Need Monitor Purchase Advice

[R. Peter DeLong]

Dear MacHACers -

I have been nursing along my 27" 2017 iMac running Mojave for various reasons, but the time has come to buy a new computer, and I am pretty settled on buying the M4 10-core Mac mini.

I would like a display at least as big as my current one, and I love high resolution.

Any suggestions?

- Pete DeLong

[Mario Obejas]

Literally any name brand display (Samsung, Dell, LG, etc)  will work well with it.

There is no substitute for seeing the display live before buying it. 

Since Amazon prime days are almost upon us (July 8) there will be scores of deals out there. Best Buy has a competing sale going on right now. I suggest you go down there and see them in person (Costco also has great deals). The Samsung Odyssey G4 on sale at BB for $200 looks great.  Or splurge on the 34" F5 for a mere $20 more.

I picked up a Dell Alienware E7 a while back at Best Buy that I have connected via HDMI to my Mac mini. Very responsive sync and great colors. 

Unless you get something 32" or more, I don't think 4K will be that noticeable. 

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[MIKE SHULMAN]

I retired my 2017 Intel 27” iMac at the end of 2024.

I replaced it with a 1TB M4 Pro Mac Mini with 24GB RAM. (and I am VERY happy with it!)

My choice of monitors was the LG 32” Ultrafine 4K UHD IPS monitor model 32UN650K-W.AUS from Costco.

For their pre-black Friday sales last November the monitor was on sale for $219! It is currently $329.99 at Costco.com and out of stock at my local warehouse.

I connect it to my Mac Mini using a 6’ USB-C to DisplayPort cable from Cable Matters for best performance:

I installed the BetterDisplay app (not the paid pro version yet) to customize the settings to my liking:

I am running at 3008 x 1692 resolution with HiDPI enabled. I sit in front of this screen for many hours a day and am very happy with it. The dev has a pre-release version available for those running macOS 26 beta.

I had considered the Samsung or BenQ displays but they were so much more expensive.

I do not use the monitor’s speakers, but my father who also got the same LG monitor from Costco for his M4 Mac Mini (replacing a 2025 27” iMac) uses the monitor’s speakers and seems happy. We both use SoundSource from Rogue Amoeba to control audio:

For a webcam, I got the OBSBOT Meet 2 Tiny 4K camera. It often goes on sale at amazon and is currently on sale at $109.00

https://www.obsbot.com/obsbot-meet-2-4k-webcam

I gave my dad my trusty Logitech C920 webcam to use on his new Mac Mini.

For connecting many older USB-A devices that my dad wanted to use with his new Mac Mini, we chose a simple USB-C hub with some card reader slots too. There are many options available. This one in silver is currently $17.99 at amazon.

For my Mac Mini, I already had a 7-port USB3 hub so I replaced the hub's cable with a USB-C to USB-B 3.0 cable and also stocked up on a few USB-A to USB-C adaptors until I decide on a bigger more featured dock like the Thunderbolt 5 offering from Anker:

https://www.anker.com/products/a83b5-anker-prime-thunderbolt5-docking-station-14-in-1-140w-8k

I use an external TB3 4TB SSD for additional storage and a few USB3 2TB SSDs to alternate Time Machine backups. I also use Carbon Copy Cloner to create backups to other drives that I alternate off-site.

I hope my info can help you or anyone else seeking options for their new Macs.

Mike

<M4 Mini Choice.png>

[Dennis Kane]

Hi Peter,

Purchase using the Apple Card and you get 3% off.

Look at Apple certified refurb. You will save $150. I think that it is the same model.

I don’t think that the government discount site saves you anything, but maybe I erred.

 If you buy at the Apple store, you can use Apple Card Monthly Installments (ACMI) which is no interest if paid off within a year.

Lastly, if you have the bucks, you may want to consider an Apple laptop, especially a refurb. For not that much more money you gain portability and an added screen for desktop, downside is the keyboard, but you can attach a regular keyboard. Just make sure that it will drive the display that you want and the ports you need.

Finally, consider buying a small TV instead of a typical computer monitor. My son uses an LG OLED, probably something like this - https://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-oled42c4pua-oled-4k-tv and he loves it. Oddly, the 18” model is $500 cheaper than 42”, so if you have a deep desk….

Mario or Mike… fix my mistakes, which at my age, I always make.  ;->

Dennis Kane

On Jul 5, 2025, at 7:55 PM, R. Peter DeLong <pe...@delongs.us> wrote:

<M4 Mini Choice.png>

[Dennis Kane]

Correction - 48” not 18"

On Jul 7, 2025, at 7:31 AM, 'Dennis Kane' via MacHACers <mach...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Hi Peter,

Purchase using the Apple Card and you get 3% off.

Look at Apple certified refurb. You will save $150. I think that it is the same model.

I don’t think that the government discount site saves you anything, but maybe I erred.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/machacers/545ABD9E-9B06-4D13-94DB-372204D01713%40yahoo.com.