Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Salty · Apr 15, 2012, 07:39 PM

So, I just ordered a new 27 inch Thunderbolt display. I've been wanting one since around Christmas and it just took a bit for me to decide to drop that kind of cash on it ... but the Sharp TV I bought because I wanted both a TV and a monitor turns out to not be terribly colour accurate ... not to mention I want the extra resolution.

Part of me thought of holding off for the supposed retina displays that were going to eventually come into the MacBooks. But I imagine those are not coming any time soon ... and I figured I'd probably cave eventually. I figured I had the money in the bank so I didn't need to take out any debt to get it ... and I knew I was going to eventually cave ... so I figured I'd cave now save later hahaha.

boy8cookie · Apr 15, 2012, 08:25 PM

Cool story, bro.

Don't you have a blog?

Salty · Apr 15, 2012, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by boy8cookie

Cool story, bro.

Don't you have a blog?

So what you're saying is, you're too good for social skills?

mduell · Apr 15, 2012, 09:50 PM

I think the technology is there (volume and affordability) for high res MacBooks within a year; I don't know if Apple will choose to implement them.

Salty · Apr 16, 2012, 12:23 AM

I'm guessing that within a year we'll see higher res screens in the MacBooks you're right, hopefully around 150-200 ppi. That said I doubt that they'll have that high of res screens in a 27 inch or more size any time soon and that's really what I've been needing.

The Godfather · Apr 16, 2012, 12:44 AM

You bought right and I hope you got a nice deal on that LCD. Not sure what you needed the thunderbolt for though.
When retina monitors are offered on the market, at the size you need, your Mac will probably need a new GPU to support it.
Would you need apps to be updated for retina, lest be shown in fat pixel mode?

Salty · Apr 16, 2012, 02:03 AM

Yeah I didn't even really think about that. Good point. I've always wanted one of Apple's big monitors and right now given the built in Thunderbolt they're not that over priced compared to what else is on the market using the same sort of panel.

I'm looking forward to it a great deal. I've found while working on my graphic novel that I sometimes get really frustrated by the way that this Sharp TV is displaying the colours. I didn't realize just how many image tweaking things were built into TVs that you can't turn off. It looks great for watching broadcast stuff but when it comes to ensuring things are going to look properly on an iPad it's a pain.

The one saving grace is that I've pretty well made swatches of all my major colours so so long as I keep drawing the same way it should all look fine. And it doesn't look bad on my iPad.

I'm also really excited to only have to plug in two cables.

Salty · Apr 16, 2012, 05:43 AM

Oh hey, look nobody's reading my post now that it's been moved to the "proper forum." Ugh, why do I bother.

ghporter · Apr 16, 2012, 06:31 AM

Hey look! You're wrong-it is being read.

I haven't looked much into Thunderbolt because I don't have a newer Mac, but this does sort of alter my perception. I'm thinking that my aging first-gen MBP may need to be retired in the not too distant future, and Thunderbolt may drive that to be sooner rather than later.

CharlesS · Apr 16, 2012, 12:15 PM

Something I've been wondering about the Thunderbolt Display for a while — if you plug a USB 1.1 device (like a mouse) into one of the USB ports, does it slow down USB 2.0 devices connected to the other ports, or are they separated to prevent that from happening?

Just curious.

imitchellg5 · Apr 16, 2012, 05:00 PM

Nobody's commenting because it isn't clear what there is to comment about. Cool story bro?

cgc · Apr 16, 2012, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by Salty

So what you're saying is, you're too good for social skills?

I think boy8cookie was saying people typically post here with a question. You posted a statement which belongs in a blog. I concur but I see where you're going so I think there's a question hidden in there. boy8cookie prolly doesn't like or have time for word searches...

Salty · Apr 16, 2012, 09:48 PM

I actually posted this in the lounge, where people normally post stories about boobs and other random stuff. But one of the mods thought that it belonged in a forum mainly used for trouble shooting. But thanks for proving my point

Salty · Apr 16, 2012, 11:49 PM

Also how in the hell is a 1000 dollar monitor consumer hardware?!

angelmb · Apr 17, 2012, 05:09 AM

Apple Displays are not Ugra certified mostly due to a poor gray balance, so for certain Pros they are indeed consumer hardware no matter the tag price. Please note, this doesn't mean these displays are 'bad', far from it. Needless to say Ugra certified displays carry a heavy price tag, although there are rare exceptions like the Nec P221W which is very affordable.

Most people can live with an Apple Display. Heck, most people wish they had an Apple Display like yours. !!

Enjoy it, the Apple Thunderbolt Display is a thing of beauty.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 17, 2012, 05:32 AM

Originally Posted by Salty

Oh hey, look nobody's reading my post now that it's been moved to the "proper forum." Ugh, why do I bother.

Sorry to be harsh, but: Nobody's responding because nobody gives a ****, since your issues aren't related to the Display.

subego · Apr 17, 2012, 05:58 AM

I picked up a TB display a few weeks ago. It's very pretty.

The big downside for me so far as been the dearth of even the most basic TB peripherals. I could use 4-5m of cable between the monitor and the computer. The most that's possible right now is 2m and to do that you burn a port on the monitor, not to mention the extra cord you get dangling off the back.

It also has some massive glare issues, but I'm lucky enough I have someplace where I have total control over the lighting.

subego · Apr 17, 2012, 06:16 AM

What Apple wants me to do is use it with a lappy.

