04-12-2012, 05:55 PM

I heard a rumor that the 2012 iMacs will have anti-glare glass. Who knows if it's true or not, but that would be interesting, as it implied that it would still be a glossy display, not a matte finish. Best of both worlds (deep, vibrant colors of glossy, but with anti-glare)?? However, I also heard that the base iMac will still only have the I5 processor, which would be a bit odd. However, just rumors.

09-04-2012, 03:45 PM

Now that I have my iMac, just thought I should post my thoughts after using it for a while. I started with a 27" iMac and stuck a 24" monitor on each side of it (since I had them anyways). With Thunderbolt and the right adapters, it was easy to have 3 displays up and running. It looked very cool and worked ok, except that I found the variance in resolutions to be a real pain. e.g. drag a medium sized window from the iMac to a 24" monitor and it suddenly won't fit on the screen. Therefore, I ordered a refurb 27" Thunderbolt display. The two 27" display combo is perfect! It's definitely not too much space and is great for having multiple things open. Using a 5120x1440 wallpaper spanning both displays is pretty wild looking, too. I find the two 27's to be more useful than the one 27" with two 24's. It's really nice have the two matched.

09-04-2012, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by Lastmboy

Now that I have my iMac, just thought I should post my thoughts after using it for a while. I started with a 27" iMac and stuck a 24" monitor on each side of it (since I had them anyways). With Thunderbolt and the right adapters, it was easy to have 3 displays up and running. It looked very cool and worked ok, except that I found the variance in resolutions to be a real pain. e.g. drag a medium sized window from the iMac to a 24" monitor and it suddenly won't fit on the screen. Therefore, I ordered a refurb 27" Thunderbolt display. The two 27" display combo is perfect! It's definitely not too much space and is great for having multiple things open. Using a 5120x1440 wallpaper spanning both displays is pretty wild looking, too. I find the two 27's to be more useful than the one 27" with two 24's. It's really nice have the two matched.

"Pictures or it didn't happen"..

That sounds like a nice setup though..

09-04-2012, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by Raz0rEdge

"Pictures or it didn't happen"..

Here's the "before" photo. Sorry... photo isn't spectacular. This is almost at "dream machine" state. I'll stick the "after" photo up when I get home tonight.

Specs at this point...
27" iMac 3.4ghz I7 with 16gb RAM, 256gb SSD, 2 TB internal (bootcamp)
Two 24" Benq MVA monitors
Promise Pegasus R6 12TB RAID 5 (my data drive)
Mediasonic Proraid HFR2-SU3S2FW 12TB RAID 5 (for Time Machine)
CyberPower 1500PFCLCD (sinewave) UPS
ScanSnap S1500M scanner
D-Link 8 port powered USB hub
Pioneer external blu-ray writer
Logitech Z5500 speakers (digital optical connection)

09-05-2012, 12:57 AM

Here's my completed "Dream Machine":

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9048/dreammachinesm.jpg

Final specs...
27" iMac 3.4ghz I7 with 16gb RAM, 256gb SSD, 2 TB internal (bootcamp)
27" Thunderbolt Display
Promise Pegasus R6 12TB RAID 5 (my data drive)
Mediasonic Proraid HFR2-SU3S2FW 12TB RAID 5 FW800 (for Time Machine)
NewerTechnology Voyager HD dock (USB)
CyberPower 1500PFCLCD (sinewave) UPS
ScanSnap S1500M scanner
D-Link 8 port powered USB hub
Pioneer external blu-ray writer
Logitech Z5500 speakers (digital optical connection)

09-05-2012, 08:22 AM

Very Nice! (he writes as he drools on his keyboard...)

Bill

09-05-2012, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by Lastmboy

Here's my completed "Dream Machine":

Very nice "dream machine"…those dual 27" displays are awesome!!!

- Nick

09-05-2012, 08:30 AM

Do you have something holding the keyboard and trackpad together?

09-05-2012, 08:39 AM

Very nice setup..and you have 26TB of storage..wow, that's a lot of stuff..

09-05-2012, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by Raz0rEdge

Very nice setup..and you have 26TB of storage..wow, that's a lot of stuff..

No. I must confess that the two RAID arrays are 12 TB before RAID. RAID 5 sucks them down a bit. The Pegasus ends up with 10 TB available and the Mediasonic ends up with 9 TB. Still quite a bit of space, though

The Pegasus is crazy fast. It makes the SSD seem slow. You get what you pay for, it seems. The Medisonic was very inexpensive in comparison, but it has been a bit disappointing. I lost a drive only one week into it's life, and the Mediasonic completely choked. I had to format all the drives and rebuild the array. I had assumed it would keep on ticking with the 3 remaining drives. It also shuts itself down randomly, causing error messages to pop up. The Pegasus is rock solid. Not a hint of a problem with it.

09-05-2012, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by Stretch

Do you have something holding the keyboard and trackpad together?

No. Nothing holding them together yet. I've been thinking of getting something, though. I think Apple makes a little bar, and there are a few other companies with products for that.

09-05-2012, 11:30 AM

Someone mentioned in another thread that three 27" displays would look even better. The thought has crossed my mind. I guess I should change the name of the thread to "Is triple 27" displays stupid?". I definitely love having two of them, and make very good use of both of them. I have to admit that having a third one would be a bit of a luxury item and/or for bragging rights. I would be hard pressed to say I actually need a third one, but I'm sure it would look cool. However, I don't think I could live with just one.

I found a somewhat less practical use for both of them last night. I fired up the new Guild Wars 2 game (even though I'm not a big gamer). Being a windowed game, I could have the game running in glorious 2560x1440, while having all my cheat sheets (keyboard shortcuts, etc.) on the other display.

09-05-2012, 11:45 AM

The only thing I have been disappointed with regarding the dual displays is that the second display goes black whenever you set anything to full screen. It would be really nice if there was an option that would allow you to still use the other display.

09-05-2012, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by Lastmboy

No. Nothing holding them together yet. I've been thinking of getting something, though. I think Apple makes a little bar, and there are a few other companies with products for that.

Apple doesn't make it…but Apple used to sell them…it's called a "Magic Wand". Like you mentioned…I've seen a couple other products as well for "mating" the aluminum keyboard & Magic Trackpad.

- Nick

09-05-2012, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Apple doesn't make it…but Apple used to sell them…it's called a "Magic Wand". Like you mentioned…I've seen a couple other products as well for "mating" the aluminum keyboard & Magic Trackpad.

Sorry... you're right. I guess Apple doesn't make it. Here's the one I was thinking of:
Twelve South MagicWand - Apple Store (Canada)
Twelve South MagicWand for Apple Wireless Keyboard (12-1101) : Other Apple Accessories - Best Buy Canada

Other options:
Mobee Magic Bar for Apple Keyboard (MO3212) : Other Apple Accessories - Best Buy Canada
aTrackt! - Solid Aluminum Tray for Magic Trackpad & Keyboard by Mark A. Donohoe — Kickstarter
Inertial Design - Home of the aTrackt! and aTrackt Go! for Magic Trackpad and Apple Wireless Keyboard
Amazon.com: MeshWe Bluefin Seamlessly Connects Magic Trackpad to Apple Wireless Keyboard (apple white): Computers & Accessories
Magic Connector combines the Magic Trackpad and Keyboard into one mobile unit. The first and still best adapter to connect the Apple Magic Trackpad and Wireless Keyboard