Will my Mac Mini (Late 2012) Support a MHL HDMI 4k Monitor?

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Will my Mac Mini (Late 2012) Support a MHL HDMI 4k Monitor?

Hi all..

I'm a little confused about two things. I'm in the market for a new monitor and was thinking of getting a 4K monitor however I ran into 2 questions....

1. Does my Mac Mini w/ 1.5GB HD4000 support a MHL HDMI Monitor? (I know my current monitor is wired via HDMI and it works great but the "MHL" in front of the HDMI is throwing me for some confusion. Is my HD4000 Graphics card capable of using the 4K display?

2. If so what type of connector would I need to make a 4K Monitor work? Would a standard HDMI cable do the trick or do I need some sort of DVI (or something) connector cable?

Any information from someone a bit more familiar with this then I am would be great as it is what is making my purchase decision between a nice 144mhz Full HD 27" Gaming Monitor and an Ultra 4K 28" monitor. I am primarily more concerned with the display as far as utilizing photoshop and dreamweaver more so than gaming but a combination of the two would be a nice touch. I know the first will work but something is luring me into getting the 4K monitor for supreme graphics in apps like Photoshop.

Thanks in advance!!

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), Mac Mini (Late 2012) i7 Quad-Core.

Posted on May 17, 2016 4:06 PM

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Answer 1

May 17, 2016 4:24 PM in response to Go7hic

1. The 2012 Mac Mini is not capable of outputting at 4K resolution unfortunately. It is limited to a max of 2560x1600 on the Thunderbolt Port / Mini Display Port.

This however does not mean it cannot use the 4k display, it can, just that it will be at the lower resolution the mini can produce. The 4K display may still make things look a little nicer though.

2. You would need to use a Mini Display Port to DVI adapter (assuming the 4k display has a DVI port) to get the highest resolution possible from it. 2560x1600

Note that the HDMI port is limited to 1920x1200 pixels

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Answer 2

Go7hic Author

Level 1

10 points

May 17, 2016 4:29 PM in response to Phil0124

Thanks for the quick response! I have a better understanding now since you pointed out some key factors. I guess it's the 27" Gaming Monitor Full HD 144mhz for me. I think the HDMI Gaming Monitor should still provide me with a great LED graphical experience and definitely work well with gaming if and when time allows. 😁 I'll wait on the 4K until after I've made my next Mac upgrade whenever it may be.

Thanks for your insight. Much appreciated!

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Answer 3

May 17, 2016 4:33 PM in response to Go7hic

You're welcome. Glad I could help.

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