Decision made, today an iMac joins my MBA and ACD. System complete!

[entatlrg]

Finally made my decision and I'm getting excited

I've decided to buy an iMac (3 mghz/GT130 ver.) to use as my Desktop alongside with my MacBook Air.

I'm going to hook up my 24" ACD monitor to the iMac so I'll have dual 24" screens, going to look wild!, lol.

That will leave my Air untethered to anything, easy to grab and go whether I'm moving to the couch or to the office ....

Will be the best of both worlds I think. The new iMac with dual displays will give me the near perfect desktop setup and the MBA when away from the desk, thin, light, fast, and a pleasure to type on.

I type a LOT in a day, going to be nice to switch from the desktop system to the notebook. Photo's to follow once I get everything set up.


So, what do you think, a good set up?

 

[Macjames]

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Definatly a good set up. Isn't the ACD smaller than a iMac though? For duel screens that may get annoying.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

MBA + 24" iMac is the way to go. What I'm not too crazy about is the height differential of the iMac and ACD. Too many people ruin their setups by placing the ACD on a stack of books. What's your solution for this?

 

[dborja]

Great setup! Although I don't have an ACD, that same tandem relationship between my iMac and MBA has been perfect for my needs.

Enjoy!

 

[marksandvig]

i think you rule is what i think.. I wish i had the cash money millionaires to buy a sweeeeeet setup like that.. One day tho, one day.

 

[Blakely028]

Sounds like a really great setup!

Be sure to post the setup when it arrives

 

[antonioanmar]

Congratulations, i think that you made a great decision. I think ACD is the final point to obtein a desktop computer with your MBA

 

[Benguitar]

Please post pictures!!

Congratulations!

 

[dudup]

I do have the 24" iMac + MBA combo and it's perfect.
The only thing I would like to do is to update everything to current Revs, LOL

 

[wetrix]

Hope it works out for you. I'd get annoyed by the difference in height between the iMac and ACD and also having to constantly synchronize stuff between two main computers.

 

[tsubikiddo]

please post picture(s) of setup
it must be fascinating

 

[Jeffrosproto]

MBA + 24" iMac is the way to go. What I'm not too crazy about is the height differential of the iMac and ACD. Too many people ruin their setups by placing the ACD on a stack of books. What's your solution for this?

I think the only visually pleasing solution for the height difference is to wall mount both the iMac and the ACD, so they can be the same height wituout any books.

 

[buccsmf1]

haha, exact same setup i've got but with a 20' imac and 20' ACD. i love it to death.

 

[entatlrg]

Hope it works out for you. I'd get annoyed by the difference in height between the iMac and ACD and also having to constantly synchronize stuff between two main computers.

LOL, you've got to be kidding, with both computers on the same network? Plus all the software and portable hard drives, usb sticks, online storage ETC to make it seamless working on two computers couldn't be easier.

Additionally most of our work is hosted online so it's super easy, but regardless of that it's quite easy to work on two computers!

 

[entatlrg]

I think the only visually pleasing solution for the height difference is to wall mount both the iMac and the ACD, so they can be the same height wituout any books.

ever heard of a 'monitor stand', there's all kinds of styles some even with adjustable legs so if even the height was a priority you have a LOT of options beyond the (ghetto) 'book' idea... no wall mounting required either

The two monitors as they are side by side sitting on a desk are stunning to look at, the last thing anyone will notice is a height difference.

pictures to follow early in the week, left my camera at the office... iPhone photo doesn't do it justice.

 

[Scottsdale]

I don't personally feel my rev B MBA needs to be "second" to an iMac. I have a 24" LED ACD, and I feel like my MBA is a desktop while connected to it.

Just curious, what do YOU do with your iMac that your MBA cannot do?

The 24" LED Backlit ACD seems superior to the non LED backlit iMac 24" display... is the difference really noticeable next to each other? I don't have an iMac but in the store the iMac display just doesn't look the same as the 24" LED backlit display.

Congrats on your new Mac.

 

[ravenvii]

I don't personally feel my rev B MBA needs to be "second" to an iMac. I have a 24" LED ACD, and I feel like my MBA is a desktop while connected to it.

Just curious, what do YOU do with your iMac that your MBA cannot do?

The 24" LED Backlit ACD seems superior to the non LED backlit iMac 24" display... is the difference really noticeable next to each other? I don't have an iMac but in the store the iMac display just doesn't look the same as the 24" LED backlit display.

Congrats on your new Mac.

I don't know, but I used to own an MacBook Pro with a LED display, and the display was definitely brighter and better than LCD displays.

 

[Scottsdale]

I don't know, but I used to own an MacBook Pro with a LED display, and the display was definitely brighter and better than LCD displays.

That is what I am fearful of. The OP may be annoyed looking at the two next to each other. I think the iMac has a nice display, but the LED ACD looks very different - much nicer in my opinion.

I have a client that bought six new Mac Pros. They bought 24" LED ACDs until the new 30" comes out. They are using the old 30" along with the new 24" next to each other. The 24" really looks beautiful next to the 30s. I know the glossy makes a difference, but they really look nicer to me. I hope Apple adds some more new ACDs soon.

Anyways, OP, let us know how they look next to each other.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

....and also having to constantly synchronize stuff between two main computers.

Shouldn't be a concern with MobileMe.

 

[hitekalex]

I don't personally feel my rev B MBA needs to be "second" to an iMac. I have a 24" LED ACD, and I feel like my MBA is a desktop while connected to it.

Just curious, what do YOU do with your iMac that your MBA cannot do

Kinda agree with you there.. Performance-wise iMac isn't far enough head of MBA to justify having both (and I know because I have both). iMac is essentially a MacBook Pro in a large screen enclosure.. With new 24" LED screens, there is a little reason to have an iMac in addition to a "real" laptop.

I do a lot of video encoding and while iMac offers some performance improvement to MBA, it's not dramatic.. That's why my next desktop is going to be a real workstation like Mac Pro.

 

[wetrix]

Shouldn't be a concern with MobileMe.

It is if you want your music/video/photo collection available on both machines.

The two monitors as they are side by side sitting on a desk are stunning to look at, the last thing anyone will notice is a height difference.

We will have to agree to disagree. I dealt with two height mismatched monitors at work for a while and it drove me nuts.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

It is if you want your music/video/photo collection available on both machines.

That's what Back to My Mac is for. But anyway, it's not like you have unlimited storage in the MBA's smallish HD (see remote file access sticky) for those huge collections.