Useable Mac Ideas

lukeb

Hi everyone,

I’m driving myself crazy trying to come up with a useable Mac solution. I have a 15 year old Windows PC, which is horrible to use, but the only thing that works for me.

I recently tried the new Mac Mini M4. I much prefer a laptop, but thought a mini with a portable monitor would do. I tried the Mac Mini with four different monitors (none with PWM) and all setups caused symptoms.

Is there any screen that could be plugged into a Mac Mini or MacBook and be usable?

I have tried the entire lineup of M series computers. The M1 air was pretty good for me (I doubt it would be on the latest OS though). The 13” pros were good (except the Touch Bar flickers which can be turned off). The Studio Display was initially fine for me, but something has changed. All M2 and M3 airs have been horrible - not even the placebo of hearing that they didn’t have PWM helped. And then all 14” and 16” M series Pros are horrendous.

My next ideas are to try the Vision Pro as an ultrawide monitor for my Mac. It doesn’t seem like a healthy choice to strap a computer to my head, but I didn’t have any issues with it during the in store demo (I believe because each eye has its own screen). Or if anyone on here knows of a miracle monitor I’ll try that (preferably portable).

I’d like to be completing quite intensive Final Cut and Logic work so I’m looking for something pretty powerful.

I’m pretty close to calling it a day on Mac and iOS and moving to Windows. If I go that way then I’ll work on a safe desktop build and trial some laptops (apparently the new surface laptop is PWM free). I had tried a few surface pros in the past which weren’t good, but they flickered when I researched them.

What would you recommend? I have wasted so much time and energy trying to find a useable computer.

Thanks!

macsforme

When using an Apple silicon Mac with an external display, try StillColor (there’s a topic here on this forum) to disable dithering before discounting that setup. By default, Apple silicon dithers harshly on external displays. Some people can tolerate them again once StillColor is enabled. Some still cannot, but it’s worth a try for sure.

Donux

I personally have tried still colours and betterDisplay, but even if it is better, fundamentally something is really off. So I am also looking for a macbook to use. So far even if there are people saying M2 macbook pro 13, or M1 Macbook pro 14 are good, those reviews are mixed:

Some say its good (M2 macbook pro 13, or M1 Macbook pro 14), then after some time back off and say sorry its not
There is a panel batch issue, but it is contradictory to the fact that people get eye strain using (good) external screens too
Then there are folks saying they had issues with Intel too, but it is not clear is it PWM only issue, or all around laptop is unusable.
Then are folks saying even old 2015 Intel macbooks are not perfect.

:

Also, I have noticed Mac mini intel models have been grabbed by most resellers and it is harder to find good one in Europe. In USA, there are plenty of sellers for these. My personal last know experience was:

Had macbook 2016 15 incher i7 - never used with external monitor so not sure. But using a screen there was a first time I had issues, and it was due to PWM, as this model clearly had it.

Had macbook 2018 I think or 2017 not sure, but it was macbook pro i5 8GB 13 inch from the company. It was absolutely amazing for my eyes, buttery smooth. I used to switch from 2016 model I had to this one, even for personal stuff, as it was so good. Spend hours on reddit and other waste of time sites and enjoyed it without ever consciously thinking about eye strain. I was totally uplifted to the heavens with this one.

M1 Air, M2 Air, is like a devil with razor sharp blades cutting my eyes, and apps do not solve it. Only minor improvements. So overall, panel can be an issue, but what can I see, most people have reached a point where they do not care about panel anymore or if it is flickering, they want to get that damn thing to work on third party panel. And from usability standpoint, if you spend 50 percent of time on your monitor, and the rest on crappy pwm screen, there should be no problem.

So folks which one Intel is the ONE? Helps us out here, we are hanging in a wind.

moonpie

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Donux

moonpie Can you say the same thing about intel macbooks? And can you relate in similar way - severe eye strain on macbook silicon, but back to normal on pretty much any intel mac (using external monitor)?

moonpie

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Donux

moonpie No true, they will continue to be in circulasion. And not only used by some geeky folks, but by entrepreneurs, developers, professional music producers and others. The fundamental thing for people is usability and aesthethics, and performance for professionals was adequate before M chips. Only high performance demans are coming from regular consumers and prosumers padarodxaly.