It actually works... right up until you cool an i7 and a 6750 with those ass-fans.

Three feet from your head.

SierraDragon · Apr 17, 2012, 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by subego

What Apple wants me to do is use it with a lappy.

It actually works... right up until you cool an i7 and a 6750 with those ass-fans.

Three feet from your head.

Interesting. My fans very seldom come on (17" 2011 MBP, SSD, 8 GB RAM, i7/6750M, matte display + Viewsonic VP2365 external display; Aperture, PS & Netflix as the demanding apps). I will guess you are using a 15" maybe?

Or maybe the Apple display is what is demanding. The Viewsonic does not even get the fans up in my old 2006 C2D MBP in clamshell mode used for the same apps.

In any event the glare from Apple displays is so irritating to me I could never own one without retrofitting an anti-glare film. They sure are gorgeous though.

-Allen

subego · Apr 17, 2012, 01:16 PM

It is in fact a 15".

Salty · Apr 17, 2012, 03:29 PM

Hmmm I'm hoping my 13 inch MacBook Pro will be able to power that display alright.

I'm hoping the next version of the 13 inch keeps the same size and adds a huge battery and better GPU.

subego · Apr 17, 2012, 03:57 PM

I'm guessing the dual-core is a mite bit cooler than the quad.

FWIW, I only hooked it up to my MBP for giggles. The screamer fans are an issue even with the built-in monitor.

The Mini it's plugged into only has integrated graphics, but so far hasn't had an issue pushing pixels.

subego · Apr 17, 2012, 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by SierraDragon

In any event the glare from Apple displays is so irritating to me I could never own one without retrofitting an anti-glare film.

I'm taking more extreme measures. Blackout curtains and several gallons of Munsell N8 paint.

Yes. It's that bad.

Salty · Apr 20, 2012, 07:01 PM

The new display is gorgeous. Though I'm a little weirded out by the fact that everything is smaller than on my MacBook. I thought I'd worked it out and it was going to be bigger. I guess this gives me reason to try and get a higher res MacBook.

subego · Apr 22, 2012, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by subego

I'm taking more extreme measures. Blackout curtains and several gallons of Munsell N8 paint.

**** it. Dropping to N5.

Salty · Apr 22, 2012, 10:35 PM

You know I don't see the glare issue you guys are complaining about. I just make sure there aren't any lamps behind my monitor and I'm totally fine. It's simple physics. Frankly even if there weren't glass there you'd be diminishing your monitor's picture by hitting it with light from the wrong angle.

subego · Apr 23, 2012, 07:28 AM

Originally Posted by Salty

You know I don't see the glare issue you guys are complaining about. I just make sure there aren't any lamps behind my monitor and I'm totally fine. It's simple physics.

I don't have any lamps behind my monitor. Thanks for the physics lecture though.

SierraDragon · Apr 23, 2012, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Salty

You know I don't see the glare issue you guys are complaining about.

Yup. Each person's eyes/brain see differently. You are one of the fortunate ones.

-Allen

Salty · Apr 26, 2012, 02:44 PM

Um ... I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not. But I seriously have no issues with my Apple displays.

CharlesS · Apr 26, 2012, 02:46 PM

Salty, if you connect a USB 1.1 device to one of the USB ports on the display, does it slow down USB 2.0 devices attached to other ports on it?

subego · Apr 26, 2012, 07:41 PM

My experiments seemed to indicate one doesn't affect the other.

Not 100% sure my old Apple mouse is USB 1.1, however it did say its max. communication speed was 1.5Mbps (in the system profiler).

It's an Apple Pro Mouse model M5769. I'd do more research but I'm right out the door.

SierraDragon · Apr 26, 2012, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by Salty

Um ... I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not. But I seriously have no issues with my Apple displays.

No sarcasm. Many folks find the glare from Apple displays unacceptable. Many others do not. E.g. when Apple removed matte as a laptop display choice the uproar from graphics pros convinced Apple to add matte display options in the top MBPs.

subego · Apr 27, 2012, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Salty

Um ... I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not. But I seriously have no issues with my Apple displays.

Cool story, bro.

CharlesS · Apr 27, 2012, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by subego

My experiments seemed to indicate one doesn't affect the other.

Not 100% sure my old Apple mouse is USB 1.1, however it did say its max. communication speed was 1.5Mbps (in the system profiler).

It's an Apple Pro Mouse model M5769. I'd do more research but I'm right out the door.

Looks like the Pro Mouse M5769 was introduced in 2000, so that should definitely be USB 1.1. Thanks for checking that out!

subego · Apr 27, 2012, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Looks like the Pro Mouse M5769 was introduced in 2000, so that should definitely be USB 1.1. Thanks for checking that out!

You know, hold on a second. I'm not sure what I tried with the other device was enough to saturate 1.1. I'll dig up a different USB 2 device and run the tests again.

subego · Apr 27, 2012, 04:02 PM

Okay, I think I've confirmed it.

Copied over a 5GB file to a thumb drive. The copy was approximated by the computer at 7-8 minutes. That sounds USB 2 to me... I think.

I then plugged in the mouse, and confirmed it was working. No apparent change in copy speed.

If that's a bad or incomplete experiment, I'll be glad to try something else.

CharlesS · Apr 27, 2012, 08:33 PM

5 GB / 8 minutes would be about 83.3̅ Mbit/s, which is definitely above USB 1.1's capabilities. It sounds like the USB ports on this don't get bogged down by USB 1.1 devices. Nice!