Time for a rethink...
Monday, November 9, 2009 at 9:01AM After struggling last week with the encoding process on my Mac Pro, I think I will take the plunge and look at "ring fencing" my Mac Pro as just a video editing and encoding machine and do most of my general computing on the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro is just fine for virtually all computing tasks, especially with the SSD drive installed.
The Mac Pro would benefit tremendously from a lean and mean build with the minimum of additional third party apps installed. I'll be adding the Mac mini server into the mix soon and I'm hoping that will take a lot of the tasks away from both the MacPro and MacBook Pro. It seems criminal to use the Mac Pro just for video editing and encoding, but it really is a critical production machine and should be left as stable as possible.
So I've no issues with doing a rebuild on the Mac Pro I'm going to have to re-consider my monitor arrangement on my desktop.
Currently, I have three monitors on my desk.
On the left, I have a 20" Dell in landscape mode. This is connected to the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Pro runs this as its primary monitor when on the desk.
In the center is a 30" Dell connected to the Mac Pro along with a second 20" Dell on the right hand side in Portrait mode, also connected to the Mac Pro as a secondary monitor.
The issue is that I feel more comfortable with having my primary machine on the central monitor. The problem is the primary machine will change dependent on the task at hand.
I could just connected the MacBook Pro to the 30" Dell, but when editing, I like to have Final Cut Pro on the big display. I've tried a monitor switcher before but that didn't work for me - too distracting having to switch between both machines.
One option might be to revert to a two monitor setup of equal size, and dispense with the central monitor. But then I'm not sure how ergonomicaly distruptive it would be to have no central monitor? The mouse and keyboard isn't a problem as Teleport handles having a single mouse and keyboard.
So the options would be:
- I could sell the two 20" dells and get another 30" Dell. The current 30" Dell is a couple of years old now so they wouldn't match as far as brilliance and contrast, etc. I'm also wondering if the 30" is just a bit too big, never mind two if them. You can get a refurbished Dell 30" for £900 plus VAT.
- Or I could sell all three of my existing monitors and look at getting two newer 27" Dells. The 27" Dells work out at about £465 each plus VAT.
- Or I could sell all three and look at getting two new Apple 24" Cinema displays. The Apple tax means these work out at £552 each plus VAT, although they are stunning monitors. I'd also need to buy an displayport adapter for the Mac Pro.
And before anyone suggests it, I'm not going to sell all three and get two 27" iMacs just to use as monitors, that would be just silly! At £1200 each plus VAT this isn't an option.
Now if Apple did Apple Cinema Displays based on the new 27" monitors as used on the iMac, I might consider paying the Apple tax as they are truly magnificent monitors. The 2560x1440 resolution would be perfect as well as the true 16:9 aspect ratio. One has to wonder why they haven't launched this configuration as a separate Apple Cinema Display?
Could it be they have stock of the older 30" ACD they have to move before bringing this to market?
Surely they can't be selling many of these older model? They are only £200 cheaper than the 27" iMac for goodness sake?
I really can't understand Apples policy on external displays.
Of course, the problem is (as always) do you act now or wait to see if Apple release the iMac 27" display as a separate monitor.
Talk about first world problems!
Reader Comments (8)
"The Mac Pro would benefit tremendously from a lean and mean build with the minimum of additional third party apps installed. "!!
The Mac Pro is the highest performance Mac available and the performance suffers when bogged down with 3rd party plugins! Well, in my experience and perhaps not surprisingly, every machine suffers when additional 3rd party plugins are installed. Many of these apps look great, but at the end of the day they only achieve a slightly different way of achieving tasks. To be brutally honest the only 3rd party plugin I regards as essential is 1Password. I do not include the major apps such as Lightroom/Photoshop etc. In my experience these small additional apps. are often more trouble than they are worth and whilst achieving minimal advantages from the built in apps. are often a major headache especially when major OS upgrades occur.
I use a similar analogy with photography. Many individuals try to buy their way to better images; new equipment, new software and yet they still capture rubbish images! The same applies when folk buy lots of 3rd party plugins to make their workflow "more efficient"! It rarely does and perhaps more time and effort should be spent on becoming more proficient in using the tools available and becoming more disciplined.
That`s my take anyway.
I'd agree about 1Password but I'd also include Default Folder X as an essential addition although I'm not completely convinced that this behaves as well as it should. I might see if I can do without it but it may be difficult. As mentioned, Teleport is required to share the Mouse and Keyboard. Dropbox is also useful but where do you draw the line!
DON! Did I read you right? You're going to add a mini server into the mix soon? GREAT! That means we'll be expecting lots of shows introducing us to Mac OS X Server! Looking forward to it.
Be patient... Apple MUST be planning a monitor addition. My guess is with a speed up in the Mac Pro. January?
Yes Dropbox is great but somehow didn`t see that as a 3rd party plugin? The 1Password and Dropbox "marriage" for synching is top draw!
Think one must add TextEpander into the mix of must haves.
How could I possibly omit Textexpander!
Re your monitor setup. Several months ago I was facing a need to upgrade both my ancient Sony 19-inch LCD (my first) and my aging Mini (PowerPC) with a new MBP. I couldn't afford to do both at once and decided go with the monitor first as my Sony was failing rapidly. That left out a 30-inch because the Mini couldn't power it. At work, I been given a Dell 27-inch and found the size to be very workable. I ended up buying a Samsung 275T (refurbished) for a bout $800, and have loved it ever since. I finally upgraded to the MBP (with a Display Port to DVI adapter) and the transition was totally painless.
I agree that Apple should offer a 27-inch monitor, but I've been happy with my Dell at work and even happier with the Samsung at home, though I'd like to at least one more monitor at home. At work I now use the big Dell with two 24-inch Hyundais flanking it.
You could try just using a full-screen VNC client on the middle monitor whenever you're using your Macbook Pro; that should be fast enough over a local network, shouldn't it?