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Setups - page 10

What Loupedeck can do for your photo and video editing [Setups]

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Loupedeck
Today's user relies on Loupedeck Live for photo and video editing tasks.
Photo: Loupedeck

The other day we featured an M1 Ultra Mac Studio setup. We wanted to loop back to call out a couple of cool components in it — namely, a Loupedeck streaming media console and a Keychron Q1 Pro Mechanical Keyboard. It turns out Loupedeck Live is great for video editing (photos, too!).

You’ll never guess what this user thinks sets Mac Studio apart [Setups]

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Mac Studio
Mac Studio has one of the nicest accessories of its kind a user has ever seen.
Photo: [email protected]

The M1 Ultra Mac Studio set a new benchmark for computing power in a package smaller than Mac Pro when it came out in spring 2022. Today’s setup sparked discussion about the relative merits of the powerful desktop machine, with one user citing a surprising point of praise — the Mac Pro braided power cord!

MacBook Pro rig rocks Sonos sound system [Setups]

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Sonos One SL speakers in MacBook Pro setup
The Sonos sound system consist of Sonos One SL speakers on the desk and a Sonos Beam soundbar behind the user's seat (not shown).
Photo: [email protected]

Sonos audio products are popular for a reason — they sound great and they’re not too far from affordable. Today’s MacBook Pro and Studio Display user thinks the monitor’s built-in speakers are good for many uses, but when they really want the big sound — for gaming, it turns out — they’re all about their Sonos One SL speakers and Sonos Beam soundbar.

Another user pares back to one great external display [Setups]

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Mac Studio setup with 32-inch Dell Dell G3223Q Gaming Monitor
This user chose one 32-inch Dell G3223Q Gaming Monitor over two external displays.
Photo: [email protected]

Trend alert: We’re seeing more computer setups cutting down from dual apple studio display setups — or sometimes a few — to one external display. This is no scientific survey, but today’s setup looks like another example of several we’ve seen popping up on social media lately where a user wants to simplify and focus in that way.

And commenters compared the choice of display that remained — a Dell 4K gaming monitor — favorably to Studio Display.

How gamer avoids neck pain looking up at stacked Studio Displays [Setups]

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Mac Studio setup with dual Studio Displays
You don't see two Studio Displays stacked on a desk shelf every day. But the user says neck pain isn't an issue.
Photo: [email protected]

With all the computer setups out there with two, three and even five displays, sometimes you’ll see them stacked. But a dual-Studio Display setup that stacks one on top of the other is a rarity.

Today’s Mac Studio user, who is also an avid PlayStation 5 and Ninendo Switch gamer, said the stacked displays work well and don’t cause any neck pain from looking up all the time.

Day or night, you can’t go wrong with stereo HomePods [Setups]

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Dual HomePod MacBook Pro setup
The daytime photograph shows the treasured HomePods clearly.
Photo: [email protected]

Paired for stereo sound, two full-size HomePod smart speakers — the original or second generation — are a thing of auditory beauty. And they don’t just sound great, they look good, too. Yet we don’t see paired HomePods much in computer setups (HomePod minis yes, the big ones, no).

Today’s MacBook Pro setup takes full advantage of Apple audio, however, and the user couldn’t be happier. Well, except with Siri, that is. Check out their setup’s cheerful day version (above) and moody night version (below).

User trades 4K display for a second MacBook Pro [Setups]

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Dual MacBook setup
This setup traded a vertical 32-inch display for an M2 Max MacBook Pro, among other changes.
Photo: [email protected]

For the second time in as many weeks we’ve come across someone ditching a nice external display and keeping just one — and this time it’s to add a second powerful MacBook Pro used as both a computer and a secondary display. In fact, now it’s triple-display setup, but two of them are laptops on stands.

No regrets on move from monster PC to M3 MacBook Pro [Setups]

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M3 Max MacBook Pro setup
The M3 Max MacBook Pro in clamshell mode offers plenty of power in a small, mobile footprint.
Photo: [email protected]

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.

‘Small’ MacBook Pro rig punches well above its weight [Setups]

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MacBook Pro setup
Despite appearances, there's really a lot going on here.
Photo: [email protected]

Isn’t it great when someone on social media humbly displays a well put-together and complete computer setup that makes yours look like random debris? Well, at least it’s a good learning opportunity. And today’s MacBook Pro setup is an exceptional example, as it doesn’t look like “all that” — even though it is.

