Replacing My Mac Pro with a MacBook Air - Part 1
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 10:52PM Interesting experiment for the last week or two. I've been using my 11" MacBook Air as my primary work machine - for everything!
Background
I use two Macs on a regular basis, a Mac Pro as my primary desktop work machine and a MacBook Air as my secondary machine. The Mac Pro is an 8 core 2008 Model with 16GB RAM hooked up to a 30" Dell monitor.
The MacBook Air is a 2011 model with an Intel 1.8Ghz Core i7 processor with 256GB SSD and 4GB RAM.
I've been hedging my bets on when (or if) Apple will release a new Mac Pro as I've always assumed that I would replace my existing Mac Pro with a new Mac Pro as my primary desktop machine.
The main Dell monitor on my Mac Pro has been starting to display some intermittent faults, so I've been contemplating what to do when it needs replacement. I've always been a bit concerned about paying the Apple tax on monitors, and I'd anticipated getting another Dell monitor for the Mac Pro.
However, with the advent of the 27" Thunderbolt display, I'd started to consider buying an Apple monitor, especially in view of the built in Thunderbolt connectivity and the ability to connect Gigabit Ethernet, USB and FireWire, as well as the built in HD camera and audio.
All accessible from a single Thunderbolt cable.
The thing is, this wouldn't work with my 2008 Mac Pro, even with an updated graphics card. But it would work with my 11" MacBook Air, the only machine I have with a Thunderbolt port. In fact, the 11" MacBook Air would drive the 27" Thunderbolt display at its maximum resolution as well as using it's own display.
That got me thinking...
Single Machine vs Desktop & Laptop
Using a separate desktop and laptop does involve some challenges in keeping data and apps in sync. Dropbox goes along way to sort this out, but my ideal configuration would be to use a single Mac for everything. Ideally, a portable Mac, so when I travel, everything goes with me. No alternate configuration, no making compromises, no realising that an app or data wasn't on my machine when working away from home.
MacBook Air Performance
I'd previously done some benchmarking on the 11" MacBook Air, and have been impressed with it's overall performance.
In normal day to day activities, I really can't tell the difference between the MacBook Air and the Mac Pro. Obviously, with extremely processor intensive tasks such as video encoding, the eight cores of the MacPro are going to beat the MacBook Air every time, but even then, the difference isn't as dramatic as you might expect. Real Life Encoding Blogpost
I've been using the MacBook Air as my primary recording machine since I've had it. All my screencasts have been recorded on the MacBook Air and recently, I've been doing my preliminary editing on the Air as I record. I use ScreenFlow as my recording tool, and for doing the preliminary edit. As ScreenFlow has matured and grown in functionality, I've recently started using ScreenFlow for my full production workflow, including producing the final version of my screencasts.
I'd been wondering for a while if I really needed the power of the Mac Pro for 95% of the time, and if the overhead of trying to use two machines was warranted.
What if I could use my MacBook Air as my main machine?
Formulating A Plan
So, I decided to buy the 27" Thunderbolt Display and try using the 11" MacBook Air as my primary machine for general computing tasks, as well as recording and editing. The Mac Pro would remain as a fallback, as well as being available to offload encoding jobs to, when working in my studio. If it didn't work out, the next desktop machine I get will have Thunderbolt, so I could always use the 27" Thunderbolt display with that.
But what about the other subsystems I use with the Mac Pro, how would I replicate my Mac Pro's capabilities?
I'll post part 2 of the saga over the next few days detailing how I replicated the storage and video capture components of my Mac Pro, and fill you in on how successful the process has been.
Reader Comments (13)
Are you using the MBA keyboard or an external one?
Using the MBA keyboard and the trackpad.
Hi Don,
I'm looking forward to reading part 2.
I do lots of video capture on my Mac Pro using Kona and Black Magic cards, if there was a decent Thunderbolt capture device I think I could work from my Air also.
Having said that, if Apple update the Mac Pro with Thunderbolt in the next few months I will be buying one!
Graham.
Hi Don,
Interesting stuff. I would be interested to know how you have managed with the presumably smaller internal drive in the Air compared to the MBP.
Cheers
Paul
This is the exact same line of thinking I went through when upgrading from my MacBook pro.
I currently have the said setup - 11" i7 MacBook Air docked with the new Thunderbolt Display - and it's doing wonders for me. It's a full powerful desktop experience at home and a true mobile experience when out and about; I just 'undock' the Air and take it wherever it needs to go, and redock it on return with ease.
I have a FireWire hard drive plugged into the display, as well as USB cables for my iPhone/iPad. It really helps in avoiding the hassle of unplugging cables every time you take the MacBook Air away from home.
In many ways, the setup is the best of both worlds. You can see a quick video of my setup here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR8O_XC5xKg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The only unexpected observation has been how little I actually take my MacBook Air out and about. For that, the iPad usually does the job. Of course, your line of work will have different requirements.
Don
The link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR8O_XC5xKg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
is unavailable - according to youtube.
I'm very interested in how you deal with the limited disk size.
Hi Don,
I've been thinking on the same line since the Thunderbolt display got announced back in August...
I've a 13" MBA with 256GB SSD and 4GB RAM, from August 2011.
I don't have the same requirements as yours (no huge video encoding).
My main concern is with storage. If I get rid of my 27" iMac (with 1TB HD), I'll need to attach several FW800 HDs to the Thunderbolt, right.
Questions are:
1. What about access speed to my huge iTunes library? to my huge Aperture libraries?
2. I'm creating websites. All my projects will therefore seat on the MBA's 256 SSD. But all the related stuff (images, videos, and more) will have to be stored on an external FW800 HD, Thunderbolt storage being still extremely expensive for the time being.
I'd be very interested in your opinion and of course in anybody else's opinion and experience about the whole thing.
Thanks.
Don, are you using any type of docking station for the MBA?
No, no docking station. I should have mentioned I'm using the MBA keyboard and trackpad, even though I have a Wacom tablet attached. Find I'm using the trackpad more than the Wacom.
I'm the one that tweeted last week concerning the switch from the 2009 iMac to the MBA. I felt it was the right thing to do, had a mental block thinking I needed a desktop and my heavy desktop using son was steering me away from a MBA. But... you've convinced me, but I will need some type of dock. I just can't deal with the array of wires.
Thanks for all you do. You are worth every dollar...!
@kevinp the link should be working last I checked? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR8O_XC5xKg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
One of the great things about the Thubderbolt Display is its ability to dock peripherals into it. So for storage, I keep a FireWire Hard drive docked into the display's FireWire port. I store my photo library there as well as other large media folders. Those who need larger storage can purchase a 2TB FireWire drive, and I find access to the FireWire drive contents nippier than access to contents on the built in hard drive of my previous 2010 MacBook Pro.
I usually don't need to take those large media folders with me when I take the Air out and about, but if If I do, it's usually a matter of merely unplugging the hard drive from the thunderbolt display and throwing into my bag with the Air and the power supply if required. This setup solves any storage problems for me.
Randy, the 27" Thunderbolt display is the hub (if you go down that route). The only cables to the MacBook Air are the power and the Thunderbolt cable. Everything else plugs into the monitor.
My objection to the Thunderbolt display is the reflective screen. If they offered a non-glare screen, I'd buy a string of them in a heartbeat.