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MBA + 27" Cinema Display or MBA + iMac?

I

i0Nic

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 17, 2006
1,456
68
Sydney, Australia
Hey guys,

I've just bought a Macbook Air 11" and I need a bigger screen to go with it. I really like the Apple Cinema Display, however when I compare the price to the 21.5" or 27" iMac it's not that much cheaper considering I'd be looking to buy a refurb iMac.

I could also use the extra grunt of the iMac for playing games and video encoding, which I admittedly do rarely. However for an extra few hundred it seems like a no brainer to get the iMac over the 27" display?

But then I think about having to manage 2 computers not the one, along with the increased price and then I'm not sure again.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any advice about which way to go?
 
Last edited:
Sorry. 27" Cinema Display.

Specifically the thunderbolt cinema display, if you have the latest gen MBA.

I have the previous gen 27" add and even though I wouldn't be able to use it on my 2010 MBP, I would have considered upgrading to a 2011 MBP just to utilize the docking style features of the 27" TB ACD. I think it's highly worth it from a convenience standpoint.
 
I have a 27" iMac and looking to get an MBA (selling my iPad).

I'm not sure how I'll keep my files synced between each other (Dropbox doesn't seem particularly viable), but I think I'll definitely appreciate the extra power my iMac will provide over my MBA. You obviously can't get that with just a Thunderbolt Display.
 
iMac + Air is what I have and love it. I bought a Cinema Display for use on my 2010 Air before and found that when I disconnected the Air windows were all over the place which was annoying. But more annoying was that the fans were constantly blowing and the performance was simply not as good as when the computer was not connected to a display. I like keeping my primary and secondary computer separate and it works perfectly.
 
This is something I have been thinking about as well... Although for me it's MBA + Display or iMac alone. My 2007 mb and iPad 2 provide enough portability that I can't rationalize buying 2 computers. The only reason I am considering buying a new Mac anyway is for my wife. She has started doing photography and my lowly 2007 mb can't handled to software very well.

So the plan was to buy her a 13" mba/mbp sometime within the next year. Probably right after they are refreshed. But then she used her sisters iMac and realized what an advantage it would be to have a large screen, so now she wants an iMac. I've suggested the mba+display combo to get the best of both worlds for her, but that would just be so friggin expensive!

13" mba + display + keyboard + trackpad = MUCHO dinero! nearly $3,000

Or get an iMac and use the old macbook for portability when she needs it...
 
The money saved buying MBA + ACD instead of MBA + iMac can instead be used to upgrade the MBA in 2 years time. You'd have just one computer to upgrade instead of two, in addition to not having the fuss of transferring data between the two of them etc.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming :)

On another note, can you connect a non-apple computer to the LED cinema display?
 
i0Nic said:
Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming :)

On another note, can you connect a non-apple computer to the LED cinema display?
Click to expand...

Cinema Display, yes.
Thunderbolt Display, probably not. Unless you've got a PC with Thunderbolt ports.
 
i0Nic said:
I thought they were backwards compatible?
Click to expand...

Thunderbolt is backwards compatible with Display port.

Displayport on the other hand isn't 'forwards' compatible with Thunderbolt.

So a thunderbolt device can drive displayport at the end of the signal chain.

But a displayport cannot drive a thunderbolt device.

hope that makes sense lol.
 
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