A Geek Goes Flying

I have a somewhat involved office setup, that looks something like this: My 2021 MacBook Pro 14" is connected to a: →   Cable Matters USB C Hub DisplayPort 100W, 4K@240Hz (USB C DisplayPort 1.4 Hub), 480Mbps Ethernet, 2X USB , which in turn is connected via a:    →   IVANKY 3ft/1m DisplayPort Cable, DP to DP 3.3ft, 4K@60Hz, 2K@165Hz, 2K@144Hz  DisplayPort cable to a:      →  Unitek DP KVM Switch 1 Monitor 2 Computers USB 3.0 8K@60Hz KVM unit, which uses another:        →  IVANKY 3ft/1m DisplayPort Cable, DP to DP 3.3ft, 4K@60Hz, 2K@165Hz, 2K@144Hz  DisplayPort cable to a:            → Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor   The 2012 Mac Mini (OCLP patched and running Sequoia) is connected via a Cable Matters 4K Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable , to the KVM, and through the KVM to the Dell. It works perfectly. The MacBook Pro keeps blanking the screen, for ~...

My “mid-2010” iMac is getting flaky, and with its HD 4760 GPU, wasn’t a great contender for a Big Sur update, even with OpenCore Patcher. The 2012 Mac Mini occupies a sweet spot on eBay, selling for around $100-150 (depending on configuration), and can run Big Sur quite well, patched. The GPU in the iMac can be upgraded, but it’s still an old, underpowered machine witth splotches on the screen, etc. Newer iMacs aren’t that expensive by themselves, but once you factor in shipping, they’re spendy. Still, for dragging out onto the balcony to enjoy our reliably nice SoCal weather, you can’t beat the form factor. I decided to hack together a machine that met my specifications (including relatively low cost). I started with the highest spec inexpensive Mac Mini I could find, a late-2012 Core i7 2.3 GHz with 16GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive ($150). I swapped the hard drive for a Crucial MX500 1TB SSD ($90). I got a VESA mount ($15) so I could bolt it to the back of a monitor; for that I we...