Lazy Daze Owners' Group

For what it's worth...

I used iMacs for ten years as a full-timer, starting with a 20" model and working my way up to a 27-incher over the years. I love a big screen, especially for photo processing and for watching movies, but also for the luxury of having plenty of space to open multiple windows.

But any 27" display uses a fair amount of power, and the iMacs (even though recent models are much more power-efficient) are no exception. I found myself worrying about my battery state more than I'd like to. And the iMac was the main reason for my expensive solar power upgrades (600 W of panels and 500 Ah of batteries).

I have friends who are professional wildlife photographers, and they use a different setup: a MacBook Pro plus an Apple Thunderbolt display. The benefit is flexibility and greatly reduced power use. Ordinary work such as reading web pages and answering emails can be done on the laptop's screen, which uses relatively little power. For more demanding work such as photo processing, the 27" display is always available.

This past spring I decided to follow suit. I bought a 13.3" MacBook Pro (1 GB RAM/16 GB SSD) and a 27" Apple Thunderbolt display. The MacBook is extremely slim, light and compact. I feared that I'd find the 13.3" screen too cramped, but I quickly adapted to it, and now use it about 90% of the time. And it sips power rather than gulping it.

When I want more screen space, I drop the MacBook into a Bookarc cradle that sits next to the big screen, and plug in MagSafe and Thunderbolt cables. (And turn on my inverter, since the Thunderbolt display requires 120 VAC.) The screen comes to life, and the system is even smart enough to remember that I use a different desktop layout on the big screen than on the small one. I use my Apple USB keyboard and Microsoft mouse. (I don't care for any of Apple's mice.)

Going by the specs, the MacBook is slightly slower than my top-of-the-line iMac was, but in practice the only time I notice the difference is a slight jerkiness when resizing windows in Photoshop on the big screen. On the small laptop screen I can't tell any difference in speed. (And yes, the MacBook Pro's Retina display is fine for Photoshop work, unlike any laptop I've owned in the past.) The Thunderbolt display is not a Retina (5K) display, but I can't tell the difference at my normal 18"-20" working distance.

I'm very pleased with the new setup. It gives me all the advantages of a 27" screen when I want it, but with the small power consumption of a laptop when I don't need the big screen. And of course I can move the laptop around, whereas the iMacs were always strapped to my desk with 3M hold-downs.

Just something to think about...

When I want more screen space, I drop the MacBook into a Bookarc cradle that sits next to the big screen, and plug in MagSafe and Thunderbolt cables.