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New Mac Mini and Acer Monitor

M

mattbeer

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 20, 2014
2
0
Hello - I just purchased the brand new max mini and need help. I purchased the following ACER Monitor-

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423107,00.asp

I would appreciate any help with regard to the BEST way to connect the Mini to this monitor. DVI, VGA, HDMI - all confuse me. Any and all help appreciated to get the best screen performance.

Thank you!
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
mattbeer said:
Hello - I just purchased the brand new max mini and need help. I purchased the following ACER Monitor-

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423107,00.asp

I would appreciate any help with regard to the BEST way to connect the Mini to this monitor. DVI, VGA, HDMI - all confuse me. Any and all help appreciated to get the best screen performance.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Don't listen to giggles, just use a HDMI cable.
 
Don't listen to cfedu, read the specs from Apple.

HDMI video output
Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz
Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz
Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz


At 60Hz it's 1920x1080 max.

The Acer screen is 2560x1080.
 
cfedu said:
Don't listen to giggles, just use a HDMI cable.
Click to expand...

This is wrong. The HDMI port only supports 1080p at 60hz. Use a mini displayport cable and you will be able to drive the monitor at its nTive resolution
 
Well I guess HDMI sucks, don't listen to me. I thought i would be able to manage 2560 X 1080.

Try the mDP cable first, that should work. I would return the display if I need to get that 100$ adapter.
 
COrocket said:
This is wrong. The HDMI port only supports 1080p at 60hz. Use a mini displayport cable and you will be able to drive the monitor at its nTive resolution
Click to expand...

giggles said:
Don't listen to cfedu, read the specs from Apple.

HDMI video output
Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz
Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz
Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz


At 60Hz it's 1920x1080 max.

The Acer screen is 2560x1080.
Click to expand...

Wow, I had no idea HDMI had that limitation. I just bought this monitor for my 2012 mac mini - http://www.asus.com/us/Monitors_Projectors/VS24AHP/specifications/

How should I connect it? I was planning on getting a monoprice mini displayport to hdmi cable. Would this work for getting the max resolution at 60Hz?
 
yuhanbang said:
Use a mini displayport cable and you will be able to drive the monitor at its nTive resolutionImage
Click to expand...

I will use plug a cable into the mini displayport on the mac mini side. On the monitor side, there are 3 connections - VGA, DVI-D, and HDMI. Which of those on the monitor should I use? Does it matter?
 
oneMadRssn said:
I will use plug a cable into the mini displayport on the mac mini side. On the monitor side, there are 3 connections - VGA, DVI-D, and HDMI. Which of those on the monitor should I use? Does it matter?
Click to expand...

I would first try the HDMI and if that does doe work try a mDP to DVI adapter, not the dual link one as your display is 1920x1200. I think this HDMI limitation is more of an apple thing as windows PC's can support these higher resolutions.
 
Last edited:
From Amazon spec page of the monitor:

Rapid 8ms response time ensures smooth movement during videos and 300 nits brightness ensures optimal viewing under most common lighting conditions.
The DVI-D input with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) allows for viewing of digital movies and copy-protected media.
Signal Inputs: 1 x DVI-D, 2 X HDMI, 1 x Display Port & 1 x Display Port Out
The ultra-thin 29" LED display comes encased in an stylish bezel matched with a sturdy black base. The flexible height adjusted and rotation stand can tilt and swivel for the optimal view and includes cable management and VESA wall mounting support to keep things neat and tidy.


ACER 29" monitor link .. just use MDP cable ...
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
iPhil said:
From Amazon spec page of the monitor:

Rapid 8ms response time ensures smooth movement during videos and 300 nits brightness ensures optimal viewing under most common lighting conditions.
The DVI-D input with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) allows for viewing of digital movies and copy-protected media.
Signal Inputs: 1 x DVI-D, 2 X HDMI, 1 x Display Port & 1 x Display Port Out
The ultra-thin 29" LED display comes encased in an stylish bezel matched with a sturdy black base. The flexible height adjusted and rotation stand can tilt and swivel for the optimal view and includes cable management and VESA wall mounting support to keep things neat and tidy.


