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Thunderbolt Display Question?

M

macdudesir

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 16, 2011
363
84
Blacksburg, VA
I have a macbook air and a thunderbolt equipped iMac right now...i would like to purchase a thunderbolt display for my macbook air but when i ran the iMac screen as an external monitor through target display mode to see how i would like it, the scrolling was choppy and it became so annoying that eventually i was just like forget it and unplugged the thunderbolt cable...so my question is, was that just a fluke or was it because it was an iMac and not a thunderbolt display? Do any of you use a thunderbolt display with your macbook air and notice this?

Thanks in advance :)
 
I have an 2011 13" MBA Ultimate and Thunderbolt display and I can't say that scrolling is perfectly smooth but any lag is hardly noticeable to me. Well worth the convenience of the additional ports i.e., ethernet, etc. Get yourself a BookArc to complete the set-up and you'll love it.
 
I have absolutely no lag on mine. Granted I'm not trying to do anything like gaming, but for my use, I would be hardpressed to notice ANY performance degradation at all.
 
I use main on a weekly basis with Thunerbolt - > HDMI adapter with a 40" LCD and also an Asus 24" monitor and have and no issues with lagging whatsoever.

USES: VLC media Player almost daily with mkv files (40")
Schoolwork almost daily on the 24" monitor
 
It does not have the best GPU to drive this display, but I do not have to interface lag or scrolling issues on a day-to-day basis. I normally just have word processing, coding, or web browsing on this computer. At most I might watch a video or something.
 
I watch HD rips on a 46" LCD and don't have any issues, give it another try and make sure you have all the updates.
 
people posti g about using with huge TV's statements are irrelivant, the size of the TV doesnt matter, thyre only 720 or 1080p, the air lags abit because of the huge res increase on the TB display 1440p

it isnt perfect but isnt intolerable, im waiting for HD4000 gfx before i get a display and air combo for this reason
 
I really don't understand how some are experiencing "lag" - there is NONE in my use. What exactly seems laggy to you?
 
We have a few people with MBA + 27 inch combos at work. I have never noticed any lag on them, though most of the people opt to run them in single display mode (with the lid closed on the MBA) so that might help.
 
ovrlrd said:
We have a few people with MBA + 27 inch combos at work. I have never noticed any lag on them, though most of the people opt to run them in single display mode (with the lid closed on the MBA) so that might help.
Click to expand...

Maybe thats why mine is smooth as glass - I leave the Air in clamshell mode.
 
macdudesir said:
I have a macbook air and a thunderbolt equipped iMac right now...i would like to purchase a thunderbolt display for my macbook air but when i ran the iMac screen as an external monitor through target display mode to see how i would like it, the scrolling was choppy and it became so annoying that eventually i was just like forget it and unplugged the thunderbolt cable...so my question is, was that just a fluke or was it because it was an iMac and not a thunderbolt display? Do any of you use a thunderbolt display with your macbook air and notice this?

Thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...

No such problems with my Thunderbolt Display. Highly recommended.
 
Longdrive said:
I have an 2011 13" MBA Ultimate and Thunderbolt display and I can't say that scrolling is perfectly smooth but any lag is hardly noticeable to me. Well worth the convenience of the additional ports i.e., ethernet, etc. Get yourself a BookArc to complete the set-up and you'll love it.
Click to expand...


+1 for the BookArc. My wife and I each have the MBA + Thunderbolt Display setup. She has the 13" MBA and I have the 11". Neither one of us have any type of lag, that screen is awesome and is the perfect monitor for the MBA.

The monitor really amazes me, not just because of the massive gorgeous display, but also because of that Thunderbolt wire! It is mind boggling how much happens over that single wire. I have gigabit ethernet plugged into the monitor, along with a firewire 800 hard drive enclosure, off of which I daisy chain a small portable firewire 800 drive, off of which I daisy chain a firewire 800 CF reader. I have the USB keyboard plugged into the monitor, along with the USB superdrive. Then I connect my iPhone/iPad to the USB ports on the keyboard. I also have a photo scanner attached via USB. Add to that the graphics, the webcam, and the audio. And it's all over ONE WIRE! Then I have my magic trackpad connecting over bluetooth. So just plug in the power and the firewire, and I've got an incredible desktop setup. My wife doesn't have quite as much hanging off of the monitor, but she's equally happy.
 
+1 on the make sure your Macbook Air is in clamshell mode. When I had mine up and mirrored the displays, I couldn't get past the Macbook Air resolution (first time Macbook Air user) --- as soon as I read the Apple Support page about Clamshell mode - closed the lid, got a blue screen then BAM 1920 x 1200 resolution on my Dell 24' monitor. Text is sharp, no lag, and I'm loving it. I have a Display port to VGA adapter from Apple (since my DVI is used by my desktop).
 
I'm considering hooking up my 2011 Air to a old Acer monitor I have.

If I keep the Air lid closed, I can still use it through the monitor correct? If it a miniDisplay port is plugged into the Air, it'll realize it's in use through an ext. monitor and not sleep/shut down? Would I have to tinker with the settings?

I'm also assuming any external keyboard/mouse would have to be plugged into the Air, unless I purchase a Thunderbolt Cinema Display from Apple, in which case, I could plug keyboard/mouse to the back of the display to use?

In other words, I can do everything I normally would even with the Air lid closed (like sleep/wake, etc)?
 
Also wondering, how's it affect the battery of the Air to keep it plugged in, essentially for an indefinitely long time?

Do Air-external display users unplug the power supply every now and then to "exercise" the battery?
 
lc25 said:
I watch HD rips on a 46" LCD and don't have any issues, give it another try and make sure you have all the updates.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't be a problem as the resolution of a 46" LCD is considerably less than the ACD/ATD so a MBA would find it far easier to run fewer pixels on a larger screen
 
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