Looking for a 27"+ monitor for use with a Mac mini M1?

[Imola Ghost]

I had a 2015 27" iMac that recently died and since they don't make a 27" iMac any longer I purchased a 24" iMac but immediately returned it because the screen size didn't cut it. The love the look of the display but the size wasn't large enough.

So I'm searching for a 27"+ display that is close to or better than the 2015 iMac I had. So I purchased a 32" Samsung M8 Smart monitor and although the styling of the display is very very nice the display does't come close to the iMac. Not sure what the iMac has in it but even though it was 7-8 years old the display was perfect for my wife and I. We don't game we just liked the way the computer fonts and everything just seemed to be crisp and clean. The current Samsung monitor looks washed and fuzzy and my wife said she was having a hard time reading Word documents.

So other than the Apple Studio Display or the one above it, what display should I look at to mimic the bright and crisp display of my old fart iMac I had? I'd like the Apple Studio display but that thing is $1599! OUCH!

The funny thing is that I connected the Mac mini M1 to my Sony 77" A80J OLED and it looked phenomenal and something said I should lean that way but not sure. I don't need a 77" computer monitor but boy did it look good. Well the Sony was also professionally calibrated but would a small 32" OLED work as a iMac computer display replacement?

HELP!

 

[Juicy Box]

So I'm searching for a 27"+ display that is close to or better than the 2015 iMac I had.

Apple uses high quality displays in their iMacs. Any 3rd party Displays that are on par with Apple displays will be very pricey.

Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Imola Ghost]

It looked pretty good on my OLED but there's just something about the glossy screen that iMacs have
that I like.

I wonder how the older Apple Thunderbolt Display looks compared to what my 2015 iMac display looks like?

 

[russell_314]

A good display isn’t going to be cheap. I used my Mac mini with a terrible display before I knew what a good display looked like. Once I got my 24 inch iMac I could not believe the difference. I would never go back to a cheap display. It’s the interface between your eyes and the computer so if everything looks terrible, then the experience is terrible.

If you don’t want to spend $1600 for the Studio Display, the closest thing you’re going to get is the 27” LG 5K Ultrafine. Of course it’s still not going to be cheap but cheaper than the Apple display.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XV9NQSJ/ref=cm_sw_r_api_i_GC1AZV8PCS4257T30F0J_0

 

[Juicy Box]

You could find an old Late 2009 to Mid 2010 27" iMac and use Target Display Mode and a USB-C to Mini Display port cable.

The display will look good, but not as good as your 5K iMac. Another downside is that it uses a lot of energy compared to a modern display.

A good display isn’t going to be cheap.

Agreed.

I used my Mac mini with a terrible display before I knew what a good display looked like. Once I got my 24 inch iMac I could not believe the difference.

My daughters hate using my M1 Mac Mini for their games even though it performs better than their Late 2012 and Late 2013 27" iMacs. They say the display looks weird.

It is a (relatively) new $300 gaming monitor, but just doesn't have the quality of their now 10 year old iMacs' displays.

 

[wilberforce]

There are no good reasonably priced 27" options.
The LG 5K UltraFine is the same panel as used in the 27" 5K iMac, but it is more plasticky, overpriced and not really a good value compared to the ASD.

This is part of the reason I bought a 2020 27" iMac. Screen is fantastic, even better than the 2014/2015 iMac. You can still get a refurb base one for $1300 from Apple, if you just want it for basic usage. Basically the same price as the LG 27" monitor, with a free computer inside:

Refurbished 27-inch iMac 3.1GHz 6-core Intel Core i5 with Retina 5K display

Originally released August 2020 27-inch (diagonal) Retina 5K display; 5120-by-2880 resolution with support for one billion colors True Tone technology 8GB of 2666MHz DDR4 memory 256GB SSD 1080p FaceTime HD camera Radeon Pro 5300 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory

www.apple.com

 

[Basic75]

You could find an old Late 2009 to Mid 2010 27" iMac and use Target Display Mode and a USB-C to Mini Display port cable.

There are no good reasonably priced 27" options.

It's unfortunate that there are hardly any ~220ppi retina monitors on the market at any size. However if non-retina is acceptable there are several decent 27" 2560x1440 IPS displays which can be had for relatively little money. Unlike an old iMac with the same resolution they don't have an entire computer attached and consuming energy. Other ~110ppi options well suited to be used at native resolution include 34" 3440x1440 and 38" 3840x1600 displays.

 

[Prince Akeem]

I use an LG 27UL650 with M1, it's an excellent low cost 4K IPS (60Hz) monitor for around $299 and I can recommend it to anyone with M1 Mini/Air or actually any mac. It has thin bezels and it works excellently with macOS in Hi-DPI. So 4K on a 27" on desktop-eye-distance almost feels like retina. I think you shouldn't go much larger than 27 though, otherwise you'll need 5K or more for the same retina effect.

The price of this LG is a bit lower because it has DisplayPort and not USB-C, but I ran it without any problems simply with a USB-C to DisplayPort cable. Nowadays I mostly run it through a CalDigit TS3+ thunderbolt dock, but it's the same idea. 4K 60Hz over HDMI is also supported, but for Macs I think using a direct USB-C to DisplayPort cable (or through a thunderbolt dock) is best.
The 27UL650 has an even lower cost brother with the same panel, but it has thicker bezels, but I don't like that.