Buying Advice Mac Mini and monitor

[Isengardtom]

I was thinking of optimizing/changing/ simplifying my current setup

last year I built a gaming pc desktop which is a big space consuming tower with a large screen. It was a bit of a mid life crisis spur of the moment decision
I also have an M1 iMac but my main home computer is actually (don’t laugh) my M4 iPad Pro. I use it every day.
I have a surface laptop from work.

I use the iMac regularly (not daily but several times a week) but the pc desktop is literally collecting dust.

what I was thinking was replacing the iMac and PC tower with an upcoming M4 pro Mac mini along with a screen that I can also use my windows work laptop with. I only really do light gaming and want to do games like the upcoming Civ 7 and already been playing Baldur’s gate 3.

What do you guys think? I love my M1 iMac so will be painful to part with it but I can’t use it with my windows laptop as it can’t be used as a target display anymore. My hope is that I can do some light gaming on the M4 pro Mac mini. I never play high refresh rate fast past games like shooters so I think it makes sense

if it does, what monitor would you guys pair with this? I don’t want anything bigger than a 27” monitor as my flat is quite small.

 

[Fishrrman]

Wait until the new Minis are released in about 4-5 weeks.

Then... wait a little longer until the reviews come in.

Then... make your buying decision.

 

[Isengardtom]

Thanks

Will definitely wait for an M4 - don't want to buy an M2 at full price

 

[shakopeemn]

I was thinking of optimizing/changing/ simplifying my current setup

what I was thinking was replacing the iMac and PC tower with an upcoming M4 pro Mac mini along with a screen that I can also use my windows work laptop with.

A. If you're planning on keeping the monitor, I would add a USB-C hub for the monitor. It would allow you to power and connect your home Macbook, Mini, and work PC via a single USB-C cable when the occasional needing to change.

B. If purchasing a new monitor, I urge choosing a monitor that has a built-in USB-C for power/connection. I use this and switching between my Macbook and work notebook via a single USB-C connector for both the power and KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) is so easy. The universal USB-C hub is an excellent docking station.

 

[Isengardtom]

A. If you're planning on keeping the monitor, I would add a USB-C hub for the monitor. It would allow you to power and connect your home Macbook, Mini, and work PC via a single USB-C cable when the occasional needing to change.

B. If purchasing a new monitor, I urge choosing a monitor that has a built-in USB-C for power/connection. I use this and switching between my Macbook and work notebook via a single USB-C connector for both the power and KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) is so easy. The universal USB-C hub is an excellent docking station.

thank you. I stupidly bought an ultrawide for the PC tower but I want to downsize to a normal 24 to max 27” monitor.
I actually really like the iMac’s display.

so would like to choose something with similar quality. Don’t need high refresh rate for the few games I want to play

 

[WhisperingBobcat]

thank you. I stupidly bought an ultrawide for the PC tower but I want to downsize to a normal 24 to max 27” monitor.
I actually really like the iMac’s display.

so would like to choose something with similar quality. Don’t need high refresh rate for the few games I want to play

I recently bought a 34" 5K2K monitor and was surprised at how well my even newer M2 iPad Air worked with my monitor, keyboard, and mouse. I didn't like it enough to give up my desktop Mini, but iPadOS is getting a lot closer to being a desktop alternative. You seem to use your iPad the most, so I'd be interested in how you think it works when docked to you monitor, etc.

 

[Isengardtom]

I recently bought a 34" 5K2K monitor and was surprised at how well my even newer M2 iPad Air worked with my monitor, keyboard, and mouse. I didn't like it enough to give up my desktop Mini, but iPadOS is getting a lot closer to being a desktop alternative. You seem to use your iPad the most, so I'd be interested in how you think it works when docked to you monitor, etc.

