Air or iMac Setup?

You'd lose a Superdrive and some USB ports, as well as the ability to upgrade your RAM. If you're okay with that, if you need the portability, and you don't mind spending the extra cash, it sounds like a fine setup to me.

classicaliberal said:

When the new Notebooks and iMacs come out, I'm going to need to decide what setup I want to get. I'm trying to decide between the following options:

1) New iMac w/ 2TB Hard Drive and backup 2TB Thunderbolt Hard Drive
2) New Macbook Air w/ Apple Thunderbolt display, 2TB Thunderbolt HD, and backup 2TB Thunderbolt HD

I estimate that The Air setup would cost about $300-400 more.
I would gain flexibility of taking my air to other locations, travelig, etc.
I would lose processor speed. How much?
I would gain OS HD speed. (the OS would be on the internal flash drive, right?)

Looking for thoughts and opinions.

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It's hard to offer sound advice without knowing your general day-to-day usage of your set-up. I would normally say the MBA is a fantastic device and can handle a lot more taxing tasks than some people give it credit for. However seeing as how I assume the portability isn't much of an issue (seeing as how the iMac is an option for you) I would say go for the iMac. I feel that option is better value for money - and if a couple of years down the road you feel like you need the portability buy a refurb base 11" air with the $400 (and another $400 or so extra). Then you'll have the best of both worlds.

wait until they are in the stores; talk to a genius, then make your decision.

it won't be much longer

classicaliberal said:

I don't think I would lose any ports because of the thunderbolt display?
Good point to consider with the RAM. How much RAM do you think the new AIRS will allow?

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MacBook Air has two USB ports and one Thunderbolt port. It comes with either 2 or 4 Gb of RAM and is not upgradeable.

iMac has four USB ports, one FireWire port, and one or two Thunderbolt ports. It comes with 4 Gb of RAM and can be upgraded up to either 8 or 16 Gb.

I'd say depends on your needs.

iMac 27 is just a decent computer stuffed within the Thunderbolt display. You can still use a iMac as an external monitor for the MBA. I'd say get the iMac first see if you do need the portability. Then buy a refurb air as its going to be relatively cheap. In the UK the £300-400 premium for getting a iMac 27 vs getting a apple display means you might as well spend the extra, because the display is lovely.

classicaliberal said:

One point of clarification... Isn't the Thunderbolt Display actually significantly better quality than the iMac?

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Couldn't say unless their side by side, but their the same size and resolution so I couldn't see too much of a difference. They probably have the same speakers too.

If you can try and find a student who will get you some discount and cheaper extended warranty.

classicaliberal said:

One point of clarification... Isn't the Thunderbolt Display actually significantly better quality than the iMac?

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The TBD and iMac are the exact same display.

classicaliberal said:

Really!?! I didn't know that... I thought the iMacs where all cheaper TN panels, and the Thunderbolts were the more expensive (and accurate) IPS panels? Is this not the case anymore?

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The iMac display looks great from any seat in the house, thanks to a premium display technology called in-plane switching (IPS). IPS gives you a bright picture with excellent color — even if you’re viewing the display from the side.

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http://www.apple.com/imac/features.html#displays

classicaliberal said:

Really!?! I didn't know that... I thought the iMacs where all cheaper TN panels, and the Thunderbolts were the more expensive (and accurate) IPS panels? Is this not the case anymore?

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I do not think that ever was the case- or at least for the last 6 years.

Same Position

Hi..Im debating the imac vs air and thunderbolt display as well. I dont do anything "heavy" so I think im fine with the air, but to me there is a subjective factor to this decision too. The imac is beautiful and yes can be equipped far more powerfully...BUT it "feels" somewhat "ordinary" in the mac world. The air is such amazing design as is the T Display. Having that set up also, as you point out, gives you the option of portability if needed/desired. This may sound lazy, but I also like the idea that, if needed, its so much easier to carry the air into the apple store for support than the imac. So bottom line to me, the air/display setup seems more interesting than the imac..a great, but mainstream device.

classicaliberal said:

I use my computer mostly for Photos, and Video editing. Obviously web browsing and email, etc. but that's simple stuff. I do iMovie a lot... tons of video and photos of the kids you know.

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You have your answer right there: if you're going to do heavy video editing, the MBA is not the optimal choice.

I don't know whether you need a full computer for portability.
If so, the Air plus TBD combo appears to be the best, and if 4GB RAM are fine for you.
If not, how about an iMac plus iPad combo?

iMac with SSD

Have you considered ordering BTO from Apple and getting the iMac with an ssd?

classicaliberal said:

Thanks for all of the replies so far - I'm still interested in the Macbook Air's SSD vs the iMac's Hard Drive. Can anyone tell me how this affects performance vs. the iMac's memory advantage and processor advantage for something like video editing, opening applications, or photo browsing in iPhoto?

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Video editing is both RAM and processor-intensive. The iMac may have a slight advantage there, if you boost your RAM up to the max. If you stick with the base of 4 Gb and compare it to a MBA with the same amount, I can't imagine there being a noticeable difference.

Opening applications will definitely be faster with an SSD. But keep in mind you can get that in an iMac, too.

Photo browsing in iPhoto isn't particularly taxing on the system, IMO, but a faster drive would probably help you more than more RAM or processor.

I actually have both in different locations. I have a 27" quad-core i7 iMac and a TBD with a 2011 MBA. For what I do - which is seldom video-intensive - both are fine machines. The displays, as a previous poster said, are coequal; you can't go wrong with either.

The one little problem with the MBA/TBD setup is that the Thunderbolt port and MagSafe power port are on opposite sides on an MBA. I use a TwelveSouth BookArc and keep the Air in clamshell mode (with no fan issues, incidentally) but I always feel the leads are stretching to reach both sides. This is purely a design or aesthetic issue and has no effect on performance.

If I had to lose one setup and clone another, I'd probably clone the MBA with TBD. There's a lot to be said for portability; in my view, that outweighs the extra cost. I'd also stress that I'd probably wait until the MBAs are refreshed ... the one thing I really miss is the 1TB HDD in the iMac, and a 512GB SSD would go a long way toward remedying any deficiency I might feel with the Air.