Upgrade 2019 27" iMac -> M1 Mac Mini? (FOLLOWUP: Monitor Advice?)

[E|FA]

I was hoping to see a new Mac Mini Pro at Apple's recent announcement.  Since it's looking like it's probably a year off, and I'm not in the market for a laptop, does anyone have any idea as to how my current system and a maxed out M1 Mini compare in terms of VW speed and performance?  

 

Current System:

• iMac 27", 2019
• 3.7 GHz 6-core i5
• 40GB RAM
• Radeon Pro 580X 8GB

 

Proposed System:

• Mac Mini, 2021
• M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
• 16GB RAM

 

If I trade in the iMac to Apple, it looks like it will cost me about $700 (+monitor) to switch.

Edited December 22, 2021 by E|FA
Added $, monitor

[zoomer]

I also am disappointed that there is no pace grey Mini.

I also do not really want a mobile solution.

 

Watch your most complex Project's RAM consumption in Activity Manager.

If your VW will only consume up to 10 or so GB RAM, go for the Mini with 16 GB.

It will feel faster in VW and overall faster in general.

 

If your Projects will make VW use more like 30 GB, like some of my,

not optimized, larger Projects do,

(although still far from final max expected complexity)

Wait for an at least Mac Book Pro like equipped M1 Max Mini or even iMac.

 

16 GB of shared memory can be a limit at which it is no more fun to work.

But if you are on the green memory pressure side, go for M1 and just wait

some more years until you upgrade again.

[E|FA]

My current thinking is to get an Apple Refurbished Mini with 16GB RAM, SSD size TBD, while my iMac has reasonable trade-in value, and then trade in the Mini when the next generation is out.

 

As far as monitors are concerned, I'm nervous that anything I buy will be visually annoying now that I'm used to the 27" iMac Retina display.  My eyes are getting worse with age, and VW UI icon design legibility has gotten worse as well.  Based on online research, I'm thinking of these 27" & 32" BenQ models that have a "CAD/CAM" setting.  Both are 3840x2160, so one has a larger screen size while the other has better pixel density (the 27" iMac is 5120 × 2880):

 

https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/designer/pd2725u.html

https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/designer/pd3220u.html

 

 Does anyone have any monitor advice or wisdom to offer?   

[Jeff Prince]

15 hours ago, E|FA said:

Does anyone have any monitor advice or wisdom to offer?   

I cannot look at anything but a Mac Retina display anymore without disappointment.  Their display quality was among my major reasons for switching to a Mac.  My eyes aren’t getting any better with age either.  I’m not sure if that is useful or not 🙂

[J. Wallace]

18 hours ago, E|FA said:

As far as monitors are concerned, I'm nervous that anything I buy will be visually annoying now that I'm used to the 27" iMac Retina display.  My eyes are getting worse with age, and VW UI icon design legibility has gotten worse as well.  Based on online research, I'm thinking of these 27" & 32" BenQ models that have a "CAD/CAM" setting.  Both are 3840x2160, so one has a larger screen size while the other has better pixel density (the 27" iMac is 5120 × 2880):

 

https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/designer/pd2725u.html

https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/designer/pd3220u.html

 

 Does anyone have any monitor advice or wisdom to offer?   

We desperately needed to upgrade one of our old work stations, a MacPro 2021, and decided to go with the Macbook pro M1 MAX as well as an external monitor. We opted to go with the LG ultra fine 23.7" 4k model. Previously I was working on a 27" Imac Pro and was concerned with the LG being a smaller screen size and lower resolution. I'm finding that I prefer the 4k over the 5k apple monitor, at 59 years of age my eyes have been changing and not for the better. I'm thinking that if need be I could add another 24" LG.

Edited December 23, 2021 by J. Wallace
Spelling

[Scott Lebsack]

On 12/22/2021 at 4:58 PM, E|FA said:

As far as monitors are concerned, I'm nervous that anything I buy will be visually annoying now that I'm used to the 27" iMac Retina display.  My eyes are getting worse with age, and VW UI icon design legibility has gotten worse as well.  Based on online research, I'm thinking of these 27" & 32" BenQ models that have a "CAD/CAM" setting.  Both are 3840x2160, so one has a larger screen size while the other has better pixel density (the 27" iMac is 5120 × 2880):

 

I can't speak to Apples 5K iMac monitors, as I'm a MS user. But I have had WQHD (1440P) and multiple 4K monitors over the last several years. My initial 4K monitor was 32" LG. When using Vectorworks intensive menu system it really was "too big". Getting to the far corners of the display became a chore and items at the corners were just not in my field of vision. I currently have 3 Dell P2721Qs on my desk and couldn't be happier. 2 in landscape and one vertically oriented for Slack and email. 27" seems to be a sweet spot for 4K (at least for me), I have fairly good eyesight, but even at about 24" from where I sit, I have to run the interface at 125% scale through the operating system to keep things easily legible. The panels appear flawless. Additionally, each monitor is capable of operating as a USB-C hub, this works very well with laptops, I'm able to leave my USB accessories plugged into the 4 type A ports on each monitor and simply run a single USB-C port to the laptop. In this case I have all three USB-C cables running to my Dell laptop and they keep it charged, without the need for an AC adapter. This simplified the connection process when taking the laptop on the road, I leave the laptop charger in my bag, and keeps the desk relatively clear of cables.

[ParkerJames]

I run a mid 2011 27" iMac as my second monitor and the primary is a 5K 27" and it is very nice. I suppose it won't be too long before i go to some form of M1--at which point the older 27" may go away  depending.

Just waiting for the M1 situation to settle out. I stay behind at least a couple years. Heck, I've had macs before they were called macs.

LOL

The wife being a graphic artist helped.