Even at 30fps it would really only be advisable to check some output but I can't see working extended periods in it, so if you're thinking of hooking up a mini even to a "just" 3840x display to get 30fps, I think you'll be in for a disappointment. I've read experiences from PC users who used the first cheap 4k displays that only supported 30hz, and the experience of the desktop really blows at 30fps.
Click to expand...

Right, but I'm sure most people here knew I meant 4K UHD. It's close enough and people are going to refer to 2160p when stating 4K. There are actual 4K monitors on the market, but it's very expensive (even more expensive than 4K UHD screens).
 
So after doing a bit of research on this, I am confident that we're not going to see 4K at 60hz even with future firmware updates or driver update. The Intel Iris graphics isn't capable of this. The 13" rMBP have the same Intel Iris graphics and it too can't output 4K 60hz. The 15" rMBP can because it have Intel Iris Pro. If you want 4K at 60hz, you're going to have to buy something else or wait until Apple updates the Mac Mini with Broadwell.
 
lsquare said:
Oh really? I thought I read somewhere that the 15" MBP can output 4K at 30hz and above. The base model also uses Intel Iris graphics. Am I missing something here? Is there a reason why the Mac Mini with Intel Iris graphic (the mid and high end Mac Mini) can't output 4K higher than 24hz?
Click to expand...

The 15" MBP uses Iris Pro graphics, not the regular Iris graphics in the Mac mini and 13" Retina MBPs.
 
so Iris Pro can do 4k at 60Hz, Iris at 52Hz with switchresx (any drawbacks to this?). But what about the HD5000 then?
 
Just out of interest, won't all 4k movies be 24fps as per cinema standard anyway?

So if I'm using a Mac mini as my home theatre, I might as well have Plex (for instance) running at 1080p on the 4k screen, but then have it switch to 4k just for the 4k content that is playing back, which will likely all be at 24fps.

I guess it could even be hacked to support all TV shows that EVENTUALLY move to 4k as it can go up to 30hz? (25 for UK anyway)
 
Bumping this back up. Just picked up a 4k tv. Is there anyway to connect hdmi 2.0 to thunderbolt? I can just stream my content through plex but it would be nice to get a Mac mini hooked up for photos and what not.
 
mellofello said:
Bumping this back up. Just picked up a 4k tv. Is there anyway to connect hdmi 2.0 to thunderbolt? I can just stream my content through plex but it would be nice to get a Mac mini hooked up for photos and what not.
Click to expand...

Unfortunatelly no. With the latest passive adapters you get HDMI 1.4 only (this can do 4K UHD at 30Hz), since Intel Iris does not support HDMI 2.0.
 
Is there any noticeable difference in upgrading hdmi cables? I thought the high end hdmi was supposed to be snake oil since it is all digital connection.

Plugging a hdmi 1.4 source into a 2.0 reciever wont get any bump from a better cable will it?
 
mellofello said:
Is there any noticeable difference in upgrading hdmi cables? I thought the high end hdmi was supposed to be snake oil since it is all digital connection.

Plugging a hdmi 1.4 source into a 2.0 reciever wont get any bump from a better cable will it?
Click to expand...

HDMI 2.0 won't work with the new mini, since Intel Iris does not support it, it will fall back to HDMI 1.4 no matter what. HDMI 1.4 supports UHD resolutions 30Hz though, which is ok for movies. I use a plain old noname HDMI cable for 4K@30Hz and it works. :)
 
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