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New Mac Mini Lags

S

STC1709

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Hello all, today I received my 2020 Mac mini i7 with 8gb ram 256ssd. I have a 28in Samsung 4k. At default resolution its 3840x2160. That is way too small but as soon as I switch to any scaled mode certain programs begin to lag.

If I increase the ram to 16gb (which I already bought) will that solve my problem in scaled mode? Should I drop back to a 24in monitor so it won't run in scale? This is really frustrating. I don't want to upgrade the ram if I going to return the Mac.

Any help would be appreciative.

Thank you
 
People in other threads have reported adding more RAM helps with lag since the system RAM is shared with GPU.

I have 16GB and experience no lag in the OS, using scaled resolutions.
 
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maybe I will do that but I don't want to have issues then not be able to return the Mac mini because I changed the ram
 
maybe I'm better off getting a 2K Quad HD 2560 x 1440 resolution 27in monitor
[automerge]1585255298[/automerge]
 
retta283 said:
The integrated GPU can only go so far before it bottlenecks, even with more RAM. Of course you can always add an eGPU, but those are pricey.
Click to expand...

Maybe ill just return everything and wait for an updated 27in iMac update, at least with that I can scale it with no problems
 
One 4K screen should run smooth with 16GB RAM.
I'm running two 4K in scaled mode on my I5/16GB Mac Mini
 
OP wrote:
"maybe I'm better off getting a 2K Quad HD 2560 x 1440 resolution 27in monitor"

The Mini should do NATIVE 2560x1440 with no lag at all. Even with 8gb of RAM.

However, you might consider the 32" panel size for 1440p.
But that's just my opinion.
 
What do you mean exactly by lagging? I used a 2018 on a 4K display with a looks like 1920x1080 resolution (so 2:1) and had zero lag.
 
STC1709 said:
Hello all, today I received my 2020 Mac mini i7 with 8gb ram 256ssd. I have a 28in Samsung 4k. At default resolution its 3840x2160. That is way too small but as soon as I switch to any scaled mode certain programs begin to lag.

If I increase the ram to 16gb (which I already bought) will that solve my problem in scaled mode? Should I drop back to a 24in monitor so it won't run in scale? This is really frustrating. I don't want to upgrade the ram if I going to return the Mac.

Any help would be appreciative.

Thank you
Click to expand...
I was in the same situation. With 8GB of RAM everything was lagging quite heavily at UHD resolution scaled to 1440p, especially after opening few programs at once. I read that adding more RAM would fix the issues, but I was a bit skeptical until I tried🙂

After replacing default memory with a 32 GB kit from Crucial my Mac mini became lightning fast in all respects including UI responsiveness.
 
STC1709 said:
maybe I'm better off getting a 2K Quad HD 2560 x 1440 resolution 27in monitor
[automerge]1585255298[/automerge]
Click to expand...


FYI, stepping down to 25" on a QHD display puts it at a pretty decent PPI. I'm running 2 Dell Ultrafine 2518D, no display performance issues (including Parallels), they look pretty sharp, just a great display (good adjustments/stands, super small bezel, relatively cheap). I figured these would work fantastic with the iGPU (and they do), and I'd wait and go 27" with 4K displays when the eGPU solution was sorted out (hahaha, which may be never ...)
 
Mine couldn’t run any videos in 4k and couldn’t run hd youtube videos on my 4k 40” monitor. I went from 8g to 32g and it solved all those video problems. We love our 2018 mac minis. Hubby has had imac like devices since they started making them (early 90s). Once the integrated video cards started crapping the bed (2013) we switched to mac minis. Haven’t looked back. Only thing I don’t like is the ssd drive is soldered.
 
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I'm running my Mac mini 2018 (i5/ 16GB RAM) with two 4K monitors in scaled mode.
Runs pretty fine, except when a video is running on once screen, then there are some lags/ stutter.
Especially when switching spaces/ desktops.
 
I have a Mac Mini 2018 (i5, 286GB, 8GB that I updated to 32GB before first powering it on) using a Dell U3818DW running native at 3840x1600 and very happy with this configuration.

