iMac mini and compatable monitors

Belleg20 wrote:

Can I connect two non Apple monitors to this, I.e. Dell, and what do I need to look for in a monitor please?

Yes. I would look for

• An IPS panel
• 100% or near-100% coverage of sRGB. (If the vendor does not specify this, assume the worst.)
• Modern interfaces: DisplayPort, HDMI, and/or USB-C (DisplayPort). Many third-party monitors will have two or more interfaces of different types. This lets you share a monitor between two computers and may make it more likely that you can reuse a monitor with your next computer.
• Optional: 100% or near-100% coverage of wide gamuts: DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB
• Optional: Advanced color calibration & accuracy features

Few monitors out there have the same PPI & sharpness as the 27" Apple 5K Studio Display, and those that do tend to be on the expensive side. But given that the 27" Apple Studio Display costs $1599+, and that you can get some decent third-party 27" UHD 4K displays for $300 – $400, a lot of people go with 27" – 32" UHD 4K displays.

If you want to connect two regular (non-Thunderbolt) monitors to the same rear-panel port on the Mac mini, you'll need to use a Thunderbolt dock, hub, or dual-display adapter to do so. Otherwise you can just plug your monitors and adapters into different ports (any of the three rear-panel USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, and/or the HDMI port).

You do not absolutely need a Mac mini with a M4 Pro chip to drive three monitors. A Mac mini with a plain M4 chip can drive up to three monitors.

However, if you look at the "up to three displays" lines in the Technical Specifications, it looks like the M4 Pro chip offers somewhat better support. The third display on a M4 Mac mini can have "up to 5K resolution at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt" while the one on a M4 Pro Mac mini can have "up to 6K resolution at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt".

Due to the way that Retina scaling modes work, this might translate into more Retina scaling options for a third 4K display on a M4 Pro Mac mini.

Have a look at > Connect a display to Mac mini - Apple Support

and "Display Support" at > Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs - Apple Support

1. Yes. The interfaces are industry-standard.

2. One that can be plugged into the computer and doesn't exceed what it's listed as supporting.

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