Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Monitor connection

R

RoadRunnerAlgarve

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 16, 2025
6
0
I have just received a base model MacMini M4; a Satechi hub with WD Black SSD and an Asus ProArt PA27JCV monitor and will be using it for normal office work not e.g video editing and will only use the one monitor.
I have various questions, but to start with, could someone advise which ports I should use on the monitor and the MacMini
 
I would start with HDMI to keep the USB-C/TB ports open. Alas, mine has momentary blanking screen issues with my Dell U3818DW. I find it too distracting.
I have tried five different HDMI cables, and it looks like a sync issue unique to the mini Pro.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RoadRunnerAlgarve
Thanks to both contributors. I was feeling a little reluctance to use one of the USB-C ports, but hadn't quite worked out what ancillary devices I will need yet. In some ways I wish the Satechi had more USB A ports at the back rather than the front, for keyboard/ mouse type devices. I certainly don't want a stack of cables coming from the front. Surely I can avoid an additional hub!
 
That ASUS monitor already has a hub (of sorts) at the bottom edge?

pa27jcv.jpg


A keyboard and mouse with bluetooth would help with less cables as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drrich2 and AdamHarbour
RoadRunnerAlgarve said:
I have just received a base model MacMini M4; a Satechi hub with WD Black SSD and an Asus ProArt PA27JCV monitor and will be using it for normal office work not e.g video editing and will only use the one monitor.
I have various questions, but to start with, could someone advise which ports I should use on the monitor and the MacMini
Click to expand...
That’s a great setup! For one monitor and office work, just use either USB-C or HDMI—both will work fine. If your monitor supports USB-C video, go with that for a cleaner setup. Otherwise, HDMI is totally okay too!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jumpthesnark and RoadRunnerAlgarve
I discovered HDMI hookup makes use of auto power on/off my monitor, but I can't make the Mini to send volume commands to my monitor since monitor has bigger speakers than M4's built-in. I shall buy a USB-C to HDMI cable and share the results.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RoadRunnerAlgarve
Feeling very frustrated that I cannnot make more progress on this because I am just recovering from hip operation.
A couple of really basic questions:
Is it the case that only way I can use the additional ports on the monitor is by connecting the USB-C between the MacMini and the monitor? i.e. Used alone the HDMI will only give video.
What is the advantage of Mrbobb's suggestion of a USB-C to HDMI cable
 
RoadRunnerAlgarve said:
Is it the case that only way I can use the additional ports on the monitor is by connecting the USB-C between the MacMini and the monitor?
Click to expand...
Yes. The display is also a USB hub. You can use HDMI for display data and USB cable to use the USB hub feature... or you can use a single USB cable for both display data and USB hub feature combined. Choices, choices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RoadRunnerAlgarve
RoadRunnerAlgarve said:
Feeling very frustrated that I cannnot make more progress on this because I am just recovering from hip operation.
A couple of really basic questions:
Is it the case that only way I can use the additional ports on the monitor is by connecting the USB-C between the MacMini and the monitor? i.e. Used alone the HDMI will only give video.
What is the advantage of Mrbobb's suggestion of a USB-C to HDMI cable
Click to expand...

The ports on the monitor are a hub, so they also need a connection to the computer in order to function. In this case, a USB-C to HDMI cable would not be a good choice as HDMI itself cannot power or communicate to the USB hub built into the monitor. You basically have three workable options, all using either an HDMI cable, USB-C/Thunderbolt cable, or both.

Option 1: HDMI Only (will only provide audio and video signals to the monitor)
Option 2: HDMI and USB-C cords (will also power the built-in hub on the monitor, but results in a two-cable solution)
Option 3: USB-C/Thunderbolt cable between the Mac Mini and Monitor (audio, video, and hub all working off one cable).
 
  • Like
Reactions: RoadRunnerAlgarve and AdamHarbour
Based on my experience, primarily M1 Macs, hdmi is really fussy with the M-series Macs. (Edit: Things have gotten better over time, but there are still threads popping up about similar issues with newer M-series machines.) I now carry multiple dongles with hdmi ports because a dongle that plays nice with the projector in one lecture hall has handshake issues with the same model projector in a different lecture hall. Like others there can be flickering issues and other quirks with monitors and it seems to be random as to whom is affected. I've even seen a situation where flipping a cable end to end was the difference between working and nonworking hdmi. Basically, when it works, it works. When it doesn't, it's a headache.

