New 27" 2nd display for an iMac _OR_ New iMac with the old one as 2nd display?

[*wookie*]

My loooong-serving "Formac Gallery 2010" display finally keeled over and died. I need a replacement for a dual-monitor setup.

The simple solution would be to buy a new display. However my iMac will need upgrading soon anyway so maybe I should take this opportunity to get a new one and use my existing iMac in Target Display Mode as a second display.

My question is, is this viable for long-term use? Any caveats and gotchas I should be aware of?

I'd need it to behave just like a second display in all respects other than that it has a (potentially useful) second Mac inside it. I rarely shut down or restart my MAc but I'm concerned that sleep/wake behaviour might be odd, and specifically that the desktops I have set up (with specific window and palette arrangements across both displays) would get frequently reset to a single display layout. This would drive me crazy and I suspect it's likely… anyone had experience trying this sort of setup for regular use?

 

[Malacoda]

What is the potential resale value of your current iMac? If you could throw it up on Craigslist or eBay and use the sale to pay for a new 27" Cinema Display, that seems the ideal choice. While having the older iMac as a backup machine seems potentially handy, I'd still rather have a dedicated display than a second machine acting as a display. The fewer tech parts involved in any given function, the better.

 

[*wookie*]

Good point, I'll look into it. Given that the optical drive is flakey and the screen has developed a few flaws though I doubt I'd get enough for it to be honest. I think I'd rather keep it around one way or another though.

 

[Malacoda]

Good point, I'll look into it. Given that the optical drive is flakey and the screen has developed a few flaws though I doubt I'd get enough for it to be honest. I think I'd rather keep it around one way or another though.

Fair enough. I recently traded my Core 2 Duo 24" iMac straight across for a new/current base model Mac Mini, and so I was thinking a 27" iMac should easily sell for enough to get close or equal to a 27" Cinema display.