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27 iMac as a Monitor for a Mac Pro - Pictures of Setup

G

Greenhoe

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 17, 2008
199
0
Considering that Apple isn't going to be refreshing their ACD anytime soon I decided to purchase the 27in iMac and use it as a Monitor to my Mac Pro. I already had 2 24in ACD hooked up to my Mac Pro although now I finally have the setup which I've always wanted with the 27in iMac.

I know a lot of you will say this is waste of an iMac but when Apple releases an updated 30 ACD I will purchase that and use the 27in iMac as an actual computer.

9u0vg2.jpg


I had to wait till I received the Mini Displayport to Mini displayport cable from monoprice but I finally have it setup and I have to say the screen is amazing.

One issue I've noticed is that I'm not able to adjust the brightness of the iMac when it is being used as a Monitor, although I don't a USB connecting my iMac to Mac Pro which may be why. I've also noticed when set to full brightness the iMac screen doesn't get as bright as the 24 ACD.

Let me know if any of you guys have are using the iMac just as a monitor and if you can figure out how to adjust the brightness of it.

Overall I love the new screen and look forward to when Apple updates the 30 ACD or comes out with a 27 ACD.
 
Pixellated said:
Nice setup, but some cable mangement would be nice :D
Click to expand...

Nice setup, but a decent mouse mat would be nice. You're going to be having mouse olympics moving between 3 big screens. I had to use 2x A4 heavy rubber/fabric mouse mats when I used an old 23in and 20in on my MDD.
 
BertyBoy said:
Nice setup, but a decent mouse mat would be nice. You're going to be having mouse olympics moving between 3 big screens. I had to use 2x A4 heavy rubber/fabric mouse mats when I used an old 23in and 20in on my MDD.
Click to expand...

I'm able to move from the first screen to the third by barley moving the mouse, the only thing is I get this black crud build up on my desk from the bottom of my mouse so a mouse pad may be nice to prevent that.
 
Aren't 3 monitors (esp. HUGE ones!) a bit overkill? What do you use all of them for? Is it simply a "because I can" issue? (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)
 
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Very very nice setup, i hope to do the same thing in a few years when i go to university (hopefully buy a mac pro and an imac etc haha). I'm also wondering what you do with the screen space?

Btw, if you haven't already, post this in the Post your Setup thread over at the picture gallery :D
 
Could you not use the 27 inch iMac as an "actual computer" now by using the Command F2 (or whatever F command it is) to switch back and forth?

I know your setup is exactly like I would like, and I intend (one day) to use a Mac Pro with the 27 inch screen and then be able to switch back and forth using the iMac for "lighter weight" stuff while the Mac Pro is doing something "heavy" like rendering or encoding.

So could you not do that now?

Regards,

G.
Dreamer
 
Does the different level of the monitor bother you at all?
That would bother me very much.
One of the reasons I don't want to do a dual monitor setup with an iMac and a ACD.
 
Do you need to power up the iMac first every time before connecting it to Mac Pro? Does the HD spins during the Target Display Mode?

And do you people think the power consumption of the iMac is always the same, as a standalone computer and as a monitor? :confused:
 
That is gorgeous! Considering all Apple displays, the 27" iMac is definitely the best you can get for your bucks.
Costs as much as a 30" screen, has almost the same resolution plus a reasonable fast computer inside it, which would run great with SL Server btw. ;).
If it just wasn't glossy... :mad:
 
I was wondering what the screen quality is like especially when comparing the 27in to the 24" LED. Could you elaborate a little on uniform lighting and such?

Thanks!
 
miscend said:
The iMac is not much bigger than your other displays.
Click to expand...

left 1920 by 1080
middle 2560 by 1440
right 1920 by 1080

That would make my eyes strain after a 10 hour day jumping around in differennt resolution desktops. I would have gone with 3 displays of the same resolution for continuity, but hey if you gottem' use 'em. :eek:
 
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