Apple also did something that baffles me and prevents controlling devices connected via hdmi with the keyboard controls. There is an App that helps with that whether you connect via hdmi or usbc/displayport. MonitorControl.app

As noted if you want to use the ports on the monitor, you must have a usbc connection between the Mac and the monitor. Hdmi only passes audio/video.

Personally, I would use the usbc cable and call it a day. It's going to work and work reliably on the first try.
 
Thanks to both meson and TechRunner for their experience and their recommendations. It is astonishing to me that so much can be pushed down a USB-C cable!
I will try this first because I expect to have a few problems setting up the new MacMini with the external drive and will not want display glitches whilst doing that. After I am confident that I have a fully reliable system, I may experiment with the HDMI option
 
RoadRunnerAlgarve said:
Thanks to both meson and TechRunner for their experience and their recommendations. It is astonishing to me that so much can be pushed down a USB-C cable!
I will try this first because I expect to have a few problems setting up the new MacMini with the external drive and will not want display glitches whilst doing that. After I am confident that I have a fully reliable system, I may experiment with the HDMI option
Click to expand...
I somehow missed the part where you had a Mini. You can't, to my knowledge, power your Mini via USB-C cable. Sorry for the confusion. I run one cable using a MBP. I should have read a bit more slowly before replying.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RoadRunnerAlgarve
TechRunner said:
I somehow missed the part where you had a Mini. You can't, to my knowledge, power your Mini via USB-C cable. Sorry for the confusion. I run one cable using a MBP. I should have read a bit more slowly before replying.
Click to expand...
Based on previous comments, I had concluded that I should provide mains power to both the MacMini and the monitor and that I should use the USB-C for the display and as a feed to the hub that is incorporated in the ASUS PA27JCV.
Is that OK?
I am already using one of the Thunderbolt ports for the Satechi hub/ SSD and this will take a second, leaving the third free. I will have to check what other accessories might require a USB-C connection.
 
RoadRunnerAlgarve said:
Based on previous comments, I had concluded that I should provide mains power to both the MacMini and the monitor and that I should use the USB-C for the display and as a feed to the hub that is incorporated in the ASUS PA27JCV.
Is that OK?
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
RoadRunnerAlgarve said:
Based on previous comments, I had concluded that I should provide mains power to both the MacMini and the monitor and that I should use the USB-C for the display and as a feed to the hub that is incorporated in the ASUS PA27JCV.
Is that OK?
I am already using one of the Thunderbolt ports for the Satechi hub/ SSD and this will take a second, leaving the third free. I will have to check what other accessories might require a USB-C connection.
Click to expand...
Yes. That's the best use given your setup. Enjoy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: RoadRunnerAlgarve
If you use HDMI, you don't tie up a USB-C (front) or Thunderbolt (rear) port on your Mac Mini to drive your display...but you can't use the display's hub ports.

If you use USB-C 'DisplayPort Alt' instead, you give up a USB-C (front) or Thunderbolt port (rear) on your MacMini in order to gain the display hub ports.

Since it's a USB-C display, not a Thunderbolt display, the total bandwidth of the display's video feed and data stream to/from all hub-attached devices will be limited to the USB-C's bandwidth limit. That's not a problem if you have a wireless keyboard and/or mouse dongle, an SD card reader and other fairly low demand things; if you have an external USB-C SSD or two and want to run them full speed, that could be different (and I'd probably hook it directly to the Mac Mini).

Thankfully you don't have to permanently commit. You can hook the USB-C cable up for now, for example, and switch to HDMI later. You may well already have both cables (be sure they're high enough speed) laying around.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RoadRunnerAlgarve
Thanks drrich2. I will play arounf with HDMI once I have the MacMini up and running. Asus do supply both an HDMI and a USB-C cable.
A further thought re the 'HDMI' and 'Display' ports on the monitor:
Is there any point in using either an HDMI to Display converter cable, or similar converter between the MacMini 'HDMI' port and the monitor 'Display' port?
 
RoadRunnerAlgarve said:
Thanks drrich2. I will play arounf with HDMI once I have the MacMini up and running. Asus do supply both an HDMI and a USB-C cable.
A further thought re the 'HDMI' and 'Display' ports on the monitor:
Is there any point in using either an HDMI to Display converter cable, or similar converter between the MacMini 'HDMI' port and the monitor 'Display' port?
Click to expand...
The Asus USB-C cable is what I'm using, and it's solid. My only complaint is I wish it was a foot longer, but I'm making it work fine.
 
(mDP) Thunderbolt 2 to DisplayPort Adapter on my mac mini 2014 works fine.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back