Travel replacement for my 2017 27" 5K iMac / First World Challenge

[transphasic]

Hi everyone. I now have a second/vacation home and am trying to solve a VERY first world problem; having a usable computer in both my residences while avoiding moving a heavy computer (27" iMac) between them.

The drive is 1,600 miles from home I to II, so I'd prefer not to have to bring the iMac with us in the car as it is bulky and I worry the screen might be damaged from transporting it, even though I use the original box (these things are delicate IMO and not really made to be moved around often).

My plan would be to purchase a mac laptop of some kind, backup the iMac to an external, then overlay the laptop's HD with the external to make the switch seamless. In 10 years this will probably be solved using the cloud and a small mac studio-type computer you bring everywhere, but I digress.

Any suggestions on what mac laptop would be a close equivalent in terms of processing power? Would a macbook air M1 be able to handle most of the tasks I throw at it? I surf on safari and Firefox, use outlook for email, photoshop, nothing too demanding but I do have 40gb of RAM which helps smooth the iMac's functioning.

And yes, the macbook screen is no replacement for a 27" 5K monitor as on the iMac, so I might HAVE to splurge and buy an external monitor for the laptop as I haven't used a 13" or 14" screen since the early 1980s. Even a 16" macbook pro screen would probably be too small.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

If your data travel with you: (Tight budget version)
01 Mac Mini + 2 monitors 27" 5k.
or a Macbook + 2 monitors
The moving part is the Mac Mini or the Macbook.

If your data can stay on the Cloud, or in your mobile disk (luxury version)
2 iMac 27".
No hand-carry stuff. You can travel free-hand.

 

[16v]

External hdd???

 

[Fishrrman]

Just buy a MacBook Pro 14" and get a 3rd-party display (even a used one) for the second home.
Problem solved in seconds...

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm with Nguyen Due Hieu: get yourself whatever size monitor you want on both ends of those travels... which doesn't necessarily have to be the Apple Studio monitor... and then transport a Mac Mini (or Studio if you need more power/RAM/storage each way). Mini or Studio should travel well with no moving parts.

If you might also happen to need Windows too, grab that Intel Mac Mini still sold as new or as a refurb. Then you can enjoy latest version of macOS and (real not ARM) Windows in Bootcamp, expand RAM beyond 16GB if you need it, expand internal storage beyond Silicon Mini maximums if you need it and it too should easily travel back & forth.

I find my own thinking about mobile computers evolving. With the inevitable need to fully embrace Silicon and since Windows for ARM is not as compatible with everything as regular Windows for X86, I'm envisioning a scenario of:

1. Mac Mini PRO/MAX and
2. a Mac Mini-like NUC or little Ryzen box to cover full Windows AND
3. one of those portable screens seemingly built for exactly that kind of purpose.

This seems like a great way to get the incredible dual OS utility we have enjoyed for a decade+ with Intel MBs while adding the power of desktop devices. I'm thinking of it like 3 big dongles in one case.

Else, for those who must have Windows but are financially pinched, I'm thinking Windows laptop and using Windows only when traveling (with a pinch of Apple software on iPad or iPhone) with maybe a Mac desktop back at home. Much of what people do on mobile Macs can be done as well one Windows laptops (email, biz software, etc) so maybe the "polish" computer (Mac) stays home and gets those files when you get back to it.

 

[IBeenMacSince19]

I have practically the same use case. In my primary home I have a Mac Mini M1 with a 34" LG monitor and in my vacation home I have a 27" Brand X monitor with my 2012 15" MBP. I have all my important files on Dropbox. You can set up Dropbox so you have a copy of your files on your primary computer, and it copies to the cloud, so you have a sync'd copy on the cloud and locally on your computer. Then when you fire up your secondary computer, Dropbox copies the current version of each changed file to the local drive on your secondary computer. And it flows in the other direction too. So you essentially have three copies of your up to date files.

 

[colodane]

Just buy a MacBook Pro 14" and get a 3rd-party display (even a used one) for the second home.
Problem solved in seconds...

This.

With a 1600 mile drive you will be on the road for perhaps 3 days each way. So you will want some sort of convenient access while traveling.

 

[Chancha]

Additionally he can also sell the iMac. So the 14" MBP becomes the only machine he has, without the need to sync the system / data.

In this case get 2 displays. One that is carefully picked, perhaps the Studio Display if 5k@27" is desired, this one sits at home. Then get the absolute cheapest but still 4k bang for the buck models to be at the 2nd home, something like the ASUS VG289Q.

 

[dwig]

Additionally he can also sell the iMac. So the 14" MBP becomes the only machine he has, without the need to sync the system / data.

In this case get 2 displays. One that is carefully picked, perhaps the Studio Display if 5k@27" is desired, this one sits at home. Then get the absolute cheapest but still 4k bang for the buck models to be at the 2nd home, something like the ASUS VG289Q.

