The Mac Studio desktop computer and Studio Display came out on March 18 to (mostly) good reviews. And they’re showing up all over the place in people’s computer setups — especially the displays, according to our unscientific observations, as we scour the internets for interesting gear.
Today’s featured setup is a dual-display workstation. The owner said he’s expecting a new Studio Display to arrive soon. Sounds like it already shipped.
He said he’s going to stick with two screens, so which one of his current monitors is going bye-bye?
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One of the 2 monitors gets to hang with the new Studio Display
Redditor dominicmannphoto (“Dom”) showed off his computer setup in a post entitled, “Updated my WFH a little since my last post here.”
The setup centers on a 16-inch MacBook Pro kept in clamshell mode on a Jarlink vertical laptop stand. The laptop is hooked up to an Anker Thunderbolt 3 dock bristling with 13 ports. It feeds signals from the computer to two 27-inch screens.
At the moment, the two monitors are an LG UltraFine 5K display and a Dell Full HD monitor. As a 5K display, the LG boasts 5120 x 2880 pixel resolution with a Mac-friendly refresh rate of 60Hz. The Dell manages 2160 x 1080 pixel resolution — that’s sub-4K — and a refresh rate of 75Hz, with AMD FreeSync tech for slick graphics processing.
A commenter asked whether the display’s differing resolutions cause any issues.
“Does it bother you mixing screen resolutions with those monitors?” they inquired. “I imagine it’s weird going from 5k to 1080p when you look over or drag something onto the other monitor.”
“It doesn’t bother me too much at all,” Dom replied. “One thing that does tend to be a slight issue is Adobe Bridge. When I drag that to the Dell monitor, any transparent background images (they normally show a grey and white grid background if you’re not familiar) seem to get confused and display a weird black, [gray] and white background.”
But that issue with the background images won’t be a problem for much longer. Dom said as much in his further reply, below. And it clarifies which of those two displays will be shown the door when the new 27-inch Studio Display arrives.
“That said, I do have an Apple Studio Display on its way,” he said. “That will be replacing the LG’s spot and the LG will move over to replace the Dell.”
So long, 1080p Dell monitor and your “weird” background images.
Unusual gear: a Wacom drawing tablet and a Logitech keyboard we don’t see often
Much of the rest of Dom’s fear is pretty familiar, like the BenQ ScreenBar Plus monitor light and the Vivo dual mount for the monitors. But some of it is tantalizingly unfamiliar.
Dom’s Wacom Intuos Pro S drawing tablet is a piece of gear we’ve seen in setups only a handful of times — one tablet model or another. The company said the slim 10.6-inch tablet is “optimized for hours of image editing, illustration or design work.” It comes with a pen that has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity. Try not to waste it on jotting down notes!
The setup relies on Logitech input devices paired with Aelfox keyboard and mouse wrist rests. And while we see the Logitech MX Master 3 wireless mouse more than almost any other mouse — maybe even more than the Magic Mouse — we don’t see much of Dom’s keyboard.
It’s a Logitech Craft Wireless Keyboard. At a $200 list price, it’s on the premium side. Maybe not too many folks want to pony up that price. However, the Craft is sometimes discounted a bit, as it is now on Amazon ($182.98; we said “a bit” and we meant it). The full-sized keeb features a Creative Input Dial that you can set up to use with different apps.
A brief note about the decor and how it smells
And as for that Homesick Candle – United Kingdom sitting in front of the MacBook Pro, a commenter asked if it actually smells like the U.K. and if it actually cures homesickness.
“Haha! I’m not sure it smells too much of home and it doesn’t quite cure my homesickness, but it does smell very nice, which is always a comforting thing! It mostly smells of bergamot, vanilla and toffee,” Dom replied.
Shop these items now:
Computers and accessories:
- 16-inch MacBook Pro
- Jarlink Vertical Laptop Stand
- Anker 577 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock for laptops
- Wacom Intuos Pro S drawing tablet
Displays:
- 27-inch LG UltraFine 5K monitor
- 27-inch Dell FreeSync monitor
- Vivo Dual Monitor Arm Mount
- BenQ ScreenBar Plus monitor light
Input devices:
- Logitech Craft Wireless Keyboard
- Logitech MX Master 3 wireless mouse
- Aelfox keyboard and mouse wrist rests
Audio, furniture and more:
- Ultimate Ears UE Fits earbuds
- Dawntrees Large Felt Desk Pad
- 63-inch Cubiker Desk
- Moleskin Classic Soft Cover Notebook XL
- Homesick Candle – United Kingdom
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.
