Can a Mac mini Power a 2560x1080 Monitor?

[GamerGirlAlice]

just curious if anyone knows if the Mac mini can power a ASUS MX299Q Monitor. i'd like the real estate if it could power a 21:9 ratio for games, movies, web etc. only games i play is world of warcraft and second life firestorm viewer. i know i5 version will play it and i'm getting off shelf i7 version.

on a side note can i power speakers and a blue snowball mic with a mac mini?

Thanks in Advance, Alice

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

found out mac mini hdmi only suports 1920x1200. so now im wondering if a Cable Matters Gold Plated Mini DisplayPort | Thunderbolt to DisplayPort Cable in White 6 Feet will do the 2560x1080 reslution.

Thanks in Advance, Alice

 

[pigoo3]

That is correct. But to be even more exact...here are the video out choices for the newest Mac Mini:

- video out via the HDMI port 1920x1200
- video out via the Thunderbolt port (which is also a mini-display port when talking about a display) 2560x1600

So if you were to get a ASUS MX299Q Monitor (with a display resolution of 2560 x 1080)...it would work fine if it were plugged into the Thunderbolt/mini-display port.

- Nick

p.s. Sorry just reread your 2nd post. Yes that cable should do the job!

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

That is correct. But to be even more exact...here are the video out choices for the newest Mac Mini:

- video out via the HDMI port 1920x1200
- video out via the Thunderbolt port (which is also a mini-display port when talking about a display) 2560x1600

So if you were to get a ASUS MX299Q Monitor (with a display resolution of 2560 x 1080)...it would work fine if it were plugged into the Thunderbolt/mini-display port.

- Nick

p.s. Sorry just reread your 2nd post. Yes that cable should do the job!

awesome, that makes me happy. i really wanted a mac but i need a 21:9 display. so that will help me out tremendously. i been holding off on buying a mac mini for that and 2 other reasons. trying to decide if i should buy and install 16gb of ram, or buy pre installed from apple. i also cant figure if i would be best with a fusion drive or a dedicated ssd.

 

[pigoo3]

awesome, that makes me happy. i really wanted a mac but i need a 21:9 display. so that will help me out tremendously. i been holding off on buying a mac mini for that and 2 other reasons. trying to decide if i should buy and install 16gb of ram, or buy pre installed from apple. i also cant figure if i would be best with a fusion drive or a dedicated ssd.

- 16 gig ram upgrade... Apple charges $300...OWC charges $179.99 (you install yourself)

- Storage upgrade. Fusion drive is a happy medium between speed & capacity. Fusion drive is faster than a traditional HD...but not as fast as an SSD. But with the fusion drive you get the same capacity as a "traditional" HD.

So 256gig SSD for $300 (more speed/less capacity)...or $250 for a 1000gig (1 terabyte) fusion drive (less speed/more capacity than the SSD)...but still faster than a traditional HD.

I also like to remind folks of one thing. If you go too "crazy" upgrading a Mac-Mini...then you're pushing the price of a lower end iMac.

- Nick

p.s. Me personally. I find $250 for the fusion drive upgrade to be a bit pricey for what it does. I would stick with the stock 1 terabyte HD.

If I was purchasing this Mac-Mini...I would just buy the stock i7 Mac-Mini (no storage or ram upgrades)...and upgrade the ram later as needed. Of course this is just me!

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

- 16 gig ram upgrade... Apple charges $300...OWC charges $179.99 (you install yourself)

- Storage upgrade. Fusion drive is a happy medium between speed & capacity. Fusion drive is faster than a traditional HD...but not as fast as an SSD. But with the fusion drive you get the same capacity as a "traditional" HD.

So 256gig SSD for $300 (more speed/less capacity)...or $250 for a 1000gig (1 terabyte) fusion drive (less speed/more capacity than the SSD)...but still faster than a traditional HD.

I also like to remind folks of one thing. If you go too "crazy" upgrading a Mac-Mini...then you're pushing the price of a lower end iMac.

- Nick

p.s. Me personally. I find $250 for the fusion drive upgrade to be a bit pricey for what it does. I would stick with the stock 1 terabyte HD.

If I was purchasing this Mac-Mini...I would just buy the stock i7 Mac-Mini (no storage or ram upgrades)...and upgrade the ram later as nedded.

so would a 799 off the shelf model be decent gor world of warcraft, djing in second life, and encoding my vlog?

 

[pigoo3]

so would a 799 off the shelf model be decent gor world of warcraft, djing in second life, and encoding my vlog?

If gaming on my Mac was a big part of my computing experience...I would want a computer with dedicated graphics hardware. None of the Mac-Mini's have dedicated graphics hardware.

I'm not saying that the newest Mac-Mini's are slow...but dedicated graphics hardware is almost always better than graphics that share system memory. If a $799 Mac-Mini is what your budget will allow...then you got to get a Mac-Mini.

If this has you concerned. Do some internet research as to the i7 Mac-Mini's gaming performance. I'm sure there are at least a few reviews available...and it might even include WOW benchmarks. MacWorld usually has lots of reviews.

- Nick

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

well i know a imac would be better but to get the things i need to dj/podcast is going to push the imac out of my range. also a imac won't have the ultra wide screen i need and would have to get a thunderbolt display which pushes a imac even further out of my price range. here is a list of the system setup i'm looking at.

