Yes, thank you.
For me it happened in 2012 with the first-generation Retina MacBook Pro. There's just no going back.
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Dual iMacs! :)
- Thread starter EugW
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My fault. I didn't realize your first post in this thread was from June. I thought you just returned the 7600 to get the 7700K again, which is why I was kidding you. (Safari on the iPhone doesn't show the signature on posts.)
Having the two machines side by side presents a unique opportunity for directly comparing a few features side by side too.
First off the colour balance for the two machines is slightly different. The default colour balance for the 2017 leans to mildly warmer vs. the mildly cooler default of the 2010. In my Displays Preferences, it's a bit annoying too because there are two "iMac" configurations, presumably one for each iMac but with no indication which is which. I will have to do a bit a trial and error but I suspect later I'll have to go through some calibration to get them to match better.
Note that for brightness, changing the brightness of the main screen does not change the brightness of the second screen. So I have to adjust the brightness of the second screen separately, but it can only be done by eye only. When you increase/decrease the brightness in Target Display Mode, there is no on-screen indicator of the brightness setting.
For audio, I mentioned earlier that I can have the sound from the 2017 iMac output from the 2010 iMac. I'd say the 2010 iMac actually sounds a bit better, despite being much older. Neither is great, but the 2010 sounds a bit less muffled. I suspect this has to do with the design of the case, as the shell thickness at the bottom is around 1" or so, whereas it is only around 5 mm for the 2017. However, it's not critical for me, as I usually use either my AirPods (when I want to hear background noises) or the free Beats Solo3 Wireless (when I want a bit more isolation) that I got through the education promotion with the iMac 2017 (retroactively). Also, it doesn't make sense having the sound coming out of the 2010 since the 2017 is my main screen and so having the sound come out of the other screen seems a bit off. Ideally though would be to have the sound come out of both at the same time, but that doesn't seem to be possible.
Looking at text on the non-Retina screen of 2010 iMac continues to be problematic. For large text it's not a big deal, but for small text it is. I said I would have VPN on the second screen but I have tended to keep my VPN screen on the 2017 5K, since the small text from VPNing to work is just so much clearer. OTOH, large 8-bit images and video look just fine on the 2010 non-Retina screens. So I often will put a Netflix video on the 2010 while working in text-heavy applications on the 2017. Ideal though would be to have a 5K Thunderbolt Display (not the LG) to come out in 2017 or 2018 that I could use instead. The 2017 does support an external 5K display (even though it doesn't have DisplayPort 1.3 AFAIK):
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207448
However, it would actually cost me much, much more to buy a 5K display in 2017 or 2018 (esp. if it were an Apple branded one) than it would be to keep my 2010 iMac, so I guess I will just wait for now. I don't love the aesthetics of the LG Thunderbolt Display anyway.
First off the colour balance for the two machines is slightly different. The default colour balance for the 2017 leans to mildly warmer vs. the mildly cooler default of the 2010. In my Displays Preferences, it's a bit annoying too because there are two "iMac" configurations, presumably one for each iMac but with no indication which is which. I will have to do a bit a trial and error but I suspect later I'll have to go through some calibration to get them to match better.
Note that for brightness, changing the brightness of the main screen does not change the brightness of the second screen. So I have to adjust the brightness of the second screen separately, but it can only be done by eye only. When you increase/decrease the brightness in Target Display Mode, there is no on-screen indicator of the brightness setting.
For audio, I mentioned earlier that I can have the sound from the 2017 iMac output from the 2010 iMac. I'd say the 2010 iMac actually sounds a bit better, despite being much older. Neither is great, but the 2010 sounds a bit less muffled. I suspect this has to do with the design of the case, as the shell thickness at the bottom is around 1" or so, whereas it is only around 5 mm for the 2017. However, it's not critical for me, as I usually use either my AirPods (when I want to hear background noises) or the free Beats Solo3 Wireless (when I want a bit more isolation) that I got through the education promotion with the iMac 2017 (retroactively). Also, it doesn't make sense having the sound coming out of the 2010 since the 2017 is my main screen and so having the sound come out of the other screen seems a bit off. Ideally though would be to have the sound come out of both at the same time, but that doesn't seem to be possible.
Looking at text on the non-Retina screen of 2010 iMac continues to be problematic. For large text it's not a big deal, but for small text it is. I said I would have VPN on the second screen but I have tended to keep my VPN screen on the 2017 5K, since the small text from VPNing to work is just so much clearer. OTOH, large 8-bit images and video look just fine on the 2010 non-Retina screens. So I often will put a Netflix video on the 2010 while working in text-heavy applications on the 2017. Ideal though would be to have a 5K Thunderbolt Display (not the LG) to come out in 2017 or 2018 that I could use instead. The 2017 does support an external 5K display (even though it doesn't have DisplayPort 1.3 AFAIK):
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207448
However, it would actually cost me much, much more to buy a 5K display in 2017 or 2018 (esp. if it were an Apple branded one) than it would be to keep my 2010 iMac, so I guess I will just wait for now. I don't love the aesthetics of the LG Thunderbolt Display anyway.
