MacBook Pro to iMac 2017

[wolfyccfc]

Hi All,

I have a IMAC 2017 27" 5K and was looking at getting a new MacBook Pro, as I mainly use the iMac for Photo editing in Lightroom the main tick box to purchasing a new MacBook would be if I can link the 2 up and use the IMAC display, understand there is the sidecar option but not sure what resolution you get when using this? I have tried to research on line but can't get a clear picture if its possible, I see older Macs can use target display mode but it does not appear to support anything past around 2015 equipment?

Any help giving me a clear picture of this would be greatly appreciated and help in a buying decision.

Thanks

 

[darngooddesign]

The Luna Display dongle does Mac to Mac mode.

 

[theluggage]

Any help giving me a clear picture of this would be greatly appreciated and help in a buying decision.

5k iMacs can't do target display mode - full stop - so you can't use them as external displays in the usual sense.

Software solutions (like Luna Display) send compressed screen images over a network connection - it could be the solution you're looking for as a second display for your MBP but you might get some lag and artefacts, so it's probably not first choice for your only, or primary display.

AFAIK "Sidecar" only works between a Mac and an iPad - someone please correct me if I'm wrong (the "some iMacs" the response talks about would be the old non-5k models that could be used as DisplayPort/Thunderbolt displays).

The other... let's call it a "non-solution"... is to use something like Synergy (or, I guess, Universal Control now) to share the keyboard & mouse, and just use the two Macs in tandem, sharing files over the network - how useful that is depends on what you are doing but (say) using one Mac for "working" and the other to display online reference material can work well.

Sadly, them's the breaks when you buy an iMac - 5 years down the line you're left with a still-decent display welded to an out-of-date computer. Best bet is to sell the iMac, use it as a hand-me-down or keep it as a fallback machine (esp. if you ever need x86 virtualisation or software that won't run on McOS 11 or later). A 2017 iMac may not be new, shiny or the ultimate power-house but it's certainly not landfill yet.

 

[wolfyccfc]

5k iMacs can't do target display mode - full stop - so you can't use them as external displays in the usual sense.

Software solutions (like Luna Display) send compressed screen images over a network connection - it could be the solution you're looking for as a second display for your MBP but you might get some lag and artefacts, so it's probably not first choice for your only, or primary display.

AFAIK "Sidecar" only works between a Mac and an iPad - someone please correct me if I'm wrong (the "some iMacs" the response talks about would be the old non-5k models that could be used as DisplayPort/Thunderbolt displays).

The other... let's call it a "non-solution"... is to use something like Synergy (or, I guess, Universal Control now) to share the keyboard & mouse, and just use the two Macs in tandem, sharing files over the network - how useful that is depends on what you are doing but (say) using one Mac for "working" and the other to display online reference material can work well.

Sadly, them's the breaks when you buy an iMac - 5 years down the line you're left with a still-decent display welded to an out-of-date computer. Best bet is to sell the iMac, use it as a hand-me-down or keep it as a fallback machine (esp. if you ever need x86 virtualisation or software that won't run on McOS 11 or later). A 2017 iMac may not be new, shiny or the ultimate power-house but it's certainly not landfill yet.

Thanks for the reply, I was getting the hint it wasn’t going to be a clear answer of ‘yes’ you can from what I had found out so far, maybe as you say best to keep it for now and trade in. Possible solution might be to go mini Mac and get a decent screen which will last a fair few years.