Exactly what cable mac mini M1 (2018) to Dell display?

[visvaldis]

Recently I bought a 2018 Mac Mini M1 to replace my late 2012 Mac Mini, which still works great.
All the hook ups work fine, except the adapter for the Dell (about 2013). The VGA to thunderbolt adapter for the 2012 does not fit the 2018 port. Grrrrrrrrr!
I looked at the cables on Amazon. Huge selection, like 12 pages! I don't want to order one after another, then wait for delivery only to discover the part does not fit...then order another one.
The adapters shown on Amazon mention only iPhones and Macbooks. How about Mac minis?
Also, 6 inches of cable is just right, 6 feet is ridiculous.
When I bought the 2012 Mac I ordered 3 adapter cables before finally getting the right one. I don't want to go thru that again.
On the Dell I can't find a model name or number, it's just plain Dell.
Right now I've got an nasty attitude because of this and have a whole lot of choice words for the people who design ports and cables. Standardization is possible.
Today I ordered a Benefei USB C to VGA adapter, expected delivery, Sunday, Jan 19. I hope it's the right one.

 

[Boyd01]

The 2018 Mini's have Intel processors; the M1 Mini was not introduced until 2020. Is that what you have? I think the same cables would work on either, sounds like you ordered the right thing. You could also have used an HDMI adapter which would leave the USB port free for other things.

 

[joevt]

The VGA to thunderbolt adapter for the 2012 is a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter (video source to video destination).

6 inches is an adapter. Used with a cable to connect to a display.
6 feet is a cable. Used by itself or with an adapter to connect a display.
Usually it's best to connect using the minimum number of cables/adapters.

The Dell display should have a digital input such as DVI or HDMI or DisplayPort input. Any of those would be better than the analog VGA input unless the Dell is a CRT?

 

[Fishrrman]

What kind of inputs on the Dell display?
Take a pic and post it.

 

[visvaldis]

Recently I bought a 2018 Mac Mini M1 to replace my late 2012 Mac Mini, which still works great.
All the hook ups work fine, except the adapter for the Dell (about 2013). The VGA to thunderbolt adapter for the 2012 does not fit the 2018 port. Grrrrrrrrr!
I looked at the cables on Amazon. Huge selection, like 12 pages! I don't want to order one after another, then wait for delivery only to discover the part does not fit...then order another one.
The adapters shown on Amazon mention only iPhones and Macbooks. How about Mac minis?
Also, 6 inches of cable is just right, 6 feet is ridiculous.
When I bought the 2012 Mac I ordered 3 adapter cables before finally getting the right one. I don't want to go thru that again.
On the Dell I can't find a model name or number, it's just plain Dell.
Right now I've got an nasty attitude because of this and have a whole lot of choice words for the people who design ports and cables. Standardization is possible.
Today I ordered a Benefei USB C to VGA adapter, expected delivery, Sunday, Jan 19. I hope it's the right one.

Thanks for the replies. The correct adapter is in place, but a big problem emerged. New thread.