How is rMBP as Target Boot Disk?

[willcapellaro]

Using an iMac, wife wants it back. Se we need a new laptop so we can share. So I'm Thinking of getting the 1TB drive rMBP 13. Going for more storage rather than power, so it can be my main drive (plug in a couple externals). But I also want to use the iMac's power and display occasionally: using target disk mode over TB and booting from the rMBP disk. This way I can get the 13" and always know I have a dedicated GPU I can use.

I want to know how much frustration to expect. The iMac is of recent vintage.

Should I plan for problems like product licenses (Adobe) looking for specific hardware after I install it, the system having to switch between hardware sets, etc. Am I asking for trouble? It can't be perfectly seamless can it?

I'll end up doing this either way and can report back, but I wanted to know if other people have done this and have advice.

 

[Vader]

I used to run a stripped down OSX on an external to use for imaging and restoring systems (iBooks, MacBooks(Pros), eMacs/iMacs, and PowerMacs/MacPros). I was able to use the same drive between machines (not between Intel and PPC though). I'm not sure if the OS has changed since (its been nearly 4 years since I did this), it may be more hardware specific now. I know that the OSes that come with new machines add stuff to specifically support the hardware they ship with, but those are included in the next point update for all systems.

 

[simonsi]

Biggest problem I can see is having given the iMac back to the wife, then bought a laptop to share....you have both