Sell Imac? Get Mac Mini +Monitor?

[63 CAB]

Hi,

I currently have a 2010 27” Imac - 2.8 Ghz i5 with 12GB of RAM.
While in many ways it is nice to have a computer and display as one connected piece, I’m starting to think I might prefer having the computer and display as two separate pieces. Long term, I would really like to be able to upgrade the computer and the display separately. I’ve been thinking of installing an SSD in my Imac, but the idea of removing the display is more than a little intimidating, I think I might be more comfortable doing this on a Mac mini.
I don’t really play games on my computer, but I do a lot of research on the web and do quite a bit of writing, so I would really like to get a high quality screen that wont bother my eyes during long writing/research sessions. The only thing I do that would be relatively demanding on my system is Logic Pro.

Any recommendations on high quality screens I could use as a monitor for a Mac mini? Any recommendation on what specs I might want/need if I bought a Mac mini?
Maybe the whole idea of selling the Imac is bad?

I know Apple has their own displays, but if I were to get something of similar or higher quality from another company, what would you recommend?


*I don’t care much about the built in webcam or speakers, since I would prefer to buy those separately anyway.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

 

[disq]

I am in the same boat. Have an Early-2009 24" iMac (2.93ghz core2duo) and I'm planning to switch to a 11.6" Air i7 + external monitor.

I currently have a Dell U2412M monitor I use for my gaming PC and also as a second screen for my work/casual iMac. It supports 3 separate inputs and has a input switcher, so I switch the input to the PC when I'm playing a game. Other times, it's showing my Mac desktop, increasing productivity.

Dell U2412M's screen is nearly as good as the iMac (i can't tell the difference) and it's also fairly cheap for an IPS panel. IPS is the display technology used mostly in iMacs and Cinema Displays (and also iPhone 4) which provides better viewing angles and more vibrant and accurate colors. If you are worried about the screen quality or do graphics heavy work, you can get a Dell U2410, which is better, but costs $160 more. U2412M is $350 on Amazon, U2410 is $515. U2410 also is CCFL -- consumes more energy, and is heavier/thicker. But the image quality is said to be as good as Apple's external displays.

A third option is to try the HP zr24w. It's supposed to be "nearly" good as U2410, and priced at $370.

The two cheap options (U2412m and zr24w) both don't have HDMI inputs, they only have DVI, VGA and DisplayPort. Since the Mini's display output options are limited, better to keep this in mind.

 

[FrankHahn]

Since you already have a good computer with a great display (a 2010 27" iMac), I would like to suggest to you that you should keep using this computer until you really need to upgrade!

Since your computer is already pretty fast, given that an SSD will make fast the starting up, shutting down, and opening applications, an SSD will not give you too much for what you do with it.

When you really need to upgrade, say in two or three years, the price of SSDs will become low and the thunderbolt and USB3.0 connectivities will become popular (if they survive) so that you can get a more powerful machine at a much lower cost.

Furthermore, in consideration that the desktop lines will be probably reshuffled within next year or two (read threads on the Mac Pro line), keeping using your current iMac also appears to be a good choice.

 

[thekev]

I am in the same boat. Have an Early-2009 24" iMac (2.93ghz core2duo) and I'm planning to switch to a 11.6" Air i7 + external monitor.

I currently have a Dell U2412M monitor I use for my gaming PC and also as a second screen for my work/casual iMac. It supports 3 separate inputs and has a input switcher, so I switch the input to the PC when I'm playing a game. Other times, it's showing my Mac desktop, increasing productivity.

Dell U2412M's screen is nearly as good as the iMac (i can't tell the difference) and it's also fairly cheap for an IPS panel. IPS is the display technology used mostly in iMacs and Cinema Displays (and also iPhone 4) which provides better viewing angles and more vibrant and accurate colors. If you are worried about the screen quality or do graphics heavy work, you can get a Dell U2410, which is better, but costs $160 more. (U2412M is $350 on Amazon, U2410 is $515. U2410 also is CCFL -- consumes more energy, and is heavier/thicker. But the image quality is said to be as good as Apple's Cinema and Thunderbolt displays.

A third option is to try the HP zr24w. It's supposed to be "nearly" good as U2410, and priced at $370.

The two cheap options (U2412m and zr24w) both don't have HDMI inputs, they only have DVI, VGA and DisplayPort. Since the Mini's display output options are limited, better to keep in mind.

Some of those are solid options. I don't have any experience with HP displays. If he was doing graphics heavy work, I'd say to avoid LED. I don't think the thickness really matters here. It doesn't truly affect your available desk space unless it enables a smaller chin, and even then the effect is minimal. The power saving thing isn't that significant. The thunderbolt display still takes a lot of power.