New Mini display and random issues

[pkts]

Hey guys,

Just got a refurb mini 2018 and having a few issues. Hopefully someone can point out I’m doing things incorrectly or give me some comparisons.

My previous computer is a 2011 MBP 15 (ssd installed) which has been just fantastic. Unfortunately the gpu has failed.

Main issue is display quality. I’m using a philips 27 1440 monitor. 4K monitors seemed too pricey and 1440 seemed a good compromise between 1080 and 4K. I’m using the HDMI port and it says it’s working at 1440 60hz but text just doesn’t look very crisp...not as good as my non retina Mac. Images (esp the Mojave and Catalina wallpaper) look great but text is kinda fuzzy and jagged. Using zoom in web browser doesn’t help. Oddly the same display connected to my Linux box by display port at 1440 looks fantastic 🤯. Due to that and based off feedback here I tried a USB c to display port adaptor but it looks the same if not a little worse. Oddly it says it’s connecting at 1440 59.88 hertz. I’ve read some articles that say that 1440 doesn’t look great on macOS and that it’s better to choose either 1080 or 4K. If so, I might try a 4K monitor for comparison.

I tried downgrading to Mojave to see if that improved matters but it didn’t. Also tried high Sierra but Mac support says Mac mini 2018 can’t run high Sierra. That seems odd.

Other irritations that I’m curious if others share with the mini. From startup to logging in and desktop appearing takes 40 seconds whereas my high Sierra 2011 MBP takes 25. I thought I was moving to a faster (cpu and ssd) solution here ?

Halfway through logging into user the screen goes black and then comes back on.

Half the time the login screen comes up tinted very purple.

Really bizarre issue that Mac support couldn’t fix so far is that I cannot boot into internet recovery. It just fails with an error code.

I’ve considered an iMac since I imagine the display issues would be resolved but I’d like height adjustability.

I’m wondering if I should buy a egpu for the 2011 MBP and try an external monitor that way ?

Thanks for any advice or info !

 

[getrealbro]

...Halfway through logging into user the screen goes black and then comes back on.
...

Can’t help on your display quality issues but…

I’m pretty sure the temporary black screen during boot is related to the OS deciding which screen to use for the rest of the boot process (e.g. where to put the Menu bar, Dock, etc.). For most people it just looks like a glitch. But…

On my 2018 Mini with two screens, the boot process begins displaying on my “secondary” DELL (attached via a USBc->Display port cable) and part way through the boot process, the DELL screen goes black and my “primary” BenQ (attached via HDMI) lights up and completes the process. Note: in System Preferences>Displays>Arrangement, the BenQ has the Menu bar, Dock etc..

GetRealBro

 

[Duncan68]

This is probably useless advice, but on the offhand go to System Preferences/General and try toggling "Use font smoothing when available" on or off (it's at the very bottom). I find that text on my 1440p monitor looks better with it off.

 

[getrealbro]

This is probably useless advice, but on the offhand go to System Preferences/General and try toggling "Use font smoothing when available" on or off (it's at the very bottom). I find that text on my 1440p monitor looks better with it off.

Good suggstion. I didn't realize that font smoothing could be toggled on/off in real time while viewing various documents to check their legibility. On my BenQ 2560x1440 screen, font smoothing makes text a little bolder but also a little fuzzier. It's not a easy choice

GetRealBro

 

[cybertruck]

Additionally, you can also check these settings:

http://osxdaily.com/2018/09/26/fix-blurry-thin-fonts-text-macos-mojave/

 

[Fishrrman]

Re the "blurriness".
Do this:

RE-enable subpixel antialiasing for non-retina displays:
defaults write -g CGFontRenderingFontSmoothingDisabled -bool NO

Then log out and log back in. Every time you make a change (as below), you need to log out and then log back in to SEE the difference.

Enable subpixel antialiasing smoothing:

Light font smoothing:
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 1

Medium font smoothing:
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 2

Heavy font smoothing:
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 3

NO font smoothing:
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 0

Source article:
https://www.howtogeek.com/358596/how-to-fix-blurry-fonts-on-macos-mojave-with-subpixel-antialiasing/

-----------------------------
RE the purple display:

It sounds like the display is "partially losing synch" between it and the Mini.
Your best path forward would be to change the connecting cable/setup between the Mini and the display.

Question:
What type of INPUTS does the Phillips display have on the back?
- HDMI (yes)
- DVI ??
- Displayport ??

You need to give us this info before we can proceed.

 

[frou]

Aside from the font antialising avenue, it possibly sounds like your video signal is negotiated as "4:2:2 chroma" or whatever it's called rather than straight-up RGB.

I've encountered this a few times on different setups and it manifested itself as the image in general (and particularly parts involving the colour red) having a smeary look.