If you have a powerful custom desktop PC, why would you switch to a MacBook Pro? We’ve seen plenty of setups that opt to include both, but today’s setup made the swap and its user feels zero regrets.
The Mac laptop is just that powerful, and the option for mobile use proved irresistible.
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Setup’s new M3 Max MacBook Pro replaces powerful custom desktop PC
Redditor juicemaistro (“JM”) showcased the newly refreshed setup in a post entitled, “My simple desk setup. Swipe to see the giant PC I had before.” You can see the setup as it is now, with a base M3 Max MacBook Pro sitting in a vertical laptop stand, above.
And take a gander at the big ol’ desktop PC below. It’s gone now, but the powerhouse machine featured an AMD Ryzen 9 5950x processor, Nvidia GeForce 3070 TI graphics card and 64GB RAM.
Why make the switch?
“Looks great! About to make the same switch, what made you go for a MacBook?” asked a commenter. “And which one did you get, and what are you using it for?”
“I kinda wanted to simplify my setup and have a mobile option to work outside my home office,” JM replied. “I got the base M3 Max. I’m using it for content creation and admin stuff. Lots of Photoshop and Premiere Pro, Notion, Quickbooks, email. Things like that. Also I guess I made the switch because I was to sell my PC at a good price. I don’t regret it at all and everything just works together.”
Though some commenters suggested comparing the large desktop PC and the slim MacBook is an apples-and-oranges comparison because the two machines are so different, JM said otherwise.
“For my use case they are very much comparable,” they noted. “I had my PC in a side table but put it up on my desk to take pictures to sell it. The huge footprint did bother me as I couldn’t carry that PC to work outside of home.”
Likes LG UltraFine monitor but pines for Apple displays
Another person wondered how JM likes the 32-inch LG UltraFine 4K display.
“I really like it. It’s really solid,” they replied. “I’ve had it for like 3 years and never had issues with it. It’s worth it just for the arm it comes with. With that being said, I was checking out the Apple monitors when I picked up my MacBook and those things looked incredible compared to this one.”
“When I bought this monitor I did lots of research and it was the best bang for my buck so if this is a price range you feel good about, I’d say go for it,” they added.
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Photo: juicemaistro@Reddit.com
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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.
Want the most powerful laptop with all-day battery life? The M3 Max-powered MacBook Pro will handle your demanding workload with ease. And you can currently score $200 off the machine on Amazon.