GamerGirlAlice's Mac mini Setup:

Apple Mac Mini Desktop (2013 Model) Intel Core i7 4GB DDR3 Dual 1TB HDDs Mac OS X Mountain Lion - Silver (MD389LL/A)
Apple MC184LL/B Keyboard (OEM) White
Apple MB829LL/A White Bluetooth Laser Multi-Touch Magic Mouse
ASUS Designo Series MX299Q 29" 5ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight Cinematic LCD Monitor AH-IPS
Blue Microphones - Snowball (Brushed Aluminum)
Shock Mount for Snowball USB Microphone
Rode PSA-1 Swivel Mount Studio Microphone Boom Arm
Harman Kardon Soundsticks Wireless Bluetooth Enabled 2.1 Ch. Speaker System
Insten Model 675746 6 ft. Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable M-M

Subtotal: $2,265.09

 

[Deckyon]

It comes down to how much gaming is a priority. If it is a huge priority, get a different machine later down the road for gaming. I dont think you will be happy with the vid settings you would need to run WoW on to make it playable.

I use my Mini as my media center, and it works awesome. When I tried it, because I could, I was not happy with the settings. You need a separate video card for actual gaming. This includes looking at the Windows-based systems. The built-in Intel cards are not meant for gaming.

 

[pigoo3]

also a imac won't have the ultra wide screen i need and would have to get a thunderbolt display which pushes a imac even further out of my price range.

You would use the ASUS MX299Q Monitor with the iMac.

- Nick

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

You would use the ASUS MX299Q Monitor with the iMac.

- Nick

meant to say the imac isn't as wide as the ASUS MX299Q Monitor and i need the extra wide 2560x1080 resolution. does that make more sense?


if i did a imac i would configure it like this, but this doesn't include speakers or a snowball mic with mount for my djing.

GamerGirlAlice's iMac System

27-inch iMac
3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
3TB Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Accessory Kit
Software
iLife '11
OS X Mountain Lion
Pages
Numbers
Keynote
Services and Support

AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll
Automatically registered with your Apple Hardware.

$2,877.97

 

[pigoo3]

meant to say the imac isn't as wide as the ASUS MX299Q Monitor and i need the extra wide 2560x1080 resolution. does that make more sense?

I knew EXACTLY what you meant.

Run the numbers. If you purchased the $799 Mac-Mini + 16gig ram at Apples price + the fusion drive upgrade...that would cost more than a lower end 21.5" iMac (which there was a refurbished model there last night for $1099).

If you bought the iMac...and thought of it like a Mac-Mini...you would simply be plugging that ASUS MX299Q Monitor into it...and you would be getting the iMac display as a bonus. Plus the iMac has dedicated graphics hardware (which the Mac-Mini doesn't).

Of course if your budget allows...you could get a better iMac.

Like I mentioned earlier. If you upgrade a Mac-Mini too much...then you might as well get an iMac...since you get more "bang for the buck"!

- Nick

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

have to admit a imac is cheaper then a x79 computer build people are recommending to me. just w9ounder wich is best way to go osx wch i prefer or windows with more dj software options

GamerGirlAlice's Video Encoding Rig:

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR240GB 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
EVGA X79 DARK - LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 E-ATX Motherboard with Brand New GUI BIOS (150-SE-E789-KR)
EVGA 04G-P4-3777-KR GeForce GTX 770 Classified 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card x2
EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 80 PLUS GOLD Certified 1300W Active PFC ATX12V v2.31/EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Full Modular PSU 10 Year Warranty 120-G2-1300-XR Haswell Ready Power Supply
Creative Sound Blaster Z Series ZXR (70SB151000000) PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card
SILVERSTONE FM181 180mm Case cooler
Nippon Labs 6 ft. High-quality DisplayPort cable for digital monitor Model DP-6-MM
Intel Core i7-4930K Ivy Bridge-E 3.4GHz LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80633i74930K
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model 994125
Seagate STBD4000400 4TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive – Retail Kit x2
ASUS Designo Series MX299Q 29" 5ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight Cinematic LCD Monitor AH-IPS
LG Black Blu-ray Burner SATA WH16NS40
CORSAIR Hydro Series H80i Water Cooler
Blue Microphones - Snowball (Gloss Black)
Rode PSA-1 Swivel Mount Studio Microphone Boom Arm
Shock Mount for Snowball USB Microphone

Subtotal: $4,354.06

 

[pigoo3]

have to admit a imac is cheaper then a x79 computer build people are recommending to me. just w9ounder wich is best way to go osx wch i prefer or windows with more dj software options

Maybe this should have been the topic of this thread. Kind of getting ahead of yourself talking about if this monitor will work with a Mac-Mini...when you're not even convinced OS X is for you.

- Nick

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

well i want a mac with good display and an awesome osx computer. problem is a lot people telling me i'd be better off doing a custom x79 rig. they base the fact of getting windows on they don't like mac. my guess it will come down what think is best. too bad i dont know how to load both osx and windows on the same computer.

 

[pigoo3]

well i want a mac with good display and an awesome osx computer. problem is a lot people telling me i'd be better off doing a custom x79 rig. they base the fact of getting windows on they don't like mac.

If you randomly approached average computer users off the street...and asked them this question...9 out of 10 of them would say Windows...simply because Windows users are about 90% of the market (Apple computers are approx. 10% of the computing market).

Now ask these "lot of people" you interact with this question (who are probably almost all Windows users)...and you're probably going to get almost 100% telling you not to get a Mac.

too bad i dont know how to load both osx and windows on the same computer.

Probably 100's of articles on the internet on how to do this...just need to do some searching. Including right here on Mac-Forums:

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ru...4239-running-windows-mac-switchers-guide.html
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ru...otcamp-save-yourself-possibly-hours-time.html

And FYI. If gaming is a very important part of your computing...we frequently recommend buying a "Windows Box".

- Nick

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

ty for all the help

 

[Checco]

What did you settle on?

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

still considering as i wait for ins company to send me a check. i may just use my 1080p tv