Today’s featured setup packs two powerful MacBooks Pro — an M1 Max for work and an M3 Pro for play. To give them hassle-free equal time with peripherals, including a big, beautiful OLED smart TV serving as a display, the user employs a Thunderbolt 4 dock bristling with ports for maximum connectivity options.
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Thunderbolt 4 dock connects M3 MacBook Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro to massive LG display
Redditor Halzen (“Hal”) showcased the light-and-airy setup in a post entitled, “Dual laptop work/hobby space.” He runs two MacBook pros, M3 Pro and M1 Max, into a big LG C2 OLED smart TV and a bunch of other peripherals via one of Plugable’s capable Thunderbolt 4 docks.
“Juggling a 16-inch M1 Max for work and a 14-inch M3 Pro for play, so this setup uses a Thunderbolt dock to hook either one up to the TV, speakers, microphone and camera,” they said.
Badass Thunderbolt 4 dock
Hal uses Plugable’s TBT4-UDZ Thunderbolt 4 dock, which packs a whopping 16 ports for epic connectivity. With a PC it can handle four external displays, or two with some Macs. It zaps a laptop with 100 watts of power delivery, though it can also adjust for optimal wattage.
And then there’s all those other ports. Here’s how Plugable described the dock’s connectivity options:
From a convenient spot to plug in your phone, to waving bye-bye to the spotty wifi with 2.5Gbps Ethernet. Get connected with: 2x HDMI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x Thunderbolt 4 (to host), 1x USB-C (10Gbps), 3x USB (10Gbps), 2x USB (5Gbps), 1x USB 2.0 (charging), SD and microSD Card Slots, Audio In/Out, Gigabit Ethernet (2.5Gbps). To reach 2.5Gbps speeds, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet switch or 2.5Gbps network router is required.
Compatibility The TBT4-UDZ is compatible with Windows 10 and later and macOS 11+. Get connected through Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB4, and USB-C via included Thunderbolt 4 cable (40Gbps, 3.3ft/1m).
Audioengine speakers
Hal’s setup also includes a nice pair of white Audioengine A2+ speakers that match his Autonomous standing desk and other elements in the light and airy room.
“How happy are you with the Audioengine speakers?” a commenter asked. “I am considering them to also use them in a mixed use setup and am not sure about how good they are for any scenario that is not music like Microsoft Teams.”
“They’ve been good,” Hal replied. “Bought them in 2019 (I think) and they provide enough bass and a ton of clarity. Use them for music, YouTube and light gaming through Moonlight to a PC.”
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Photo: Halzen@Reddit.com
Computers and dock:
Display and webcam:
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Furniture:
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.
The late-2023 14-inch MacBook Pro packs an M3 Pro chip, 18GB of unified memory, and 512GB of storage, all in a package that can last you a day of heavy use.
