With the new 5K and 6K 100+Hz monitors coming out for 2026 (hopefully) what are the anticipated requirements to support them? Would the M4 Mac Mini non-pro have the ability to drive something like a 6K 120Hz monitor or would at least the pro version be required. Or, would the monitor's onboard chip/board determine that?
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5K & 6K 100+Hz Requirements
- Thread starter just!ns
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Because even 5K/120Hz uses more or less all the available bandwidth of DP1.4 over a TB4/USB-C channel it would require Apple to set it up in MacOS for it to work.
Equally they could restrict it to only newer or higher spec models...
Equally they could restrict it to only newer or higher spec models...
currently nobody knows.
It could work. Or it couldn't. Obviously, all Macs with DP 2.1 (i.e. M4 Pro, M4 Max, M3 Ultra) should support 6K at 120 Hz and more.
But for now we don't know will base M4 support even 5K at 120 Hz. We have the page from Asus: https://rog.asus.com/us/support/faq/1056320/
It doesn't mention M4 but says that M3 Max (which is limited to DP 1.4 similar to M4) supports 5K at 165 Hz. In theory it could even support 6K at 120 Hz because bandwidth needed for 6K@120 is lower than bandwidth for 5K@165. So the interface is not a problem. The question is in GPU and/or OS support.
I'm looking at getting a new Mac Mini in the next few weeks and am thinking the M4 Pro might be worth it just in case I decide to use a future Apple Display (faster SSD speeds with the M4 Pro is also a perk I suppose).