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27 iMac as a Monitor for a Mac Pro - Pictures of Setup
- Thread starter Greenhoe
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You know...
for the price of that imac, you could have had another two 24" cinema displays. that would have created alot more space than one imac screen. though, as Transporteur suggested, you could use the imac as a sl server now so its a keyboard shortcut away to switch back and forth to your server and main comp.
just my two cents
for the price of that imac, you could have had another two 24" cinema displays. that would have created alot more space than one imac screen. though, as Transporteur suggested, you could use the imac as a sl server now so its a keyboard shortcut away to switch back and forth to your server and main comp.
just my two cents
Nice Setup. Any plans for a single VESA arm to hold all three of these? It'd be a way of cable management plus you could get the two 24" monitors at the same height as the 27".
What do you use the 27" iMac for (or really, the computer behind the display- -the display gets plenty of use)? Is it just on to use the display or do you have it run anything else?
I have a 15" MBP and I dual-boot Ubuntu Linux on it. I wonder if you could run Linux on the iMac to act as a web server for testing and also use it as a display? Or does the display only switch over when you're running OS X?
What do you use the 27" iMac for (or really, the computer behind the display- -the display gets plenty of use)? Is it just on to use the display or do you have it run anything else?
I have a 15" MBP and I dual-boot Ubuntu Linux on it. I wonder if you could run Linux on the iMac to act as a web server for testing and also use it as a display? Or does the display only switch over when you're running OS X?
I'm not the OP, but I would love to have that much screen real estate if I could afford it! Besides being a photographer, I'm also an avid storm chaser. If I'm not out chasing and there is a weather event in progress, I will be glued to the computer working as a nowcaster for a team out in the field. When I'm doing this, it is not uncommon for me to be actively using 7 to 9 windows at one time, and we're talking about some pretty heavy usage. There's lots of data to monitor! Having that much screen real estate would be of great help for operations.
OP, you have one sweet set-up!
Bryan
One thing with that setup... If you have more than one screen, are the screens like one big screen? So you can drag windows across screens?
Yes, when you setup multiple monitors and setup them to extend desktop then it acts as one big desktop.
The One big issue I have using the 27in iMac as a Display is that when the Mac Pro goes to sleep and then the iMac goes to sleep 50% of the time when I wake the Mac Pro up the iMac won't come back on as a monitor and I'll have to then weak the iMac up and unplug the mini display cable and replug it back int to get the monitor hooked backed up.
Cool, I have a few of questions though.
1. Can you have files on the desktop on the other monitors or only the main one?
2. Can you change the backrounds of each seperatly, or all at once?
3. Can you have the menu bar and all that on the other monitors as well?
By the way, I'd love that setup, you could do so much with hiding or minimizing anything...
I'm not the OP but:
1. You can have it on both
2. Yes you can choose each bg seperately
3. I don't think so, at least not without third party apps
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.
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.
This looks VERY close to my upcoming set up. Currently, I'm running a 24 off my MBP and a 24 off a MacMini but, need more real estate running Parallels. I'd use the 27 i7 as my primary with a 24 attached and keep the other 24 attached to my MBP but, put the laptop in a vertical stand... I may even get rid of the MBP for an Air or 13MBP for traveling.
Anyone know of any issues with two different screen sizes and Parallels?
The Screen quality of the 27 ACD compared to the two 24 is around the same. Of course everything looks better on the 27 due to the higher resolution, but other then that it is very similar.
One not is that when I turn all the screens up to full brightness the 24in ACD get a lot brighter then the 27in iMac. Although I usually keep the brightness of all the screens at half anyway.
One not is that when I turn all the screens up to full brightness the 24in ACD get a lot brighter then the 27in iMac. Although I usually keep the brightness of all the screens at half anyway.