ACER 29" monitor link .. just use MDP cable ...
Click to expand...

Thats what I thought, it looks like apple restricts HDMI on their products MDP to DP cable might be the best option. The DVI-D might works if its a DL-DVI-D input on the display.
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
cfedu said:
Thats what I thought, it looks like apple restricts HDMI on their products MDP to DP cable might be the best option. The DVI-D might works if its a DL-DVI-D input on the display.
Click to expand...

It's not an Apple restriction. It's the HDMI spec.
Look up HDMI revisions. Only the most recent products (both on the transmitting and receiving side, as you need both) have HDMI 2.0, which overcome that limitation.

DVI-D will work in a DL port but still top at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 (16:9 or 16:10 screen).
 
oneMadRssn said:
Wow, I had no idea HDMI had that limitation. I just bought this monitor for my 2012 mac mini - http://www.asus.com/us/Monitors_Projectors/VS24AHP/specifications/

How should I connect it? I was planning on getting a monoprice mini displayport to hdmi cable. Would this work for getting the max resolution at 60Hz?
Click to expand...

Back in the day, every "1920x" monitor was a 1920x1200, and people used DVI single link, so yes DVI (and HDMI, which can display any resolution a DVI single link can) will work.

I was referring to the now more common 16:9 aspect ratio, but yes the actual limit is 1920x1200 at 60Hz.
 
giggles said:
It's not an Apple restriction. It's the HDMI spec.
Look up HDMI revisions. Only the most recent products (both on the transmitting and receiving side, as you need both) have HDMI 2.0, which overcome that limitation.

DVI-D will work in a DL port but still top at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 (16:9 or 16:10 screen).
Click to expand...

HDMI has had support for 1600P since 1.3 spec although the implementation has no worked well.

With the correct hardware both 2560x1080 and 2560x1440 resolutions can be attained @ 60Hz. It seems to be a bag of hurt and almost impossible to get to work on a MAC. Display port should work and I would research a model which plays well with a MAC, no way would I pay 100$ for a MDP to dual link adapter.

2560x1080 is not very demanding so I did not even consider for a second that it would not work with a recent Mac.

Hopefully the HDMI 2.0 spec can ensure simple plug and play functionality to these higher resolutions.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI
 

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I did a little bit more digging.

The mDP to HDMI cable supports up to "1920x1080 when connected to a Mac computer."
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024603&p_id=9473&seq=1&format=2

The mDP to VGA cable supports up to 1920x1080p only.
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024605&p_id=6002&seq=1&format=2

The mDP to DVI cable seems not have such limitation listed.
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024605&p_id=6002&seq=1&format=2

So I think I'll try the mDP to DVI cable first.
 
Rule of thumb: Display port is always preferable if you have access to it at both ends.
 
giggles said:
Don't listen to cfedu, read the specs from Apple.

HDMI video output
Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz
Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz
Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz


At 60Hz it's 1920x1080 max.
Click to expand...

COrocket said:
This is wrong. The HDMI port only supports 1080p at 60hz. Use a mini displayport cable and you will be able to drive the monitor at its nTive resolution
Click to expand...

I can confirm that the 2012 Mac Mini can output 1920x1200 at 60Hz over HDMI just fine. So 1080 is deff not the max.

It also worked with a miniDP to DVI converter, but the native HDMI to HDMI cable seems "cleaner" to me, so I'm glad it works.
 
I have a similar problem in 2016. Mac Mini Late 2014 model. Acer 27" monitor model kg270.

Tried to use hdmi but the display blinks. Used thunderbolt to hdmi converter. That worked for about a minute or so before the screen faded into black.

Finally solved it by going to display preferences and changing the screen display rate from 60 Hertz(ntsc) to 50 Hertz(pal).

Switched back to hdmi. Worked like a charm.

Must be an Acer thing.

mattbeer said:
Hello - I just purchased the brand new max mini and need help. I purchased the following ACER Monitor-

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423107,00.asp

I would appreciate any help with regard to the BEST way to connect the Mini to this monitor. DVI, VGA, HDMI - all confuse me. Any and all help appreciated to get the best screen performance.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
 
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