Any idea how much power the 2010 draws when used as display only?
I have a 24" LED Cinema Display as a secondary display at the moment. But once my new iMac arrives and I get the appropriate cables I will have to decide which one to use, the 2010 iMac or the 24" display...
I have a 24" LED Cinema Display as a secondary display at the moment. But once my new iMac arrives and I get the appropriate cables I will have to decide which one to use, the 2010 iMac or the 24" display...
65 - 73 Watts according to my UPS for my preferred brightness. It's a mid-2010 iMac 2.93 GHz Core i7 870 quad-core with Radeon 5750.
Apple states the mid-2010 3.6 GHz Core i5 860 dual-core with Radeon 5670 idles at 94 Watts.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201918
Both the Core i5 860 and the Core i7 870 are rated for a 95 Watt TDP.
However, the brightness setting makes a big difference. At eye burning maximum brightness, it's 146 Watts, but I find this setting completely unusable in a normal setting. Way too bright. Maybe those idle stats Apple lists are for mid brightness. My preferred brightness is a notch or two below mid. I just tried turning up the brightness a couple of notches to over mid brightness and my UPS reads 89 - 97 Watts, so that sounds about right.
I can live with 73 Watts. That's a lot more than the 27" LED Cinema Display which is more in the 35 Watt range for less than mid brightness, but that's OK.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3946/apple-27inch-led-cinema-display-review/8
Assuming that I only have the thing on for say 3 hours a day, that means 1/8th of a day every day. People say one should use as a ballpark here of CAD$1 per Watt of 24 hour / day use over the course of the year, meaning it'd be 73 Watts / 8 = $10 per year. Mind you, if it sleeps at 40 Watts, then it's 7/8 * $40 = $35 per year. Added together, it means it costs $45 per year to use this as a monitor, or under CAD$4 per month, or ~US$3 per month. IOW, compared to a 27" LED Cinema Display, I'm probably spending maybe $2 more per month in electricity.
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Wow, that was a lot of detailed info. Thanks!
I will have to try both I guess and decide based on the gut feeling then.
And of course depends on the resale price of the old iMac.. if I get something reasonable out of it, then maybe I will just sell it
I will have to try both I guess and decide based on the gut feeling then.
And of course depends on the resale price of the old iMac.. if I get something reasonable out of it, then maybe I will just sell it
Around here, my guess is I could get maybe $100-200 more selling the 2010 iMac than what used Mac stores sell the 27” LED Cinema Display for. Not worth selling, esp. since I don’t want a non-Retina Cinema Display anyway.Wow, that was a lot of detailed info. Thanks!
I will have to try both I guess and decide based on the gut feeling then.
And of course depends on the resale price of the old iMac.. if I get something reasonable out of it, then maybe I will just sell it
It turns out if you bring the Displays Preferences to the front and put the cursor on the profile, it shows the actual filename of the profile, so you can tell them apart this way.
It also turns out I have three profiles named "iMac", and it seems the default profile is listed at the top, while the other profiles are just listed in the list alphabetically. In the screengrab you can see the default iMac profile for my 2017 shown at the top, whereas the first of the alternative iMac profiles is at the bottom (with the second alternative iMac profile below that in the scroll list).
Also, the default profile at the top of the list for the 2010 iMac is different. That profile is one of the alternate iMac profiles in the list above, and vice versa.
It seems that Apple has thought of everything here. Too bad it's not a perfect match out of the box. So like I said, I will need to do some calibrating. Hopefully the internal calibration software is good enough. I only have a very, very old hardware calibration tool and I don't know if its software has been updated for WCG screens or if it would even run on Sierra.
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EugW, I've heard reports of the new Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad being slightly bent on each side and I'm afraid your keyboard has the same problem. You can see its bent on each side in the photo you posted of your iMac set up. You might want to get Apple to replace it for you.
I do have the same problem, and in fact, I was wondering if I should take it in.
Actually on a flat surface, it is stable, because it has feet about two inches from the right side and left side. So even though it bows slightly in the middle, it doesn't rock.
The problem though is if the table is not completely flat, then a bulge in the table can meet the bow in the middle of the keyboard, and it will rock. It's much less of an issue with the previous wired numeric keyboard. That keyboard seems beefier.
Is there a thread discussing this?
