Hi folks, I've just made the switch from PC (laptop+monitor) to a Mac Mini M1. I'm currently using it with my old monitor that I paid way too much money for during COVID-19, a Samsung 27" CRG50 Curved Gaming Monitor, and am finding that text is very jagged and the overall experience doesn't feel as good. I'm thinking of buying a new monitor to replace it with. Something around 27" as I have limited space on my monitor stand which also has my desktop speakers and a few plants on it. Something under $500, ideally under $400, would be great! Thank you all in advance!
Recommend me a monitor for my Mac Mini M1
Litsmehuey on 18/06/2021 - 10:08
Comments
So far:
- Gigabyte M27Q
- Dell S2719DCAlso, as I'm quite new to Mac, I was wondering what advantages connecting via thunderbolt would have over connecting via HDMI.
I would suggest Dell S2719DC between those two. I have used both and I haven't noticed much difference.
I have been using Mac Mini M1 with S2721QS
Bought it for $280 during this deal: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/624338
and been quite satisfy with the qualityWhile 4K seems to be a bit small on a 27"
Mac OS automatically detected the resolution and can easily turn to 150% zoom size
its ultra sharp and clear IMHODon't bother with the M27Q unless you're gaming. I've got one and whilst it is a good gaming monitor for $349. The text is not as sharp as a RGB monitor, it doesn't bother me but I can easily tell the difference. Expect light bleed or dead and bright pixels, the quality control on these monitors suck. My monitor was brand new in a sealed box with the gigabyte seal unbroken but the monitor was covered in fingerprints on the frame and had 2 bright pixels.
thanks for your inputs guys.. I won't really be gaming because I'll be using the monitor primarily with my mac mini m1 and my work laptop (dell precision 5530) as well a my Switch, which I wouldn't expect there to be any real demand in the monitor to play Switch games. So all in all, the Dell would be the better option in my use case?
BGR is not an issue for MacOS, as MacOS has stopped doing subpixel antialiasing since 10.14. Lightbleed however is common for Gigabytes from what I heard.
Don't waste a thunderbolt port unless you are using a high res/refresh rate monitor and just use HDMI instead. I'm using my mac mini with the popular Xiaomi 34" curved monitor. With HDMI I am only able to do full res at 100hz whereas when I go thunderbolt to display port I can get it at the max 144hz. You probably won't notice the difference unless you are playing high refresh rate games which is probably not what you are doing with a mac mini.
I sold my late 2015 27" iMac and bought a M1 Mac Mini several months ago. Ended up with an AOC U28P2G6B ($419 at Umart). I've been very happy with it overall. I find it's a bit slow to wake up, but that's in comparison to the iMac which was more or less instant. I find text clear, and colours pretty accurate if not perfect. I do a lot of work with Photoshop and Illustrator and I find it more than adequate. It's a big leap in price for incremental improvements in accuracy if that's important. Don't do any gaming, so can't comment. Netflix looks good.
I'm still confused as to how a relatively recent CRG50 can have issues because you've switched to a Mac Mini. Can you elaborate on what's wrong? Or is it just the 1080p high refresh rate monitor is too low res?
There were some good deals over the past few months on monitors like the Dell S2721DFG, but I'd hazard a guess that resolution probably matters more to you than refresh rate, and if stand height/rotation isn't a focus (ie you just care about tilt), you can probably get something cheaper at the same size/quality.
ps. Also, I assume you've considered whether a monitor arm might not be a good option if you're worried about desk space?
Yeah I think it's the low res for a 27" screen that's kind of bugging me. Strangely though the text doesn't look as crisp on the monitor on Mac compared to when I was using it on Windows. It's not a major issue but kind of makes the experience a little less enjoyable I guess.
Might be worth researching a bit as I recall there was some discussions online about Microsoft using their ClearType way of displaying text, and then Apple changing the way they did AAA subpixel smoothing rendering in Mojave, etc… eg https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/blurry-font-on-external…
Try looking to see if you can change font smoothing settings/anti aliasing to see if that helps.
Some sceptics have said it's basically to push people to buy higher resolution/DPI monitors.
great, thanks for the info! I would love to not have to buy another monitor as I've just put money into the Mac (and other accessories for it) and a new iPad Pro 11"! Bub on the way so my wife would probably kill me if I spend on a new monitor lol.
Just so you're aware, the M1's have issues with non apple screens… https://www.macrumors.com/2021/03/25/m1-mac-mini-connected-d…
Basically they don't always wake up when you want to use the computer… I often have to disconnect and reconnect everything to get mine working. It didn't happen for like the first 4-6 months I had the mac, only started happening recently. I got a LG branded screen if that makes any difference… can't remember what model but it was a cheap one from JB-HI-FI for around $200
Hopefully they patch the issue soon…
I don't know if it's even an M1-exclusive issue as even older Mac Minis sometimes struggle with various monitors (eg my X34 would sometimes not connect/turn on straight away 1 in 10 times).
I don't put my Mac Mini M1 to sleep so never have this issue
The Mac Mini M1 is super quiet and never hear the fan noise even its next to my bed
My 2018 Mini does this all the time, if I'm gone for 15-30 mins it won't reconnect to the display after I wake it. That's why I no longer turn the display off unless I'll be gone for more than an hour. Thanks Apple.
If you're looking for a similar experience you get from an iMac or macbook quality screen, you'd want something with high brightness (at least 400nits), high colour accuracy (DCI-P3 95%+) and higher resolution - min 4k for 27" or 5k for 32"+ (200dpi+)
Of course that means $800+ pricing (LG Ultrafine, Dell Premier Colour) but you could sacrifice one of those areas for something in the sub $500 price range
Last year I went for an AOC 27" 4K U2790PQU for $320 - 350nits and ~90% DCI-P3. There is a difference next to my iMac but far better than most monitors in that price range. Note the current model is the AOC U2790VQ for $420
thank you :)
Goes without saying that you should get 4K.
Mac OS and the software on it is designed for 4K and above in mind, and the M1 will eat 4K display workloads from breakfast.
What monitor models you have shortlisted so far?