From Mac Mini 2018 to iMac 2017 5K

[designergrey]

I thought I would take a quick minute to document my experience with ordering a custom Mac Mini and why I returned it and went with the iMac i5, 3.8ghz 5K instead. Previous to this iMac I had a 2011 iMac i7. When I bought the Mac Mini I also bought the LG 34WK95U-W 5K monitor. It is a beautiful display, BUT the Mac Mini couldn't run it. Half the time it would just stay black and there was no picture and if the Mac Mini went to sleep it wouldn't wake up. The Mac Mini crashed every day, several times a day. I have never restarted a Mac so much. I got tired of messing with it and decided to go with the iMac. My iMac 2011 was loud and ran hot and I just wanted something quiet with a great display. After reading the iMac forum comments, I went with an i5 instead of the i7. This is the quietest computer I have ever owned. I didn't have high hopes for the LG 5K widescreen and the iMac, but it runs beautifully. Because it wasn't intended for this dual monitor set-up I have decided to return it and go with a Dell U3219Q, 4k with USB-C. I do mostly print design and publication layout—no video so my files are always 300dpi and the 34" 5k is just too narrow and I would prefer more vertical real estate. Since most of my workflow is Adobe Creative Cloud I probably will be fine with the i5. And yes, I did go with a 2TB SSD as expensive as it is I keep my computers a long time. This iMac is fast and quiet. Between buying the Mac Mini and iMac the Apple holiday deal happened so I did get the $200 gift card. When the computer arrived at the store they let me upgrade the keyboard and trackpad from white to space gray and only pay the difference between the two even though I believe it is a cheaper price when ordering with the iMac so that was nice. So that's my experience. I can't avoid a T2 mac for long but they will work out the hurdles. I guess I could have tried an eGPU, but I also discovered I am not a one monitor kinda user. I actually missed having two displays so this set-up works. Last note, I upgraded the RAM with OWC chips, it took a couple tries, but it finally recognized the new RAM and all is well.

 

[mreg376]

Good story, all-in-all, since you ended up with a non-T2 Mac. The only thing that stands out as odd is that it took two tries to recognize the excellent OWC RAM...
I have the 27" 2017 i7, and love it. These are great machines. Enjoy.

 

[Fishrrman]

2017 iMac 27" remains an excellent choice.
A friend has one and it's the snazziest iMac I've yet seen.

 

[mortenjensen]

Great story - I am currently trying out a MBP 2018, 13'' with the LG 5K 27''. It works - but not smoothly. There are notable glitches in the IU animations once the LG is plugged in. I must say that I am surprised that apple would release a new mac mini that simply cannot drive the obvious choice of monitor, the LG 5K. As a matter of fact, much points in direction of the way too expensive MBP 2018 15'' Vega as the only choice, if you want a portable solution.

In regards to the T2-problem. What is all the fuzz about here? I have no problems with the MBP 13'' in this regard, I think.

Morten

 

[designergrey]

I got the Dell U3219Q 32" 4K USB-C display set-up. It looks almost as good as the LG 5K and I love the extra height it provides.

 

[cwanja]

Believe I already know the answer to this, but you upgraded to a space gray full keyboard (with numeric keypad) from the silver magic keyboard without numeric keypad - correct? As far as I know, there is no space gray magic keyboard. How has your experience been (ergonomically) with the trackpad and full keyboard? Coming from a MacBook Pro, I have found at times that the full keyboard with Magic Trackpad can be an issue. Would love a magic keyboard in space gray.

I was in a similar scenario, was debating an iMac and bought a Mac mini to replace an aging machine. I love my updated Mac mini and bought an LG monitor on sale from B&H. The combination works great and I have no issues. I will be buying an updated iMac when I feel it is a good time to buy.

 

[xgman]

In regards to the T2-problem. What is all the fuzz about here? I have no problems with the MBP 13'' in this regard, I think.

Morten

The exact nature and combinations of events to have the T2 Bridge OS panicks is not clearly defined. maybe some T2 chips are fine and some not so much, or maybe to do with what is hooked up to the mac etc. in my case, not so good.