Redditor jackwong343 knows how to keep his work computing and his personal use separate — even within a clean, spare and capable computer setup. It all starts with an M1 MacBook Pro for work and an M1 Mac mini for play, and never the twain shall meet.
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He simply uses the laptop strictly for work and the little desktop for everything else. And he doesn’t mess around with docks or cables or software that might help him switch back and forth between machines with both connected to his LG 5K monitor. He connects and disconnects the computers from the display as needed.
This led to a bit of confusion on the part of commenters.
“You could use ‘screen sharing’ app that is installed on all macs and pull up your Mac mini desktop on your MBP. You just have to enable it on your mini,” said one.
“Yeap, but I do it to keep my work and personal life distinctly separate. WFH really screwed up my schedule… lol,” said Wong.
He just doesn’t seem in interested in upping his setup’s connectivity game. And as someone else implied, that kind of simple, manual management is one way to keep the cable clutter down.
2 M1-powered Macs
When asked how he’d compare his M1 MacBook Pro and his M1 Mac mini, Wong didn’t play favorites.
“Since they’re both on M1, I don’t see any difference. They’re equally good imo,” he said. He didn’t include detailed specs for the machines in his post.
In the photo, the mini sits flush on the desk to the left of the monitor. The MacBook Pro sits on a Colebrook Bosson Saunders Ollin Laptop and Tablet Mount to the right.
5K monitor and arm mount
Wong and other Redditors conversed quite a bit about the LG 5k monitor. LG 5K displays for Mac have 5120 x 2160 pixel resolution, a 60 Hz refresh rate, a 5 ms (GtG) response time, built-in speakers and an array of ports — Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, DisplayPort 1.4 and USB Type C.
Wong uses interesting gear to support his. It’s an Ergotron HX UltraWide Monitor Arm Desk Mount. Between that and the laptop mount, how could he not have an uncluttered desk?
Wong and others noted some recent firmware updates seemed to fix some issues in using the LG 5K monitor with M1 Macs, such as poor screen alignment.
“Only bug left for me on M1 Macs is screen will be blindingly bright when you wake from sleep,” Wong said. “Doesn’t happen on old intel Macs, though.”
Mechanical keyboard and Logitech mouse
As you can see in the setup’s photo, Wong likes a black-and-white color scheme.
Regarding his mechanical keyboard, he actually has two. One black. One white. They’re both HHKB Hybrid Type S mechanical keyboards.
“I’ve 2 HHKBs (black n White) which I swap out the keycaps. I’m a Topre switch fanboy tho,” he said, adding that he uses OG PFU add-on keycaps.
Wong uses his keyboards alongside a Logitech MX Anywhere 3 Compact Performance Mouse. He had an easy answer to a concern about the small amount of mouse space on his desk.
“Oh, you can adjust tracking speed [and] sensitivity with the Logitech app. So you don’t really need a big surface unlike the Magic Mouse,” he said.
And if you like the wallpaper on his monitor, you can find it here.
Shop these items now:
- M1 MacBook Pro
- Colebrook Bosson Saunders Ollin Laptop and Tablet Mount
- M1 Mac mini
- LG 5K UltraFine Ultrawide LED Monitor
- Ergotron HX UltraWide Monitor Arm Desk Mount
- HHKB Hybrid Type S mechanical keyboard
- Logitech MX Anywhere 3 Compact Performance Mouse
- Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Plus
- Herman Miller Embody Chair
If you would like to see your setup featured on Cult of Mac, send some high-res pictures to info+setups@cultofmac.com. Please provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or dislike about your setup, and fill us in on any special touches or challenges.