To be honest I rarely use the iPad with an external monito. I dont even use it that often with the Magic Keyboard.

what I love about it other than the amazing screen is how portable and light it is and that it’s very responsive, modular and most importantly : controlled with touch (and pen)

I have a big dislike for laptops so my personal setup has always been iMac + iPad (pro) but taking into consideration occasional work from home, a mac mini + separate screen which also works with the work laptop and the iPad Pro is a more logical way to go.

i saw some reviews today of an MSI 32” QD OLED 4K monitor that seems to be working well with both pc and Mac (and consoles) so perhaps I’ll get that one (once the price goes down a bit )

 

[WhisperingBobcat]

To be honest I rarely use the iPad with an external monito. I dont even use it that often with the Magic Keyboard.

what I love about it other than the amazing screen is how portable and light it is and that it’s very responsive, modular and most importantly : controlled with touch (and pen)

I have a big dislike for laptops so my personal setup has always been iMac + iPad (pro) but taking into consideration occasional work from home, a mac mini + separate screen which also works with the work laptop and the iPad Pro is a more logical way to go.

i saw some reviews today of an MSI 32” QD OLED 4K monitor that seems to be working well with both pc and Mac (and consoles) so perhaps I’ll get that one (once the price goes down a bit )

That monitor sounds great, and with a M4 pro, you definitely have something to look forward to.


Good luck.

 

[ProgRocker]

To be honest I rarely use the iPad with an external monito. I dont even use it that often with the Magic Keyboard.

what I love about it other than the amazing screen is how portable and light it is and that it’s very responsive, modular and most importantly : controlled with touch (and pen)

I have a big dislike for laptops so my personal setup has always been iMac + iPad (pro) but taking into consideration occasional work from home, a mac mini + separate screen which also works with the work laptop and the iPad Pro is a more logical way to go.

i saw some reviews today of an MSI 32” QD OLED 4K monitor that seems to be working well with both pc and Mac (and consoles) so perhaps I’ll get that one (once the price goes down a bit )

I'll be picking up either an M4 Pro Mini or M4 Max Studio and would like to team it up with a 32" monitor.
Do you have an exact model # or link to the MSI 32" ? Thanks...

 

[leifp]

I game (lightly) on my M2Pro Mac mini with Apple Studio Display. It (or the upcoming M4Pro version) will do your needs quite well.

That MSI is highly reviewed and I own a (semi) competitive display (42” ASUS RoG OLED) that is among my favourite displays ever.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

OP, don't know what made it "stupidly" back in post #5, but when I embraced Apple Silicon "separates" I too paired it with an ultra-wide and LOVE the added screen R.E. I come from a long-term iMac 27" history and wanted same screen quality but more of it, so I chose the Dell 40" 5K2K ultra-wide, which delivered about the same screen height as my former iMac but much more horizontal screen space. I could never go back to something more square like ASD now. All that added screen space is just too useful to me.

I'll guess your "stupidly" comment might mean you bought low resolution. If so, stepping that up to high resolution makes it look more like the iMac screen you like. The one I chose is 5K2K resolution and my perfectly-fine eyes can't see a difference in quality.

And while 40" vs. 24" (iMac) sounds way bigger, on a height-on-stand basis, iMac is about 18.5" (high) while this 40" Dell can be as low at 18" (high) when (easily) adjusted down as low as it can go. It's width where there is a fairly sizable difference: iMac 24" is 21.54" wide vs. about 37.25" wide on the Dell.

Price of the one I have is about the SAME as ASD at times but comes with most of the (Apple additional cost) "stand options" default and includes a substantial, built-in hub with a good mix of "the future" and "the present" ports, including multiple video inputs in case you want to hook anything else to it without having to swap cable connections.

In my case, I needed "bootcamp" too, so I added a Mac mini-Like PC that is also permanently attached to it. I can easily switch back & forth between macOS and (real) Windows (not limited ARM Windows emulation) OR split screen to have iMac-like size macOS on one half and PC on the other. Hub can share keyboard and mouse for use with both. That still leaves video inputs so I could attach an AppleTV or game console or anything else.

In your case, you could tuck the mid-life crisis BEHIND it or somewhere around it and connect it to this monitor too. OR your plan to use one monitor for both Mac and the laptop will work fine with one like this. Maybe look into a dock for the laptop and you can just slot it in like an old game cartridge and otherwise leave all cable connections hooked to the dock when you take the laptop out of the it.

Mac is great and all, but Windows runs far more apps and a gaming PC you already own is going to run just about all games now... vs. only the ever-lasting hope-hope-hope for AAA games to come to Mac... someday. Mid-life crisis or not: hook it in and enjoy something you already own with plenty of horsepower.