I lean toward recommending something like this.

Since the OP is keeping the details about what 27" iMac they have none of us can give any, even moderately, accurate judgement about performance of the replacement computer. Whether a MDA will do or whether a MB Pro M1max is required is only a wild guess.

My personal setup is a powerful 16" notebook and a docking station with 2 attached monitors. I can easily travel with the notebook when needed. For long term travel stays, a separate large monitor at my "summer home" (read: my brother-in-law's house) is available. My personal paranoia has be also carrying a small lightweight second notebook as a backup device. Since I'm Windows based for my personal setup the big 16" is a Dell Inspiron 16plus i7/3060/32Gb/1Tb and the little backup is a Surface Go.

Critical files are duplicated on an external HD that can be used with either computer. I also have remote access to the iMac setup that is my workstation at my day job and from that I can remote to any of the other 5 Macs that I occasionally need to manage. Adding some remote access software to the OP's home iMac and client to the travel notebook would allow access to files. We use RealVNC which gives me remote control of my work iMac and provides two-way file transfer functions.

 

[transphasic]

Since the OP is keeping the details about what 27" iMac they have none of us can give any, even moderately, accurate judgement about performance of the replacement computer. Whether a MDA will do or whether a MB Pro M1max is required is only a wild guess.

My iMac specs: Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017, 40GB RAM, 4.2 GHz Intel Core i7.

Am wondering if a mac studio would make sense, replacing the imac altogether and just have a high quality monitor in both locations. The unit is small enough to be transported but not as delicate as an imac.

The downside is that the mac studio is in the first iteration and apple always needs a few months at least to get the bugs out. Plus the HDD size of 512MB is too small and I'd prefer a fusion drive of at least 1-2TB, which will drive up the price above the $1,999.

 

[kevcube]

My iMac specs: Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017, 40GB RAM, 4.2 GHz Intel Core i7.

Am wondering if a mac studio would make sense, replacing the imac altogether and just have a high quality monitor in both locations. The unit is small enough to be transported but not as delicate as an imac.

The downside is that the mac studio is in the first iteration and apple always needs a few months at least to get the bugs out. Plus the HDD size of 512MB is too small and I'd prefer a fusion drive of at least 1-2TB, which will drive up the price above the $1,999.

why not just get a laptop? they're actually meant to be transported, and then you can use it in a third location. it works just as well with external monitors as a Mac studio.

I carry an external 2tb sandisk usb-c 10gbps drive with me for additional storage, time machine, etc.

the Mac studio is the first iteration, sure, but it's just a larger Mac mini. apple silicon _definitely_ works, there's basically no need to worry about compatibility or anything unless you're committed to some legacy software (which will PROBABLY work exactly as expected under Rosetta 2)

 

[maerz001]

My iMac specs: Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017, 40GB RAM, 4.2 GHz Intel Core i7.

Am wondering if a mac studio would make sense, replacing the imac altogether and just have a high quality monitor in both locations. The unit is small enough to be transported but not as delicate as an imac.

The downside is that the mac studio is in the first iteration and apple always needs a few months at least to get the bugs out. Plus the HDD size of 512MB is too small and I'd prefer a fusion drive of at least 1-2TB, which will drive up the price above the $1,999.

Are u sure of wanting a fusion drive? This was the term for a HDD plus SSD combination. They are slow and not sold anymore. Now its only SSD

If you don’t do professional photography i guess your 40gb ram is more than u need. What does activity monitor tell you?

The imac M1 24“ at 4kg is easier to move than the 27“ but limited to 16GB. The cheapest option at $2100. or refurbished for 15% less. You could test it 14 days

If u need 32GB and 1 TB yes things get pricey.
Than its 2 monitors plus a macbook 14“ $2600 or the studio $2200.

 

[dwig]

My iMac specs: Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017, 40GB RAM, 4.2 GHz Intel Core i7.

Am wondering if a mac studio would make sense, replacing the imac altogether and just have a high quality monitor in both locations. The unit is small enough to be transported but not as delicate as an imac.

The downside is that the mac studio is in the first iteration and apple always needs a few months at least to get the bugs out. Plus the HDD size of 512MB is too small and I'd prefer a fusion drive of at least 1-2TB, which will drive up the price above the $1,999.

A Mac Studio would work. In addition to the monitor(s) at each location, you would also need keyboards and HIDs (mouse, trackpad, ...), but that's easy to do.

A downside to the Mac Studio idea is that it would be a problem trying to use it at each of the stops along you travels. You'd have to also carry a keyboard, mouse/trackpad, and either a portable monitor or HDMI cable hoping the motel's TV can be pressed into service. This wouldn't be an issue if you are OK with only using your phone or an iPad on those occasions.