What to buy? - New ThunderBolt 27' or "old standard 27' ?

[AlexMaximus]

Hi folks,

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro i7 and I am looking to buy Apples 27' Dispaly.
Since the 2010 MBP has NO Thunderbolt port it makes no point buying it.
Usually I would go for the newer model, but I could not even use the USB ports since the new Display has no USB cable anymore.

Am I right?

I hate to buy the older product but in this case it would make sense.

What would you do? I think the TB Display would work, however I would need to plug everything into the Laptop. Should I go for TB or the old standard 27' model ???

Thanks for your insight everybody

 

[reebzor]

I understand that you want to buy the "latest and greatest", however the Thunderbolt display is not going to work with your machine... Why would it even be an option?

 

[CylonGlitch]

What would you do? I think the TB Display would work, however I would need to plug everything into the Laptop. Should I go for TB or the old standard 27' model ???

I would throw away your old crappy 2010 MBP, here give it to me, I'll dispose of it for you, and then buy yourself a new 2011 MBP and the new TB Display. Then everything will be right as rain -- oh yeah, don't forget the USB hub.



Seriously, there is no easy way to hook the display to your computer, so why even consider it?

 

[Lennyvalentin]

I hate to buy the older product but in this case it would make sense.

Don't worry about buying the older product this time, friend. The Thunderbolt Display's specs for the LCD panel itself; brightness, viewing angles, everything Apple lists on their site (not including colorspace accuracy unfortunately) are identical to last year's LED Cinema Display. For all we know, it's the exact same LCD panel and LED lightbars they're using in both products.

The housing of the display is also identical to last year's, all that differs are the extra Thunderbolt-driven connectors, and that the breakout cable for the LED Cinema Display has three prongs instead of just two.

So buy the "old" version of the screen, bask in its divine, glorious shiny glossiness and be happy! It's the right fit for your Macbook.

Of course, you could put on your spending pants, buy an entirely new Macbook for $1000+ and then order the Thunderbolt display also, making this the world's most expensive monitor upgrade. Apple stockholders worldwide will thank you!

 

[AlexMaximus]

Pulled the trigger..

Thanks guy's, I finally pulled the trigger on the standard version of the 27' together with a shiny new printer envy100 from hp. That should go well with this setup. Only a drobo is missing now..

 

[blevins321]

Thanks guy's, I finally pulled the trigger on the standard version of the 27' together with a shiny new printer envy100 from hp. That should go well with this setup. Only a drobo is missing now..

Drobo? Nooooo come see the Syno light!

 

[richpjr]

I've gone back and forth on which one to get myself. My problem is I have a Windows laptop for work that I occasionally like to hook up to a large monitor when working at night or on weekends and the new Thunderbolt display wouldn't work with it. But I also want to hook up my new MBA to it and would like the extra ports offered on the new version.

Would the mini display port to DVI connector that you can use on the MBA work in reverse (i.e. plug the display port side into the Thunderbolt display and hook the laptop up to the DVI side)?

 

[Lennyvalentin]

Only a drobo is missing now..

I wouldn't recommend a drobo at this point in time. Lots of anecdotal reports say it's slow and unreliable, and that the company isn't particularly service-minded (deleting threads about negative experiences or problems with the hardware from their message board, mandating serial numbers in order to register and so on.)

I'm also critical that the Drobo is fairly voluminous, yet does not contain an integrated power supply. I thoroughly despise wall warts and chunky lumps at the end of a power cord. Everything should be self-contained, nice and neat, like the Apple Time Capsule for example.