M1 MacBook Pro with Studio Display excels at intensive gaming [Setups] | Cult of Mac

M1 MacBook Pro with Studio Display excels at intensive gaming [Setups]

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A powerful M1 Max MacBook and Studio Display have no trouble with World of Warcraft.
A powerful M1 Max MacBook and Studio Display have no trouble with World of Warcraft.
Photo: Ursureiks@Reddit.com

Who says Macs aren’t good for gaming? M1 Macs seem to be improving Apple’s reputation on that front, as shown in today’s featured M1 Max MacBook Pro computer setup.

With Apple’s most powerful laptop driving a stunning 5K Studio Display, this player is in gaming paradise. And he digs the display’s sound, too.

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M1 Max MacBook Pro and Studio Display have fun with World of Warcraft

Redditor Ursureiks (“Urs”) showcased the setup in a post entitled, “Made a huge move across the country and had to completely redo my setup.” He didn’t say what the old setup consisted of, but the new one makes great use of Apple gear.

Urs runs a couple of M1 Macs — a 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro and and a Mac mini — with a 27-inch 5K Studio Display mounted on a Vivo arm.

“How does [World of WarCraft] (WoW) do on the Mac?” asked a commenter.

“I mean it’s not a super intensive game but it runs really well on the 5K display,” Urs replied. “It is the M1 Max though. I think you will be okay with it for WoW. If it’s worth mentioning, my previous Macs couldn’t handle big Civ 6 games and now it’s been perfect.”

Though Macs aren’t widely thought of as great gaming machines, it’s not much of a surprise that a MacBook with an M1 Max processor handles the job, with its 10‑core CPU and 32‑core GPU plus ample unified memory (32GB to start, or you can order it with 64GB).

Praise for Studio Display and its speakers

And no doubt the Studio Display makes the action look good, as Urs implies. Another commenter said, “I finally saw the Studio Display at Best Buy today and it’s a beautiful monitor.”

“It definitely is,” Urs agreed. “I was on the fence about getting one and I couldn’t see it in person where I live. Decided to go for it and when it got here I knew made the right choice. Premium quality. The speakers though, they have no business being that good lol.”

Apple’s Studio Display is a 5K Retina display with 600 nits of brightness, support for one billion colors and P3 wide color. It packs a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Center Stage, a three-mic array for clear calls and recordings, plus a six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio.

With Urs enjoying the Studio Display’s speakers (and the MacBook’s speakers are no joke, for that matter), it seems unlikely he gets a lot of use out of that JBL Bluetooth speaker sitting on the desk.

And if you like the desktop wallpaper showing on the screen, you can find it here.

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Computers and stand:

Display and mount:

Input devices:

Other peripherals 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.

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