Late 2012 Mac Mini resolution only 1080 and fuzzy

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Level 1

8 points

Late 2012 Mac Mini resolution only 1080 and fuzzy

I have just got a 2012 Mac Mini running Catalina. Im using it on a Samsung U32J590UQP 32 Inch 60Hz UHD Monitor. I have it plugged into the HDMI 2 port which is the one that is 60mhz and he 30mhx HDMI port 1. When I look at the screen display settings I only get a choice of 1600x900, 1080p or 720p. I have tried using Switch ResX and it does allow me to select 2560x1600 which I believe is the max resolution for this Mac (itis an i5 with Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB). I have also tried usingtheHDMI ouput. and the little mac display port(?) output. lso I find the text is slightl fuzy. ko its not my monitor settins as my Widows PC is crystal clear on hi monitor and I have no changd a thing.

An ideas on how I can make the text/image sharper or the resolution without a paid for app (which doesnt seem to actully make much difference at all, even in the SwitchResX 2560x1600 resoluion looks fuzzy).

Many thanks

Posted on Aug 6, 2023 7:34 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

fluke32 Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 7, 2023 11:54 AM in response to Johnb-one

Evening John, just thought I would update you. I bought a new lead, Thunderbolt 2 to HDMI. Plugged it in and straight away it gave me the higher resolution option and after selecting it, the text is pin sharp. All is well!!

Thanks again - Matt

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Answer 2

Johnb-one

Level 6

9,276 points

Aug 6, 2023 1:45 PM in response to fluke32

Maybe, fluke32, here’s the specs for your 2012 Mac mini : https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i5-2.5-late-2012-specs.html.. it’ll do 1920x 1080 on one port and 2560 on the other one… seeing as how you’re using HDMI for both connections, make sure both hdmi cables you’re using support HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2, and do a reset smc/pmu and zap pram 3-4 times on startup as per this link : https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html… you can mess around with some display settings and arrangements in Catalina, but I’d try the first two suggestions starting with “seeing” and end with “ as Per this Link”.. your Samsung monitor(s) might have additional controls… if you hold down the “option” key while going to system prefs> display/monitor, you should see additional options… I don’t see a Mac driver for that monitor so it should be part of the Mac OS or additional software/applications for those monitors… maybe DisplayPort might work better, who knows ?

John B

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Answer 3

fluke32 Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 6, 2023 2:35 PM in response to Johnb-one

Thank you John for your reply. I will try those things out. Im new to the world of Mac so this is a learning experience. Im very grateful for your time and help.

Matt

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