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Show me your iMac 27" with 2nd monitor.....

D

Decked

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 23, 2011
35
0
I went to my local Apple store today looking to buy an iMac with a 2nd screen.
However, having had a good look around, the 2 screens don't look the same. The main monitor is brushed aluminium and the 2nd screen is glass/black. I didn't put them side by side, but it's kind of put me off a little.
Secondly, due to the main monitor being on the left, when you want to insert a disc or SD card, the second monitor in the way. Can you just make the 2nd monitor the main screen?
If anyone has any pics of their setup as described that would be great.

Thanks
 
Decked said:
I went to my local Apple store today looking to buy an iMac with a 2nd screen.
However, having had a good look around, the 2 screens don't look the same. The main monitor is brushed aluminium and the 2nd screen is glass/black. I didn't put them side by side, but it's kind of put me off a little.
Secondly, due to the main monitor being on the left, when you want to insert a disc or SD card, the second monitor in the way. Can you just make the 2nd monitor the main screen?
If anyone has any pics of their setup as described that would be great.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I know on my MacBook Pro, you can arrange the monitors anyway you want. Either on either side, or either on top or bottom of each other. Whatever you want. I'm sure the iMac is exactly the same. Just put the iMac screen on your right.
 
skiltrip said:
I know on my MacBook Pro, you can arrange the monitors anyway you want. Either on either side, or either on top or bottom of each other. Whatever you want. I'm sure the iMac is exactly the same.
Click to expand...


This is more of an overall OS X feature. Of course, so long as the hardware can support it as well.
 
skiltrip said:
I know on my MacBook Pro, you can arrange the monitors anyway you want. Either on either side, or either on top or bottom of each other. Whatever you want. I'm sure the iMac is exactly the same. Just put the iMac screen on your right.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm new to Mac but I'm very interested and I know if I do get the iMac it will be a better setup to my PC.
 
Here is a pic of my imac next to the ACD 27. Next week I am gonna get the dell u2711 as a second monitor for the imac and connect the acd to the mbp. If you want I can post pics of the updated setup.
 

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frappedia said:
Here is a pic of my imac next to the ACD 27. Next week I am gonna get the dell u2711 as a second monitor for the imac and connect the acd to the mbp. If you want I can post pics of the updated setup.
Click to expand...

My setup is identical to this one; though I am considering getting some kind of "shim" to put underneath the 27" ACD.

Btw, frapp, aren't you worried the u2711 being antiglare and CCFL will bother you as far as matching the iMac is concerned?

Anyway, the industrial design is slightly different (there's aluminum on the 27" ACD, it just doesn't have that lower bezel because that's not necessary; there's no computer inside it).

Just a tip, for color matching, if anyone's interested, I've found turning the iMac to "Epson sRGB" and the ACD to "Apple RGB" is excellent. This setting also helps to deepen the blacks on these uber-bright LED beasts. If you need Adobe RGB, it's going to be a little more work.
 
frappedia said:
Here is a pic of my imac next to the ACD 27. Next week I am gonna get the dell u2711 as a second monitor for the imac and connect the acd to the mbp. If you want I can post pics of the updated setup.
Click to expand...


Very nice. But seeing the ACD next to the 27" iMac, I can't help but think that you would want it elevated if that is your setup.
 
I hate to hijack this thread but I was curious about the need for a second monitor. I do photography myself and do heavy amounts of photo editing. I can definitely see the usefulness for a second monitor as a workspace or for presentation purposes. However, with Spaces built into OS X and with the screen real estate of a 27" iMac and/or an ACD for a Mac Pro, what would you really need a second monitor for?

I'm not looking down on doing this in anyway as I have considered it myself for my setup. This is just out of curiosity.
 
iMikeT said:
I hate to hijack this thread but I was curious about the need for a second monitor. I do photography myself and do heavy amounts of photo editing. I can definitely see the usefulness for a second monitor as a workspace or for presentation purposes. However, with Spaces built into OS X and with the screen real estate of a 27" iMac and/or an ACD for a Mac Pro, what would you really need a second monitor for?

I'm not looking down on doing this in anyway as I have considered it myself for my setup. This is just out of curiosity.
Click to expand...

It isn't about need; it's about preference.

Yes, you can absolutely use Spaces, or you could have smaller (but adequate) multiple windows open.

