What is best for running TWO 27 inch Apple monitors:

1. a mac mini of some type
2. a 27 inch iMac that runs a second 27 inch monitor?

I used to have Mac towers with multiple video cards. But times change - now I have two laptops, the latest 13 inch Air and a 3 year old MacBook Pro 2.26 Gh/ Intel Core 2 Duo with 8 GB RAM.
I run these side by side, but for a project I am working on, I need two big monitors running off the same computer.

If the project requires horsepower and you can recoup your $ investment, I'd get the iMac + one 27".

If not, then the 2.5 or 2.7 Mac Mini. The 2.3 and Quad 2.0 (server) can run two 27" monitors but the dedicated AMD video card of the 2.5 and 2.7 can tun three, just in case you might need that someday.

I'm pretty sure that the 2011/12 model mba can run two apple thunderbolt monitors - better verify that first...

Of course, a mac pro and a ATI 5770 or better can run two minidisplay 27" apple monitor and have a still have one dual link DVI port open

What happens is that I have a lot of windows open to do the project. One is the document I am working on in InDesign, then there is a Pages document that is the references and notes for the manuscript, then there are five or ten sites in Safari, and some files in TextEdit and TextSoap.

I am good at manipulating the desktop, but it is just EASIER on the hands - fewer repetitive motions - to have it all visible and accessible.

I like nifty solutions. In the past I would just buy a middle of the road Mac tower, put an additional video card in it, and run two 30 inch monitors. The cost for that is paid off in a couple of months because of the extra work I get done. But now the laptops and the mini and the iMac are so powerful.

Buying a new iMac 27, maybe with the SSD drive, and using it to run one of the Apple 27 monitors I have, is within the budge, I have just never purchased an iMac. I buy towers or laptops.

I don't want to buy a powerful Macbook pro, because for travel, the 13 inch Air is perfect.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2012 09:30PM by roshi.