In Monday’s featured computer setup we showcased four tall displays and mentioned we sometimes see six-display setups. But how about eight displays in one setup? That’s today’s outfit.
Hoa Mai, who works in post production on documentary films in Los Angeles, sent Cult of Mac his massive setup. It features three iMacs, a PC and five Dell 4K monitors. Talk about Mission Control.
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Video guys works with 3 iMacs, 1 PC and 5 Dell 4K displays
As a person who works in film production, Mai needs some serious processing power. Three 27-inch iMacs loaded with RAM (68GB, 72GB, 72GB) and a powerful HP PC strapped with 112GB of RAM do that for him.
He drives three of the Dell displays with the iMacs (which also have their own displays, of course) and the other two via the HP PC. Totaling eight screens, that makes Monday’s formidable display lineup look anemic with “only” four.
“[I] wanted to have a setup where I wasn’t limited by lack of tools,” Mai told Cult of Mac. “That is, I can work as fast as my brain would allow vs. ‘Oh, I have to wait for that computer to finish processing footage before I can do anything.’ My current setup allows me to keep things moving forward.”
And by “things,” he refers in part to video processing and rendering on multiple computers, plus other tasks at the same time. For software, he relies most on ShareMouse, which lets him switch computers at will.
“I found Sharemouse the most helpful,” he said. “It is a software-only KVM switch that allows both sets of keyboards/mice to seamlessly scroll/control all monitors/all computers regardless if it is a PC or Mac.”
And what else do you need for that kind of work? Plenty of connectivity, massive amounts of storage and quality audio capability.
Mai has all of that covered, too. You can see his routers, switches and docks, his many terabytes of QNAP and OWC storage, and his impressive JBL, Edifier, Marshall and Mackie speakers and studio monitors (plus their stands) in the gear list below.
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Computers:
Displays:
- 27-inch Dell Ultrasharp U2718Q 4K monitors x3 (for iMacs)
- 27-inch Dell S2721QS 4K UHD monitors x2 (for PC)
Storage:
- QNAP TVS-h1288X-W1250 (96TB)
- QNAP TVS-h1688X-W1250 (198 TB)
- OWC ThunderBay 8 Thunderbolt 3 Storage (96 TB) x2
Connectivity:
- ASUS ROG Rapture WiFi 6 AX Gaming Router (GT-AX6000)
- TRENDnet 8-Port Unmanaged 2.5G Switch, 8 x 2.5GBASE-T Ports
- QNAP QSW-M1208-8C 10GbE Managed Switch
- CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock x 3
- CalDigit Connect 10G – Thunderbolt 3 to 10GB Ethernet Adapter x 2
Input devices:
Audio:
- JBL Professional 305P MkII Powered Studio Monitor
- Edifier R1280Ts Powered Bookshelf Speakers
- Edifier R1700BT Bluetooth Active Near-Field Studio Monitors
- Marshall Kilburn Portable Bluetooth Speaker
- Mackie Big Knob Series, 3×2 Studio Monitor
- Mackie Big Knob Series, 4×3 Studio Monitor
Stands:
- Dual Monitor Stand – Vertical Stack
- Soundrise Desktop Speaker Stands PRO-5 | 5 inch Riser
- Soundrise Desktop Speaker Stands PRO-9 | 9 inch Monitor Stand
- Allsop Metal Art Ergo 3 Adjustable Monitor Stand x2
- BoYata Monitor Stand, Adjustable Monitor Riser x2
Lighting:
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, challenges and plans for new additions.
