Attractive or fun decor can really give a computer setup an edge. Real plants. Vintage Apple gear. Epic Lego sets. Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup sports a detailed replica stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars.
It overlooks a Darth Vader-worthy 49-inch Samsung curved gaming display and an Elgato Stream Deck, which is associated with video streaming tasks but can also do a lot for productivity in general through shortcuts.
Today’s featured setup carries a strong vibe of minimalism — so much so it appeared to lack even a computer, at least at a glance at the photograph. But then we realized the laptop was stashed away in unusual (and questionable) fashion.
We recently featured a setup with the MacBook Pro and iPad hidden on a little shelf mounted under the desk. This time the laptop is stashed in a case sitting directly under the monitor stand’s base (not recommended).
Even a small desk can’t keep you from having a powerful computer setup — if you get the right gear and not too much of it. All it takes is a great laptop — like a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air — a vertical laptop stand, a not-gargantuan display and a minimal amount of other gear, as shown in today’s featured setup.
Oh, and consider a monitor arm rather than a stand. That helps keep the external screen out of the way.
With all the computer setups showcased on social media, it takes something special to earn the description “dream setup.” Today’s featured Mac Studio Ultra and M2 Max MacBook Pro setup, which hails from Australia, could be a contender.
Why? Well, when you combine two of Apple’s newest and most powerful computers with a Studio Display and put them in a beautifully laid out workstation with great cable management and premium audio, you’ve got a real ripsnorter (to put it like an Aussie might).
Today’s featured computer setup employs three separate Macs — MacBook Pro, M1 MacBook Air and M1 Mac mini — connecting two of them to a big external monitor using a KVM docking station.
KVM switches are handy when you don’t want to switch cables from different computers using the same monitor and input devices. But there’s another reason the user, Greg Coit, chose the method.
Among the everlasting truths about computer setups, first comes “a setup is never finished.” And the second might be, “A setup can always be improved.” The user behind today’s featured setup certainly found out about No. 2 when he asked for advice on how to improve his M1 Max MacBook Pro and dual-Studio Display workstation.
Find all the advice below — jokes ‘n’ all — as well as all of the setup’s excellent gear.
Wouldn’t it be great if the right job opened the door to building a killer computer setup? It happened for design and product lead Jaime Creixems.
Today’s featured setup is his M1 Max MacBook Pro and Studio Display-driven wonderland, complete with excellent audio equipment and fun sidelights like Lego sets.
When it comes to computer setups, social media loves symmetry. People often praise perfectly symmetrical setups and plenty of folks kind of freak out if anything’s even slightly askew, often supplying their own joking references to obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD.
In today’s warmly lit and well-organized workstation, a high-spec MacBook Pro drives dual Studio Displays. And pairs of other items in the room contribute to the overall symmetry.
Some computer setups are more Apple-ish than others. Apple-y. Apple-centric. Today’s featured M1 Max MacBook Pro outfit welcomes a new Studio Display to replace a recently “retired” 20-inch Cinema Display, and that’s just the start of the Cupertino madness.
Almost everything else in the setup is Apple, too. The input devices, the audio gear — even some of the wall art. And what’s in the book collection? The Cult of Mac hardcover book.
So many people love Apple gear because the Cupertino tech giant gets a lot right with its hardware. That certainly includes monitors, and not just the phenomenal Pro Display XDR and new Studio Display. We see a fair number of new computer setups relying on classic Apple screens like Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display.
Today’s featured MacBook Pro and Xbox setup is a good example. Even with a modern gaming console — and given the right adapter — a display from a dozen years ago is still keeping it real.
Some computer setups are simply music to our ears — almost literally, in some cases. Today’s featured setup sees (and hears) an M1 MacBook Pro playing frontman to a band that includes a few pieces of key audio hardware and software as well as dual curved ultra-wide external displays.
And whether or not it’s “ultra-minimalist,” as stated by the user — it’s not, by almost any definition of computing minimalism — it appears relatively spare and effective.
If you want a healthy computer setup, don’t just check off the “ergonomics” box and leave it at that. In addition to good posture, straight wrists and so on, you’re going to need good lighting to reduce eye strain. And to look good on video, too, of course.
Today’s featured M1 Mac mini setup throws the switch on a couple of lighting products we rarely see.
