Are two Macs better than one in a computer setup? People’s opinions differ. What’s overkill to one person could be a perfectly sensible use of resources to another.
Until recently, today’s featured setup ran just an M1 MacBook Air. But then the user added an M2 Mac mini. To discover all the reasons why — especially if you need an excuse to add a desktop machine to your laptop setup or vice versa — read on.
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Why have an M2 Mac mini and an M1 MacBook Air in one setup?
Redditor duane_dibbley showcased the setup in a post entitled, “M1 Air | M2 Mini | Stuff happens here.”
And the stuff that happens there is light coding, web surfing, and music and video production, for the most part. Nothing massively resource-intensive.
“Gotta multi task,” Dibbley said. “Gets things done 3 times quicker.”
That came in response to some snarky comments implying two computers aren’t really necessary for light work. And other commenters came right out and asked why he needs both an M2 Mac mini and an M1 MacBook Air when the latter alone could probably cover his needs.
“I’m curious because I have an Air and when I’m home I just dock it,” one person said.
Reasons to rock an Apple desktop plus an Apple laptop
Another commenter jumped in and said there are lots of reasons to own multiple Macs. That’s certainly true, ranging from a simple need for portability to the type and amount of work and play you need the machines to cover.
Check out a few reasons below and add your own in the comments section if you like. We see multiple Macs in Setups all the time, and sometimes it’s not Apple’s “affordable” wares, as in this post’s example, but the big-ticket beasts.
MacBook Air for travel, Mac mini for home base
“The Air is good for traveling but the screen is a bit small for photo and music,” Dibbley replied to the commenter above.
His machines drive a Samsung 4K external monitor that’s acting up. Read more on that below.
Port shortage
He added that he previously ran his setup with just a MacBook Air. Though a capable machine, its limitations drove him to add the Mac mini.
“I don’t have a dock so once you have power and a monitor plugged in, no more ports,” he pointed out, referring to the port shortage on Apple laptops that used to be worse than it is today. “The cheaper docks looked rubbish and if I was spending a few hundred, I’d prefer to just get the mini and have everything set up.”
Prices are right
And why not? Both machines are on Apple’s low-end, price-wise. A new base M2 Mac mini is currently $550 on Amazon. And a new 2020 M1 MacBook Air goes for under a grand (currently $845 to $900, down from $999).
And if you wanted to do a little future-proofing by getting the more robust M2 Pro Mac mini, that’s $1,250. For that you get years of power and speed from a 10‑core CPU, a 16‑core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, Gigabit Ethernet and a 512GB SSD for storage.
A maxed-out version would cost more, of course — $4,400. Packed into that M2 Pro Mac mini would be a 12-core CPU, a 19-core GPU, 32GB of memory, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and an up to 8TB SSD.
Desktop handles gaming and older Mac have their benefits
Another commenter stepped in with other reasons to own multiple Macs:
- Having a more powerful desktop for gaming and having a laptop for portability.
- Another reason (my reason) is to have multiple Macs from different eras of Apple (eg 68k, PPC Classic Mac OS, PPC OS X, Intel 32-bit, Intel 64-bit, Apple silicon) to have maximum support for software. Because Apple will take every excuse possible to make existing programs no longer run every update.
Cooler Master gaming mouse and mechanical keyboard
For input devices, Dibbley rocks a Cooler Master MM731 wireless gaming mouse and a Cooler Master SK622 mechanical keyboard.
The portable, 60% layout keeb uses low-profile switches for reduced travel distance (how far a key needs to be pressed down). It works via USB-C or Bluetooth connectivity with up to three devices. It’s compatible with macOS, iOS, Android and Windows 8 and up.
“Very cheap but it seems great,” he said of the keeb. “I’m not a MK expert, though.”
Display on the chopping block
As for Dibble’s next upgrade, he expects to get a new monitor. He called his Samsung 4K display “crappy.”
“It barely works so will be the next upgrade,” he said.
Here’s how he described the problems:
It’s a bit beaten up, which is weird for something that shouldn’t get moved much. The connection seems a bit crap, sometimes I turn it on to static for a few second before it works out what it’s supposed to be doing. While it’s turning on and cycling through inputs, it makes a very annoying high pitched noise. The single button on the rear only works about 10% of the time. The colour doesn’t seem to be very accurate, although I am comparing it to the MacBook Air screen, which looks amazing.
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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.
