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Thunderbolt Display + MBA boo boo

ZBoater

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jul 2, 2007
8,498
1,325
Sunny Florida
Is it me, or is the connection for the Thunderbolt display to the MBA weird? I mean, for a company that is on the cutting edge of design, that connection with Thunderbolt on one end of the MBA and power on the other end seems... odd.

Other than that, this thing rocks! :D
 
ZBoater said:
Is it me, or is the connection for the Thunderbolt display to the MBA weird? I mean, for a company that is on the cutting edge of design, that connection with Thunderbolt on one end of the MBA and power on the other end seems... odd.

Other than that, this thing rocks! :D
Click to expand...

On the Pros, the power and TB port are on the same side. I agree it would be nice if that were the case for the Airs, but for whatever reason, Apple decided to put the mDP port on the opposite side of the power cord. That goes all the way back to the Rev B (the first model with mDP).
 
Only a small minority of Mac users will use an Apple display with their laptop. They had to put some ports on the right side because of design constraints, the teardrop shape didn't allow all the ports to be on one side.

Maybe they should have put the audio jacks on the right side instead of the Thunderbolt port, but Apple isn't stupid. If they could have done it, they would have. It's probably not that simple, they have lots of constraints while designing a motherboard for such a small computer.

I'm glad they didn't make the computer thicker only to accomodate a negligible portion of the market. Apple displays don't sell much. The MBA does.
 
Well, there are USB ports at either side, so I don't think space was the issue. Although I think I prefer having one USB at either side than both USBs on one side. I don't know, the Thunderbolt connection to the MBA seems like a kludge.

I went and got myself an mStand to sit the MBA open right next to my Thunderbolt display for a dual screen setup. I'll need to plug/unplug several times to find a convenient way to arrange the cables.

That's my only gripe, and a very small one at that, in what is otherwise an awesome display. I highly recommend this one.
 
Awesome setup. Can you tell me more about the performance on the 27"? Can the graphics card handle it alright? Do you use Aperture?

Thanks
 
does the thunderbolt display ship with a thunderbolt cable? if not then i think it should...

isn't a thunderbolt cable enough to connect to a mac with a thunderbolt port?
 
ZBoater said:
I mean, for a company that is on the cutting edge of design, that connection with Thunderbolt on one end of the MBA and power on the other end seems... odd.
Click to expand...

Yes this is my biggest beef with the Thunderbolt port location on the MBA. Having the cable do the splits when hooked up to the TBD is just a sight for sore eyes. I'm not sure if the reason for this is technical (couldn't fit the TB controller on the other side) or functional (maybe Apple wanted the 2 USB ports to be on opposite sides) but I'd rather the USB port on the left side exchanged spots with the TB port.
 
I prefer the way my MBA is now with the USB on either side. With 2 USB next to each other, they need to be really tight together, leaving little space between them and making it impossible to use a little bit bigger thing like a usb-stick together with another USB cable.
When you are using the ATD, you hardly see the cable, (it's routed via the back of my desk, with a very small magsafe on the left and the thunderbolt on the right side sticking out a bit more.

I really, really like this setup, it really compliments my 11" MBA.

The cable is about 48" long, that is 36" to the point where they split and the rest is after the split.
 
henry72 said:
Awesome setup. Can you tell me more about the performance on the 27"? Can the graphics card handle it alright? Do you use Aperture?

Thanks
Click to expand...

So far the performance is amazing. No visible lag. Colors are beautiful. But this is based on my perception, and that is a relative thing. However, I thing that for $999, this monitor is a good deal considering the connections, the power adapter for the macbook, the gigabit ethernet connection, etc.

No, no Aperture for me. :D

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animatedude said:
does the thunderbolt display ship with a thunderbolt cable? if not then i think it should...

isn't a thunderbolt cable enough to connect to a mac with a thunderbolt port?
Click to expand...

It does, but just to connect it to the MBA. It also comes with a magsafe cable that powers the MBA.
 
ZBoater said:
Colors are beautiful. But this is based on my perception, and that is a relative thing. However, I thing that for $999, this monitor is a good deal considering the connections, the power adapter for the macbook, the gigabit ethernet connection, etc..
Click to expand...

Agreed -- 2560x1440 27" IPS displays are pricey no matter who you buy them from; and the Apple includes the Thunderbolt breakout connectivity.
 
When MBA is connected to a TB display, does the native 13" or 11" display black out?
 
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