ASD is quite restrictive, very much Apple walled garden. Apple fans will push it hard because it's the only consumer (standalone) monitor Apple offers... but there is PLENTY of fish in the monitor sea... and Macs work fine with about all of them. A key to something that looks very good is get pretty high resolution: 4K or greater... and greater is important as overall screen size goes up. The new Macs should be able to output up to 8K.

 

[KDNYC]

I was thinking of optimizing/changing/ simplifying my current setup

last year I built a gaming pc desktop which is a big space consuming tower with a large screen. It was a bit of a mid life crisis spur of the moment decision
I also have an M1 iMac but my main home computer is actually (don’t laugh) my M4 iPad Pro. I use it every day.
I have a surface laptop from work.

I use the iMac regularly (not daily but several times a week) but the pc desktop is literally collecting dust.

what I was thinking was replacing the iMac and PC tower with an upcoming M4 pro Mac mini along with a screen that I can also use my windows work laptop with. I only really do light gaming and want to do games like the upcoming Civ 7 and already been playing Baldur’s gate 3.

What do you guys think? I love my M1 iMac so will be painful to part with it but I can’t use it with my windows laptop as it can’t be used as a target display anymore. My hope is that I can do some light gaming on the M4 pro Mac mini. I never play high refresh rate fast past games like shooters so I think it makes sense

if it does, what monitor would you guys pair with this? I don’t want anything bigger than a 27” monitor as my flat is quite small.

If you love the iMac as I do and have a small space (as I do) an ASD paired with a mini. You can find a rear ASD shelf on Etsy that has slots for cables and can hold a mini. It’s possible to find an ASD for $1300-1400 discounted so with an m4 mini it’s basically an upgradable iMac. HOWEVER, to make ASD work with a windows laptop I believe the laptop needs to have at least usb4 or thunderbolt 3/4.

 

[MacCheetah3]

i saw some reviews today of an MSI 32” QD OLED 4K monitor that seems to be working well with both pc and Mac (and consoles) so perhaps I’ll get that one (once the price goes down a bit )

I’ve been doing monitor shopping err research (again) lately and landed on those models. From top tier to lower:

MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED Review

The MSI MPG 321URX is a flat 32-inch, 4k gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate. As a part of MSI's Performance Gaming (MPG) lineup, it sits alongside other QD...

www.rtings.com

One of the stand out features is USB-C charging.

MAG 321UPX QD-OLED

MAG 321UPX QD-OLED is the latest MSI QD-OLED panel, these displays exhibit the best picture quality when gaming and provide an ultimate immersive gaming experience with a super-fast 0.03ms response time.

www.msi.com

MAG 321UP QD-OLED

MAG 321UP QD-OLED is the latest MSI QD-OLED panel, these displays exhibit the best picture quality when gaming and provide an ultimate immersive gaming experience with a super-fast 0.03ms response time.

us.msi.com

The only differences I can find spec wise vs the X version are a lower refresh rate, 165Hz vs 240Hz, and a lower VESA ClearMR rating, 9000 vs 13000 -- which, I think, simply relates to the max refresh rate difference.

I’m leaning toward the MAG 321UP as I probably would never use the perk features.

By the way, there is a 27-inch model:

MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED Review

The MSI MPG 271QRX is a 27-inch 1440p premium gaming monitor with a QD-OLED display. It joins several new QD-OLEDS of this size that are entering the market in 2...

www.rtings.com

MPG 271QRX QD-OLED

MPG 271QRX QD-OLED is the latest MSI QD-OLED panel, these displays exhibit the best picture quality when gaming and provide an ultimate immersive gaming experience with a super-fast 0.03ms response time.

us.msi.com

 

[Scott6666]

Bump. Now that the new Mac mini is out are the suggestions the same?

 

[leifp]

Bump. Now that the new Mac mini is out are the suggestions the same?

If you’re getting one today, yes. If you’re willing/able to wait the M4Pro chip supports Thunderbolt 5, which will allow for an entirely new class of monitor. But I doubt they’ll be available much before Apple releases new Mac Studio/Pros…