Is a Mac Mini suitable?

[Zeebedy]

Just not long setup the new eGPU!..had trouble at first as I was on the 10.15.2 build and didn't upgrade as I was scared of the issues some people were having, but I bit the bullet and updated, and BINGO it works!

Everything seems much snappier and fluid now. All I need now is my 32GB RAM Kit that arrived to be installed and we officially have a nice little machine

 

[Zeebedy]

Hey guys,

Having some issues here..

Sometimes when I power down the machine, and then go to start it the next time, it gives me no display, and I need to hard power off the mini, and then restart it for the image on the DisplayPort to kick in?

Any help on this would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[MevetS]

Hey guys,

Having some issues here..

Sometimes when I power down the machine, and then go to start it the next time, it gives me no display, and I need to hard power off the mini, and then restart it for the image on the DisplayPort to kick in?

Any help on this would be appreciated!

Thanks!

I too had issues with my eGPU set up at first. I was able to solve them. You can check out this post (and others in that thread) for how: eGPU fix.

And this site gives more info on how to mirror specific displays.

Annoying for sure. But I can now use my system by just turning it on and not worrying if the displays will or will not turn on.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

 

[pldelisle]

If you need graphics performance, wait for the iMac refresh. Apple will probably release one more iMac on Intel.

If you only wanna plug one 4K display and do nothing graphics intensive, the Mini will be fine.

 

[Zeebedy]

I too had issues with my eGPU set up at first. I was able to solve them. You can check out this post (and others in that thread) for how: eGPU fix.

And this site gives more info on how to mirror specific displays.

Annoying for sure. But I can now use my system by just turning it on and not worrying if the displays will or will not turn on.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Did you buy the dummy HDMI then?

If I only have one display would I be better off using the HDMI from the eGPU to the monitor?

Might order the dummy piece if that is what helped you out?

 

[MevetS]

Did you buy the dummy HDMI then?

If I only have one display would I be better off using the HDMI from the eGPU to the monitor?

Might order the dummy piece if that is what helped you out?

Yes I used the dummy plug in the MacMini HDMI port and then connected my two displays to the eGPU. I think the issue is that the Mini expects a directly connected display, so using HDMI in the eGPU won't solve that issue.

 

[Zeebedy]

Yes I used the dummy plug in the MacMini HDMI port and then connected my two displays to the eGPU. I think the issue is that the Mini expects a directly connected display, so using HDMI in the eGPU won't solve that issue.

Ahh, yeah , silly me

Gonna order the dummy piece, thanks mate!

 

[Zeebedy]

Hey guys,

RAM installed, Mac running great, apart from one thing!..

I just received my Dummy HDMI adapter from Amazon, so shut down the Mac, inserted it and it seem to boot fine..but now my display res is HORRIBLE! very pixilated? I tried the settings for Display but won't let me change "Best for ASUS XG438"..

help please

 

[Zeebedy]

OK, so I have managed to go to the display settings and choose 4K. But everything is super super tiny.

How can I keep this resolution but scale it better?
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update again :

Weird. I rebooted and now that "Dummy HDMI detection" Is gone.

It boots fine now, and goes straight to the 4k with the perfect scaling I had before. Hmmm

Will update if anything changes..

 

[romanof]

Thanks for all the input guys.

I have a eGPU enclosure and a RX 580 on the way to setup, get my new mini tomorrow, wont get eGPU unit until next week but will get everything setup tomorrow and see how I get on..

Let us know how the eGPU works. I bought the Blackmagic Pro for my 6 core 16gb mini and it didn't make jack bit of difference for anything graphical that I run. The display response is exactly the same whether the Prefer eGPU is checked or not. It might help if I was running Final Cut or Logic Pro, but who is going to use a Mini for those?

 

[jayducharme]

Weird. I rebooted and now that "Dummy HDMI detection" Is gone.

FWIW, I couldn't get the dummy HDMI plug to work reliably with my system. I was going to throw in the towel and just live with constant reboots. But there was one thing I hadn't tried: I disconnected the DP cable from my eGPU and instead used my TB3-to-DP cable to come out of the mini (on the same bus my eGPU was plugged into) and go directly into my monitor. Now everything boots reliably. I have 4k 60 hz. And my eGPU seems to be working better. FCPX rendering time is about half what it was with my other setup. For some reason, I did lose some fps on just a couple of games I play; other games weren't affected. But other than that I'm a happy camper now, and my mini is finally meeting my original expectations.