Advice for buying new iMac

The Mac mini (and other Macs like the Mac Studio) support many third party displays. It is absolutely not true that you must buy an Apple display - though the choices are limited and expensive if you want a 5K monitor.

12-ThreeFour --

An iMac doesn't support the functionality of being used as a monitor for a new Mac mini. Please reference this Apple document: Use your iMac as a display with target display mode - Apple Support.

iMac models introduced in 2011, 2012, 2013, and mid 2014

To use any of these iMac models as an external display:

* The iMac used as a display must have macOS High Sierra or earlier installed.

* The other Mac that you're connecting it to must have been introduced in 2019 or earlier and have macOS Catalina or earlier installed.

* The cable connecting the two Mac computers must be a Thunderbolt  or Thunderbolt 2  cable.

A new Mac mini would be introduced in 2022 and doesn't support Catalina or earlier.

-Jack

12-ThreeFour wrote:

To Servant of Cats: There is HDMI, which would need an adapter to connect to the iMac, and maybe certain OS isn't necessary (referring to Jack-19).

HDMI won't do the trick. That 2013 Mac can generate Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort output, as needed for an external monitor of its own, but it can only take Thunderbolt input for TDM. There may be adapters that convert from HDMI to Mini DisplayPort (the reverse of the usual direction) but I don't think there are any that convert to Thunderbolt.

Using HDMI to connect any device to a 2013 Mac operating in TDM is a dead letter.

Deader than Dracula, lying in the sun at high noon, with a wooden stake pounded all the way through his heart, and a bottle of garlic-infused holy water poured down his throat.

Suzy2014 wrote:

I have an iMac (2013 model) purchased in 2014 with MacOS 10.14.6., 16 GB memory, 21.5” monitor, wired mouse model # A1152, wired keyboard. …

My imac does a great job, I have a lot more storage than I need, the monitor is excellent. I never had any performance issues. My most used applications are email and MS Office. I could not care less for any new "features".

Unfortunately, with Apple's yearly OS releases I am left behind, and my computer cannot be upgraded to Sonoma, I can no longer update it and benefit from security patches or support.

I would appreciate any suggestions for somehow keeping the cost down, as this is a lot more than I was planning to spend (while throwing out a perfectly good computer).

How about installing a third-party Web browser, like Firefox 115 ESR?

Mozilla Support – Firefox users on macOS 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14 moving to Extended Support Release

It no longer gets new features, but Mozilla says that they will be providing "critical security updates" for it through September 2024.

Both of the iMacs can be configured with 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. I'd go for the higher one with Ethernet and 8 core CPU and 10 core GPU. Ethernet will be faster and more reliable than WiFi and will have addition USB ports. The difference between the two is $170, i.e. $1929 vs $2099.

Once ordered the new iMacs can't be reconfigured.

It's a lot of work to sort through all of the monitors out there.

I look for

• IPS panels
• Near-100% coverage of sRGB – if specifications don't mention this, I assume the worst
• Two or more types of modern inputs – USB-C, (Mini) DisplayPort, and/or HDMI
• Monitors that allow you to adjust things like brightness using controls on the monitors themselves (monitors which have software-only controls are often tied down to one computer platform)
• For a 24" monitor: 1920x1080, 1920x1200, or 3840x2160 resolution
• For a 27" monitor: 2560x1440 or 3840x2160 resolution (leaving off 5120x2880 ones due to expense)
• Height-adjustable stands
• Monitors that do not use PWM dimming, or that have high PWM flicker rates. (If I can check this.)
• Speakers, microphone, Webcam optional (can be added separately)

Here are a few examples, just to give you an idea of pricing. There are other manufacturers whose products you may want to consider.

• Dell 24 Monitor – S2421S ($135). Basic 24" 1920x1080 monitor.
• Dell 27 Monitor – S2721DS ($180). Basic 27" 2560x1440 monitor. Has its own speakers.
• Dell 27 4K UHD Monitor – S2721QS ($230). Basic 27" 3840x2160 monitor. Has its own speakers.
• Dell UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Hub Monitor – U2723QE ($540– $630; Dell seems to change this one's price up and down fairly often). Fancier 4K model with upgrades like wide-gamut coverage and a USB-C hub.

Between the 27" 2560x1440 monitor and either of the 27" 3840x2160 ones, you may get the best text quality by running one of the 4K ones in Retina "like 2560x1440" mode. (Same text size; allows the extra pixels to go to the cause of drawing things in more detail.)

Suzy2014 wrote:

My conclusion based on what you kindly shared is that the hub below would do what I am looking for by connecting directly to the Imac, no need for adapter. The Smart Charging Port】(on the USB C hub that comes with an additional USB C 5V/3A power interface, which can provide up to 3A charging power) would be used for a "brick" with a cable (2 additional items I would have to buy).

Their use of the term "charging port" is a little bit odd. Normally, one would expect that a "charging port" would be a power out port (to charge devices like iPhones and Kindles) or a pass-through power in port (for a notebook charger, to let you power the hub and charge the notebook at the same time).