Personally, I would get it replaced but it's up to you. It's just a cosmetic defect so some people would probably not care enough to return it, given it works fine. I'm sure if you contact Apple you would be able to get the replacement sent to you before you need to return the defective keyboard by accepting a charge-hold on your card, so you are not without it until the replacement arrives.
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Interesting. In another thread people were talking about playback of this YouTube 5K video in Chrome, so I tried it on my dual iMac setup.
Chrome and YouTube know the resolutions of both screens in this setup.
If I delete my history in Chrome and launch the video on my native 5K screen, YouTube will default to the 5K stream (2880p) for fullscreen playback. If I start over with a clean history-less Chrome again and launch it on my external 2.5K screen (which is the 2010 iMac), YouTube will default to the 2.5K stream (1440p) for fullscreen playback.
Chrome and YouTube know the resolutions of both screens in this setup.
If I delete my history in Chrome and launch the video on my native 5K screen, YouTube will default to the 5K stream (2880p) for fullscreen playback. If I start over with a clean history-less Chrome again and launch it on my external 2.5K screen (which is the 2010 iMac), YouTube will default to the 2.5K stream (1440p) for fullscreen playback.
Interesting. In another thread, somebody mentions that for using external 4K and 1080p external displays with the MacBook Pro, when dragging over images from one screen to the next, the window size may be wrong for a split second when going from a low dpi screen to a high dpi screen, or vice versa.
However, in my setup, there is no such issue. Window sizes are always perfect. No readjustment necessary. Even when I have the window partially on both screens, the window size is the same.
BTW, About This Mac doesn't show the right external screen, but close enough:
However, in my setup, there is no such issue. Window sizes are always perfect. No readjustment necessary. Even when I have the window partially on both screens, the window size is the same.
BTW, About This Mac doesn't show the right external screen, but close enough:
Just to follow up, I've tried a local adaptor and it also works.
Only Apple LED cinema display color is more cooler than iMac 2017 27'.
Only Apple LED cinema display color is more cooler than iMac 2017 27'.
That was probably my thread. :-D
I only notice it happening when the system is busy, and moreso on my slower iMac. So it's likely that your newer system is fast enough that it doesn't happen for even one frame.
I'll keep an eye out for this, but I wonder if it has to do with the fact that it's an Apple external display and also that it's the exact same size as the native screen, the latter of which is exactly pixel quadrupled that of the external screen (5120x2880 vs 2560x1440).
Maybe it doesn't need to resize in my setup because it's a sort of matched setup, and because it's the same sized screen.
Yes, my 2010 iMac 27" has a cooler default screen colour. I still haven't tried to calibrate them to match. I do have an old Spyder calibration tool, but the calibration software is way, way out of date.
I do wonder which is more accurate, but on first glance it seems the screen calibration on my new 2017 iMac has a colour balance that is closer to my iPad Air 2's default screen colour calibration. Both look a bit pinker than my old 2010 iMac.
In my case, it was a 4K (3840x2160) to a 1080p (1920x1080) so exact pixel doubling, too. It doesn't happen every time, so I'm guessing a fast enough system will prevent it from ever happening.
It looks even worse in 10.13 High Sierra.
But what the hell kind of display is that? I've never seen that before. Could that be some sort of unreleased Apple display? Or is it a display that already exists?
Been Apple's icon for generic/3rd-party displays for some years now. For example, from my Mac Pro running MacOS (non-High) Sierra and a 3rd-party display:
The fact that Apple changed the icon to the 3rd-party generic one is, I think, a sign that Apple has almost no interest in bringing back Target Display Mode.
After three weeks, I finally got the Monoprice USBC to DisplayPort adapter (shipped to Canada), along with a DisplayPort to Mini-DisplayPort cable. This combination works perfectly on both my 2017 MacBook 12" and on my 2017 iMac 27".
Now my 2010 iMac 27" is working as a matching external monitor for the 2017 iMac. Sleep shuts off both screens and wake wakes both screens. Perfect!
Here is the setup with Mission Control activated:
View attachment 708199
Now I just need to get out of the habit of trying to use the left keyboard when I use the left screen.
Here is the Monoprice adapter:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13234
Good way to solve the connection, thanks for sharing it.
Does this configuration using mini-display port wire, supply power to charge the USB-C macbook Pro?
I am using it with an iMac, but as far as I know it does not provide power for a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
Ok, thank you for your response, maybe someone else have experience on it. I was not sure if target display mode provide power too.
Good call on switching to the i5. Besides of course handbrake and a few other encoding chores, few programs actually leverage the extra virtual cores of the i7, and then you have the heat, the associated wear and tear from that heat, and the fan noise that the i7 brings.
Especially with the more efficient Kaby Lake processors now, the i5 is cool and fast. A perfect match for these skinny iMacs.
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