But some people prefer to arrange their windows a certain way. I have 2 displays because I like to have one with my browser window, media aggregator, mail, note-taking application, and instant messaging software visible whenever possible. And when I am working in Final Cut or iWeb, it's nice to be able to do other things in the meantime without having to hunt. Exposé is great, but it's not always enough, and Spaces just doesn't integrate well into my personal workflow. Frankly, in Final Cut it's absolutely necessary to take up the entire screen. It just doesn't work any other way. So if I want to do *anything* else in the meantime, I pretty much have to get a second monitor to do it efficiently. To tell you the truth, I'm even considering attaching my old 1080p 23" for a third (vertical) monitor via that NewerTech USB thingy; great for reading comics without scrolling, as well as word processing & web browsing.
 
frappedia said:
Here is a pic of my imac next to the ACD 27. Next week I am gonna get the dell u2711 as a second monitor for the imac and connect the acd to the mbp. If you want I can post pics of the updated setup.
Click to expand...

Thanks, That would be great.
Looking at the pic the screens aren't exactly at the same height, can you move it up/down? It also looks a bit smaller, or is that just because the bezel is smaller?
 
iMikeT said:
I hate to hijack this thread but I was curious about the need for a second monitor. I do photography myself and do heavy amounts of photo editing. I can definitely see the usefulness for a second monitor as a workspace or for presentation purposes. However, with Spaces built into OS X and with the screen real estate of a 27" iMac and/or an ACD for a Mac Pro, what would you really need a second monitor for?

I'm not looking down on doing this in anyway as I have considered it myself for my setup. This is just out of curiosity.
Click to expand...

I'm simply after a 2nd screen on my setup because it's what i'm used to. I can run email and 2/3 apps at the same time (dragging/dropping) between them without having to minimise/maximise apps.
 
Meyvn said:
Btw, frapp, aren't you worried the u2711 being antiglare and CCFL will bother you as far as matching the iMac is concerned?
Click to expand...

Regarding the u2711, yes I've thought of that. I've only had the chance to see the two monitors side by side in some youtube videos so I can't be sure if I am gonna like it or not. If not I'll then go back to my current setup and use the u2711 as the main monitor to my pc setup.

Meyvn said:
My setup is identical to this one; though I am considering getting some kind of "shim" to put underneath the 27" ACD.
Click to expand...
iMikeT said:
Very nice. But seeing the ACD next to the 27" iMac, I can't help but think that you would want it elevated if that is your setup.
Click to expand...

I've searched many stores here in Greece in order to find something to put underneath the acd (apart from a book or something like it). I tried the Xstand MTable ST-288 but that makes the acd taller than the imac. Any ideas are welcome although it probably wont be available here...
 
Decked said:
Thanks, That would be great.
Looking at the pic the screens aren't exactly at the same height, can you move it up/down? It also looks a bit smaller, or is that just because the bezel is smaller?
Click to expand...
You can't move them up/down.
They are both 27''. It may looks smaller because of the way the photo was taken or because acd is shorter. I don't think it's due to bezel being smaller.
It even looks smaller to me when I look at them from 4-5m distance. One time I put a book under the acd and matched them at height and all of a sudden acd and imac perfectly matched.
Maybe I am overreacting but I find the height issue very annoying (this is why I'm gonna buy the u2711 which is height adjustable). I've read various "reasons" as to why apple makes them like that (I think it was the same issue with imac 24 and acd 24) but I don't find them convincing. There are even some people saying that the two shouldn't necessarily match. Anyway, my personal opinion is that is stupid and annoying, but nevertheless ACD is a great monitor.
 
If the 2nd screen (ACD - what does this stand for?) was 1.5 inches higher up I think it would look fine. Like attached.
 

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frappedia said:
I've searched many stores here in Greece in order to find something to put underneath the acd (apart from a book or something like it). I tried the Xstand MTable ST-288 but that makes the acd taller than the imac. Any ideas are welcome although it probably wont be available here...
Click to expand...

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Macessity/STANDBYMI2/

I don't know how much you need the ACD27 raised, but I use this to level an iMac 24 with an ACD 23.
 
2 iMacs

Maybe you've already thought about it but you can hook up another iMac to act as the second screen. You might get a refurb 27" for the price of a 27" acd. Than you even have a spare iMac to be a server or something ;)
 
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