Here, the "charging port" seems to be a "power in" port for the hub.

With the right brick that has enough power, I should be able to connect and use all 6 USB 3 peripherals that are now connected to my old iMac (a UPS, printer, scanner, 2 external hard drives and a wired keyboard with a mouse connected to it), without loss of connection, with the same speed as now and without having to unplug any.

Seven USB 3.0 devices could theoretically consume up to 6.3 amps of 5 volt power. This hub only has 3 amps (maximum) to distribute. The other two hubs, which come with their own "bricks", have 2 and 4 amps, respectively.

I think it's safe to say that your UPS, printer, and scanner are all wall-powered, so they won't be using USB 3.0 power at all. I'm going to assume the two drives are power-hungry and draw the maximum 0.9 amps each. So there would be plenty left over for the keyboard and mouse – maybe even enough for a third drive.

If the above is correct, could you please point me on Amazon to a sample brick and a cable (to connect the brick to the smart charging port), a brick that would satisfy the power needs of the hub with the 6 devices connected to it. Hopefully this would allow me to get the new iMac, knowing that my peripherals would have a hub that would be connecting them properly to the iMac and allow them to function without issues.

The Apple 20W USB-C Power adapter might work. According to an Apple Community thread I found, it is able to provide up to 15W of 5V power (3A @ 5V).

Apple 20 Watt USB-C Power Adaptor - Apple Community

You can find it on Amazon or in the online Apple Store.

Apple has a charging cable – but it costs as much as that adapter. More if you opt for the 2 meter (~6-foot) one.

60W USB-C Charge Cable (1 m) - Apple

There is an AmazonBasics cable for $11, although 3A @ 5V is right at the upper edge of what it can carry.

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Basics-Charger-480Mbps-Certified/dp/B01GGKZ2SC/

Suzy2014 wrote:

Would this hub be better and more reliable?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1496360-REG/xcellon_sh10_7h3hc_2_10_port_powered_usb_3_0.html

That hub has 10 downstream USB 3.0 ports.

• 7 are regular USB 3.0 ports (and presumably have a limit of 0.9A)
• 3 support 2.4A output (for charging other devices)

According to the specifications, the hub has a maximum power consumption of 72W (12V at 6A). You would need 67.5W to provide full power to all of the downstream ports simultaneously, so I think that the vendor was trying to ensure that this hub could do that, or come close to it. (Some of the 72W input presumably goes to the hub itself, or is lost in the 12V => 5V voltage conversion.)

The other hub vendors are using (or asking you to buy) power supplies that are not large enough to do that. They must be counting on people plugging in some devices that need no power(like your printer), and others that need only a little power (like your keyboard).

You might want to read the reviews on the B&H site – including the critical one.

12-ThreeFour wrote:

You can buy a Mac Mini and connect it to your iMac.

If you're thinking of Target Display Mode, that won't work. 2013 iMacs supported Target Display Mode (using Thunderbolt connections), but Apple placed restrictions on "the other Mac" that would keep any currently-sold Mac from using any iMac as a Target Display Mode display.

Suzy2014 wrote:

I do not understand what's the implication of "This isn't a Thunderbolt hub. When you plug it into Mac, it will use the USB 3 support, not the Thunderbolt support."

Apple says that your 24" M3 iMac has two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for:

• DisplayPort
• Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)
• USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s)
• USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
• Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA supported using adapters (sold separately)

--------------------

These are USB-C ports. "Thunderbolt 3" and "USB4" are giveaways, as both of these require host ports to have USB-C connectors.

Think of USB-C connectors as being like Swiss Army knives. Any particular USB-C port can have one "blade", or several. If there are several "blades", that doesn't mean that the port always has to use all of them. Apple might like to emphasize the Thunderbolt and USB4 "blades" (selling points), but in everyday use, many users rely upon the USB 3 and DisplayPort "blades". Thunderbolt is there to keep your options open – if you ever need to attach some high-end dock, or ultra-fast NVMe SSD, or 5K/6K display, Thunderbolt 3 will let you do it. In the meantime, the more mundane USB 3 and DisplayPort may be enough to let you get your work done.

All three of the 7-port USB-A hubs that we have been discussing are interested in USB 3.0. When you plug them into your iMac, the iMac will decide to speak USB 3.0 over the USB-C connector. Just USB 3.0 – not DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, or USB4. There's nothing wrong with that.

Since these hubs are only interested in USB 3 protocol, they would work even with USB-C ports that lacked Thunderbolt – like the front-panel USB-C ports on the M1/M2 Max versions of the Mac Studio.

If you were to then unplug the USB-A hub, and plug a Thunderbolt dock into the same port on the iMac, the iMac would automatically reconfigure its USB-C port to speak Thunderbolt.

Those multi-purpose USB-C ports on the iMac adapt to meet the needs of whatever is plugged in – provided that there is common ground.