To a lot of people, “home for the holidays” may mean even more massive amounts of gameplay than usual. That could be the case with the owner of today’s featured computer setup. In addition to two Mac minis, the workstation sports an Xbox Series S with a couple of special-edition controllers.
And two of the three displays in the setup are curved gaming monitors. The other’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro mounted on a stand.
“These go to 11,” says lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel about his specially modded guitar amplifiers in music mockumentary classic This Is Spinal Tap. And today’s featured computer setup probably rocks just about that hard, too.
The Mac Studio, dual Studio Displays and array of killer audio gear in the home-basement setup belong to a working New York City-area rocker. Check out details about his chest-thumping rig, below.
Ahoy there, would-be video streamers — today’s featured computer setup comes from an airtight and seaworthy pro streaming operation you might want to emulate.
The folks behind Sailing Illustrated streams shared their rig, based on a Mac Studio, an M1 Mac mini, an M1 MacBook Pro, a Rode RodeCaster Pro production studio and a slew of related gear and software.
Occasionally a computer setup crops up that just makes you say, “WTF?” That’s what a colleague said about a DIY extravaganza he came across in which three 30-inch Cinema Displays were mounted under glass inside a desk.
The Cinema Display imagery shows up on a mammoth 85-inch screen above — all in a huge, homemade desk assembly. WTF, indeed.
Some people like a lot screens in their computer setup, others like to be glued to one and one only. In today’s featured computer setup, the user wrestles with the question of whether to keep his iPad Pro front and center, right in front of the external display, or just leave it out. Meanwhile, a MacBook Pro sits off to the side in clamshell mode.
Because the user asked for opinions on social media, he got them. Lots of them. But it proved to be a tricky question to answer definitively.
A new external display for your computer setup is usually a joy to behold. It is, after all, what you look at most. And you probably just replaced your old one with a bigger, brighter and more beautiful new one. But sometimes buyer’s remorse creeps in. Is it actually the best screen for your needs that you can afford?
Today’s featured setup comes from a software coder who has started to have doubts about a substantial recent monitor purchase. Will he succumb to them? He’s keeping his eye on the return deadline and asking for advice.
In the 40-odd years that the Mac has been on the market, very few people have actually used all of Apple’s keyboards. I haven’t either, but I’ve come close. Here is my review of every Apple keyboard I’ve got my hands on — ranked from worst to best.
Las Vegas-based graphic designer, video editor and photographer Allen Williams recently made the move from an older iMac to a brand new Mac Studio and Studio Display combo.
He shared his updated computer setup — and a bit about what a difference it makes in his work — with Cult of Mac this week.
Some folks insist people never change, others say they often do. And proof of the latter shows up in today’s featured Mac Studio computer setup featuring Apple’s magnificent 6K Pro Display XDR.
It belongs to a Linux-loving software programmer who used to be strongly anti-Apple, according to her husband.
In the world of computer setups, sometimes it seems like some sort of display arms race is going on. Even five or six screens isn’t uncommon anymore, with a few external displays added to the devices with built-in screens, and all in play in the workstation.
But how about no external displays? Does that work for you? It does for today’s featured MacBook Pro and iPad Air setup. See why below. And don’t overlook that unassuming but very special desk lamp, either.
You, like many people, may build your computer setup around a MacBook Pro. But is yours the “standard setup” for MacBook Pro users?
If you answered “there’s no such thing,” you’re right. That’s why we were surprised to see a reference to such a standard in reaction to a setup with a MacBook Pro, a new Studio Display, an excellent CalDigit dock and a raft of excellent audio gear that not everyone has or even knows about. But maybe they should.
Cybersecurity expert Santego shared his computer setup with Cult of Mac recently, unveiling major audio-visual upgrades in the Mac Studio and ultra-wide display rig. He wanted to improve the quality of his overall sound and his video calls.
And those additions came on top of a beautifully put together setup with great connectivity, power management and backup, as well as specialized lighting and terrific input devices.
A follower of our Setups coverage, he said “You encouraged me to upgrade the space I spend 10 hours a day in working from home.”
Sometimes you just can’t help taking a wholistic approach to a computer setup, taking in the whole room. That’s what happens when the user makes their home office a veritable museum like that which surrounds today’s featured MacBook Pro setup.
Three themes set it apart: The Beatles, the variety of RGB lighting and the concrete blocks holding up the Ikea countertop and the retro Thunderbolt Displays sitting on it.