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My Mac mini Monitor Buying Experience
- Thread starter F-Train
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Anyone have thoughts or experience with this monitor?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UFCVKI...olid=14RQ21FUPOXNX&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
ASUS MX259H 25-Inch, Full HD 1920x1080 IPS, Audio by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower HDMI VGA Frameless Monitor
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UFCVKI...olid=14RQ21FUPOXNX&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
ASUS MX259H 25-Inch, Full HD 1920x1080 IPS, Audio by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower HDMI VGA Frameless Monitor
Yes. 1920 x 1080. The effective font size will be very large, similar to a native 70 PPI screen.
https://www.sven.de/dpi/
I simply added a SquareTrade 4-year protection plan on amazon when I checked out with my 32" LG. It was $7.
That sucks!
I’m getting the screen later today. Will try to play around with the resolutions with a MBP. Hopefully the 4K non-retina won’t look too small.
The 5K on 27” definitely did and wasn’t usable for me.
If 2x (retina) is too large, and 1x is too small, just enable: "Looks like 2560x1440". This will be likely be perfect for you on a 32 inch display.
Funny, that's exactly the resolution my 2014 13'' rMBP is outputting to the screen. It doesn't seem to be able to output anything higher than that. The 60Hz box is greyed out and I can't change it. On the Scaled box the highest I see is 2560x1440.
I'm connected via DP.
What's the catch?
U32D970:
Resolution: 2560 x 1440 (QHD/WQHD - Wide Quad High Definition)
UI Looks like: 2560 x 1440 @ 60 Hz
Framebuffer Depth: 24-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
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it depends what you mean by the "usual retina" resolution (which may depend on your OS version and display) - on my 28" 4k the "Default for display" setting is native 4k (or "Looks like 3840x2160" - because it is 3840x2160). To get "Looks like 1080p" you'll have to choose a "scaled" mode - its actually "Larger text" on mine).
At "looks like 1080p" yes, in terms of the size of menus, system text & icons, "window furniture" etc. which is gonna be a bit big on a 32" screen. In terms of definition it should be as sharp as you'll get on a 4k screen.
However, My eyes aren't wonderful but I can use 3840x2160 - on my 28" screen - for short periods - a decade or three ago I'd probably have been fine. At 32", you might find that its perfectly OK. Bear in mind that many applications let you change the font size or zoom level for the actual content you're working on anyway.
It all depends on (a) your eyeballs and (b) how close you prefer to sit to the screen.
Choosing anything other than native "Looks like 3840x2160" or 2x "Looks like 1920x1080" gets you the GPU/VRAM load (which may be a problem on the Mini) and slight "softness" of non-integer scaling (which will be more noticable on a larger screen) - the dialog doesn't make that particularly clear.
The problem is that the Goldilocks-zone for display size (in terms of desk space, esp. for 2 displays) is 27" and at that size, the Goldilocks zone for "resolution" is probably "Looks like 2560x1440" which clobbers the GPU.
The long and the short of it seems to be, for a Mac Mini, unless you're planning on an eGPU, go for either a 21-24" display which fits the "looks like 1080p" mode or a bigger-than-27" 4k display that is usable in 3840x2160 mode.
I think this thread is touching on an issue critical to anyone looking to buy a new Mini. Could posters please note whether or not they have font-smoothing enabled when they talk about UI image quality and performance? That seems to have an impact (negative and positive) on people's perceptions of how good or bad a particular monitor is.
You don't really share what technical requirements you need and only allude to usage (I didn't read the whole thread), but the Dell U2718Q (4K) looks great, well made, inexpensive for the quality, and extended warranties are available. It's not up to the standards of the UP2718Q (which costs 3 times as much), but generally if you need that level of color accuracy, you can afford it.
And 4K @ 27" at any scaled resolution works great. Take the nay-sayers at face-value. Personally (and I can also speak on behalf of a number of my fellow office mates), I think 27" @ 1080 scaled resolution is great... even more so if you don't have the best eyesight.
Connected my LG UltaFine 5k to the Mac Mini today. Black screen - backlight is on, but nothing is showing. Tried on my MacBook Pro, but that didn't work either. Not a great first experience. Returning everything and reordering. Will report back on this if it works! 
My monitor hunt is finally over. This evening, I settled on Asus's PA32UC, a fairly new 32", 3840x2160 monitor that covers Adobe RGB, Adobe sRGB, Rec. 709, HDR and Rec. 2020. It’s helpful that it also supports Adaptive Sync/FreeSync.
B&H has a Cyber Monday price on it until midnight that provided just enough of a break I'll pick it up in the morning.
![Screen Shot 2018-11-26 at 7.56.27 PM.png]( "Screen Shot 2018-11-26 at 7.56.27 PM.png")
B&H has a Cyber Monday price on it until midnight that provided just enough of a break
I'll pick it up in the morning.
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My monitor hunt is finally over. This evening, I settled on Asus's PA32UC, a fairly new 32", 3840x2160 monitor that covers Adobe RGB, Adobe sRGB, Rec. 709, HDR and Rec. 2020. It’s helpful that it also supports Adaptive Sync/FreeSync.
B&H has a Cyber Monday price on it until midnight that conceded just enough
View attachment 806745
Made an account to say that Im currenty running two Asus PA27AC which is the 27 inch counterpart.
The monitor is a great choice! Running two thunderbolt daisy chain and experience has been really smooth.the back buttons kinda feel cheap for the price but the panel is awesome with the blue light settings. 1440 looks perfect on this.