IMO the best choice is for monitors that have a native dpi of around 110, as the original 27" iMac had, as this avoids any scaling being required.
 
I wonder if going to an i7 is the more important upgrade (even more so than the ram). As the 630 runs at a higher clock speed, presumably.
 
If I hadn't got a very special offer on the i5 I would have gone I7, but mainly because that can't be upgraded after purchase and the memory can be.

I am not an expert, but I think that for many normal uses and a large widescreen monitor, the i5 with 16 or 32GB of memory is probably better than an i7 with 8GB.
 
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STC1709 said:
Hello all, today I received my 2020 Mac mini i7 with 8gb ram 256ssd. I have a 28in Samsung 4k. At default resolution its 3840x2160. That is way too small but as soon as I switch to any scaled mode certain programs begin to lag.

If I increase the ram to 16gb (which I already bought) will that solve my problem in scaled mode? Should I drop back to a 24in monitor so it won't run in scale? This is really frustrating. I don't want to upgrade the ram if I going to return the Mac.

Any help would be appreciative.

Thank you
Click to expand...

Does it say Early 2020 Mac mini or is it still listed as Late 2018 Mac mini in the About This Mac section of the Mac mini. Just curious. I'm considering buying one but wondering if they call it 2020 or 2018 still so I know what way to look ( older one at a cheeper price or for a 2020 model because you get the extra updates life & it's 2 years newer in the model name).
 
vbctv said:
Does it say Early 2020 Mac mini or is it still listed as Late 2018 Mac mini in the About This Mac section of the Mac mini. Just curious. I'm considering buying one but wondering if they call it 2020 or 2018 still so I know what way to look ( older one at a cheeper price or for a 2020 model because you get the extra updates life & it's 2 years newer in the model name).
Click to expand...

It will probably be seen as 2018 since both their technical details page and identify your model page still only show 2018: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201894
 
iandk said:
I'm running my Mac mini 2018 (i5/ 16GB RAM) with two 4K monitors in scaled mode.
Runs pretty fine, except when a video is running on once screen, then there are some lags/ stutter.
Especially when switching spaces/ desktops.
Click to expand...


iandk said:
Akseli Paavolainen said:
I was in the same situation. With 8GB of RAM everything was lagging quite heavily at UHD resolution scaled to 1440p, especially after opening few programs at once. I read that adding more RAM would fix the issues, but I was a bit skeptical until I tried🙂

After replacing default memory with a 32 GB kit from Crucial my Mac mini became lightning fast in all respects including UI responsiveness.
Click to expand...

iandk said:
One 4K screen should run smooth with 16GB RAM.
I'm running two 4K in scaled mode on my I5/16GB Mac Mini
Click to expand...

Akseli Paavolainen said:
I was in the same situation. With 8GB of RAM everything was lagging quite heavily at UHD resolution scaled to 1440p, especially after opening few programs at once. I read that adding more RAM would fix the issues, but I was a bit skeptical until I tried🙂

After replacing default memory with a 32 GB kit from Crucial my Mac mini became lightning fast in all respects including UI responsiveness.
Click to expand...

iandk said:
One 4K screen should run smooth with 16GB RAM.
I'm running two 4K in scaled mode on my I5/16GB Mac Mini
Click to expand...

The other problem I noticed when I scaled to 1440, the screen was not as crisp as it was at its native resolution. My plan was to get a 1440 native but given the current mess in the world with people working from home every darn monitor had been sold out at most places. I ended up returning everything and will reassess when things clear up

vbctv said:
Does it say Early 2020 Mac mini or is it still listed as Late 2018 Mac mini in the About This Mac section of the Mac mini. Just curious. I'm considering buying one but wondering if they call it 2020 or 2018 still so I know what way to look ( older one at a cheeper price or for a 2020 model because you get the extra updates life & it's 2 years newer in the model name).
Click to expand...

when I clicked “about this mac” it said late 2018 not 2020. Its essentially the same computer just with upgraded ssd. They should have done the ram upgrade instead or gave the users the option to choose which to upgrade
Click to expand...
 
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