SOLVED Best way to connect my iMacs for data transfer

[Howard Brazee]

When my M1 iMac arrives, I will be keeping my 2013 27" iMac (with Thunderbolt-1) until one program's conversion to 64-bits is beta. I expect to connect it to my new Mac with either USB or Ethernet and turn off Wi-Fi while the two computers are connected. (Only turn Wi-Fi on when I use my old iMac elsewhere). I will use a utility to synchronize data from that app to my new Mac. Which is better, connecting via Ethernet cable or USB?

Also, I plan on picking up my new iMac and placing it next to my wife's iMac in the other room to transfer data. In that case, I'm sure that Thunderbolt-3 would be faster than either Wi-Fi, USB, or Ethernet. If I used a cable, would I need to turn off Wi-Fi to make sure that the transfer doesn't use it?

Or would sneaker-net be easier using memory cards?

 

[renglm]

Do you have the necessary cables?
If not, think about adapters.
And: take a complete backup and pull up your new machine from that.

 

[Howard Brazee]

I have a Thunderbolt-3 cable, but no Thunderbolt-1 cables. I have an ethernet cable, and I have a replacement cable for my backup drive that plugs into USB-C. I do have a Thunderbolt-1 to Thunderbolt-3 adaptor which is worthless without a Thunderbolt-1 cable.

 

[Howard Brazee]

I didn't find anything to convert Thunderbolt-1 to either USB C or Thunderbolt-3. But for a one-time-only conversion, Ethernet was good enough, thanks.