Trash can Mac Pro bathes in vintage Apple posters' glory [Setups]

For the first computer setup featured in the new year, we look backward. Not to the recently subsided and mostly loathed 2021, but further back to a controversial Apple product launch from nearly a decade ago. And deeper into Apple’s storied history. Cult of Mac reader Michael De Jong shared some interesting older gear and some iconic imagery with us in his setup photographs.

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“I have had many desktop setups over the years, but this my latest,” he Cult of Mac, specifying that this is his latest Mac setup — but not his only setup. “I have other setups in the house — museum setup, media setup, etc.”

What distinguishes De Jong’s Mac setup most is the computer, a distinctive “trash can” Mac Pro from late 2013, and the artwork around the setup. He’s also got two perfectly leveled curved gaming monitors and some other cool gaming gear.

Vintage Apple posters

In the tall photo you can see the retro artwork. The classic image above and behind the monitors comes from the Orwellian “1984″ ad campaign, directed by Ridley Scott, which aired during 1984’s Super Bowl XVIII.

De Jong described it as “1984 revised poster with iPod photoshopped in picture — obtained from 20th anniversary of 1984 commercial (MacWorld).”

An iPod touch poster, probably from the early years after the product’s launch in 2007, overlooks the setup from upper left. iPod touch is currently in its seventh generation, released in 2019.

In this tighter shot, you can see the setup a little more clearly. Cool chair, huh?
Photo: Michael De Jong

Trash can Mac Pro

De Jong also noted he has a 2013 Mac Pro, the notorious trash can-looking one that was, shall we say, not universally loved. History seems to judge it as a misstep, one in which form triumphed over function. A bold and novel design did not excuse certain limitations, like a paucity of ports and limited upgradeability.

Some people loved it, though, and continue to do so. In any case, the base 2013 Mac Pro featured a 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 Processor, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB solid state hard drive.

De Jong’s Mac Pro is hidden, presumably, under his desk. If he did anything differently with his desktop, he said, the machine would be more on display.

“If the desk was wider, I would expose the MacPro and flank the screens with Totem Kin Play powered bookshelf speakers with a subwoofer,” he said. In the meantime, he might just get a subwoofer to go with his Paradigm three-channel sound bar.

Curved gaming monitors

The Mac Pro runs with two curved gaming monitors that De Jong mounted and leveled so they’re nice and even. Both are 34 inches.

One is an MSI curved gaming LED panel with 3440 x 1440 pixel resolution, a 100Hz refresh rate and an 8ms response time to reduce choppy frame rates.

The other is an LG UltraWide QHD screen that has the same pixel resolution, but a 160Hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time for even less blur while gaming.

The scene behind the monitors.
Photo: Michael De Jong

Input devices, amped headphones, gaming chair

In the photos, you can’t miss that De Jong is a gamer. In addition to the gaming-friendly screens, he’s got some other gamer gear.

He sports an Aukey mechanical keyboard, a Logitech mouse for Mac plus a Razer Naga Epic Chroma mouse and a Razer gaming mouse pad.

For great audio, he uses AudioQuest NightHawk Headphones and a AudioQuest Dragonfly USB DAC and preamp/headphone amp.

And then there’s the chair. In many setups, the chair isn’t always worth mentioning. But here it’s a Noblechairs Mercedes AMG Petronas Edition gaming chair — rather racy, isn’t it?

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Computer:

2013 Mac Pro “trash can“

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Input devices:

Media storage:

Audio and video:

Furniture, lighting and accessories:

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.