The AppleThunderbolt Displaymay just be the cleverest display ever . Macworld Lab received our fresh show Friday morning , and we immediately rig out to test the new features .
The $ 999 Thunderbolt Display ’s specifications are impressive , but not much dissimilar from Apple ’s 27 - column inch take Cinema Display ( ) released last year . Both feature LED backlit display with a solution of 2560 - by-1440 pixels , the same brightness rating of 375 cd / m2 , MagSafe power connector for charge a laptop computer , and three USB 2.0 ports . The Thunderbolt Display has a FaceTime HD photographic camera , while the Cinema Display has an iSight camera .
What ’s new — and what ’s really exciting — is the addition of a FireWire 800 port , a Gbit ethernet porthole , and ( of course ) a Thunderbolt port to the back of the show . You get all of these surplus ports , and at the same meter , you have fewer cable to string to your Mac — the Mini DisplayPort and USB 2.0 connector cables on the Cinema Display have been interchange with a single Thunderbolt connection .
The Apple Thunderbolt Display connected to a MacBook Air. A Thunderbolt RAID array (the Promise Pegasus R6, right), and a FireWire 800 RAID array (the Promise SmartStor DS4600, left), are connected to the display.
If you , say , have a FireWire 800 heavy private road , you’re able to unite it to the Thunderbolt Display . That hard thrust is then connected to your Mac via Thunderbolt . Ethernet and USB work in a similar way .
MacBook Air and Thunderbolt Display
The Thunderbolt Display , which was originallyannounced in Julyat the same time as the novel MacBook Air , should be most attractive to owners of 2011 MacBook Airs , bringing some seriously firm I / type O connections to Apple ’s smallest laptop . Never before has the MacBook Air been able to use gigabit ethernet or FireWire 800 outside devices . Before the Thunderbolt Display , connecting a MacBook Air to a pumped up LAN involve an optional USB - to - ethernet connector , and outside drives were limited to pokey USB 2.0 transfer speeds .
The 2011 MacBook Air uses the Eagle Peak Thunderbolt controller , which extend two 10Gbps bidirectional Thunderbolt channels and supports one DisplayPort association .
To examine the unexampled features , we connected the MagSafe and Thunderbolt connectors from the Thunderbolt Display to a unexampled 13 - inch MacBook Air . We touch base to our LAN using the display ’s ethernet connector . The association showed right up in our web organisation preferences .
The Thunderbolt Display (right foreground) has more connectivity options than the Cinema Display (left background).
We then tie a PromisePegasus R6array to the Thunderbolt port on the back of the display . The drive bestride automatically on the MacBook Air ’s background . Next , we connected the Promise SmartStor DS4600 RAID to the FireWire 800 port wine on the back of the showing . Again , the drive mounted on the screen background mechanically .
MacBook Pro and Thunderbolt Display
The new MacBook Pros , iMacs , andMac minisuse the Light Ridge Thunderbolt comptroller , which offers four bidirectional Thunderbolt channels and supports two DisplayPort connections .
We connected the Thunderbolt Display to a 2011 17 - column inch MacBook Pro and were able to mount the two foray , link up to the LAN through the display ’s ethernet embrasure , and link up an LED Cinema Display ’s Mini DisplayPort connector to the 2nd Thunderbolt port on the Promise Pegasus R6 . The show was instantly realise and we were able to drive two 27 - inch displays along with the MacBook Pro ’s built in display — that , my friends , is a fate of cover genuine estate .
The Thunderbolt Display want OS X 10.6.8 or afterwards , and a Thunderbolt - equipped Mac . The Mac Pro is the only air of Apple ’s computers that has yet to be updated with Thunderbolt .
The Thunderbolt and MagSafe cables (front) from the Thunderbolt Display. In the background are the MagSafe, Mini DisplayPort, and USB connectors from the Apple 27-inch Cinema Display.
[ James Galbraith is Macworld ’s lab director . ]
Thunderbolt Display
The ethernet connection on the Thunderbolt Display appears in the Network system preference as Display Ethernet.
A 2011 17-inch MacBook Pro connected to the Thunderbolt Display (left). The Promise Pegasus R6 array is connected to the Thunderbolt Display, while the Cinema Display is connected to the Pegasus R6.
Our MacBook Pro setup, with the Thunderbolt Display (right), a Cinema Display (left), and a Promise Pegasus R6 (next to the laptop).