At a glance you might not guess that it packs about two dozen components, and the user is happy to explain how he uses most of them.

Cozy iMac nook makes picture-perfect workspace [Setups]

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24-inch iMac setup
The pink computer really works here.
Photo: [email protected]

Apple’s sleek and colorful all-in-one desktop computer, the iMac, appears in Cult of Mac‘s setups coverage less often than other Macs, but not for lack of trying. It seems people don’t flaunt iMac setups all over social media all that much. But judging by today’s warm and inviting pink-iMac setup, maybe they should.

The cozy little office space also benefits from smart lights we don’t see all that often, either.

Good monitor arms ‘go a long way’ [Setups]

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Mac Studio setup with three mounted displays
This user swears by the arms his 4 displays are mounted on.
Photo: [email protected]

Sure, you can buy a computer monitor and set it up on the stand that came in the box. But what if you want to easily move the external display around? And what if you want to have multiple screens and move them around?

Keeping monitors up off the desk and mobile can really improve your setup. And the best way to do that is to mount your screens on arms. It takes some effort, but as today’s user points out below, it’s worth it.

His sister works for Apple. Brace for jealousy. [Setups]

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Mac Studio setup with 5K Studio Display and 4K Samsung monitor
What do you do if one display is 5K resolution and one is 4K resolution?
Photo: [email protected]

When someone asked a marketing director in the United Kingdom how much money he makes, the man laughed and said, “Not enough to justify the contents of this picture” of his computer setup.

Hey, we get it. But then we suffered immediate pangs of envy when he went on to say, “My sister works for Apple so got a sick deal on a refurbed [Mac] Studio and new Studio Display.”

Yeah, good for you, pal. No, really. We mean it!

Can removing a 4K external display count as an upgrade? [Setups]

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MacBook Pro setup with LG UltraFine monitor on stand
Once again, a monitor riser (and other updates) elevates a computer setup.
Photo: [email protected]

Multiple-display computer setups are all the rage, but can a workstation benefit from losing one of its external monitors, even one with 4K resolution?

If today’s featured MacBook Pro rig is any indication, yes, it can — especially if the outfit sees a bunch of other cool upgrades at the same time, like a cool new monitor riser, an open stand for the MacBook Pro and a great new office chair.

16-year-old Mac Pro drives even more-ancient Cinema Display [Setups]

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2008 Mac Pro and 2005 30-inch Cinema Display
Wait, what year is it again? 2024. Right.
Photo: [email protected]

Say what you will about old Apple hardware, it’s cool and it’s got staying power — sometimes to an amazing degree. Today’s featured setup, for example, sports a 16-year-old Mac Pro with some modifications driving a 19-year old Cinema Display (the big one — 30 inches — first released in 2004, a mere 20 years ago).

The user’s just happy she’s getting the venerable desktop machine to run as fast as her spritely young MacBook Pro … from 2012.

Dual 5K displays and giant DIY desk distinguish this rig [Setups]

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MacBook Pro setup
Cleaned, reorganized and beautifully underlit, this MacBook Pro and Studio Display rig is ready for work in the new year.
Photo: [email protected]

People often compare LG’s UltraFine 5K display to Apple’s Studio Display because they’re directly comparable, with the same size and resolution. But rarely do you find the two in the same setup. That makes today’s dual MacBook Pro and dual 5K display setup something of a rarity.

That, along with the rarely seen Wacom drawing tablet and the truly massive DIY desk, fashioned from a kitchen countertop and mechanized legs.

This MacBook Pro workstation enjoyed a very merry Christmas [Setups]

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MacBook Pro setup with dual monitors
Sometimes the holiday season turns a half-empty desk into a powerful computer setup.
Photo: TemporaryAd_4202@Reddit

Ah, the magic of Christmas. Even a grownup can get deliriously excited about unwrapping a rich haul of computer gear that turns a Charlie Brown Christmas tree of a setup into a powerful workstation that would intimidate Ebeneezer Scrooge. You can also relive the magic and watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales free this season.

Today’s user had a decent MacBook Pro and iPad Pro to begin with, but ended up with a proper, highly functional setup. And commenters had further suggestions for additions, too. Hey, the more the merrier!

Multiple Macs drive phalanx of Dell displays [Setups]

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Mac Studio setup with 3 external displays
Windows on water everywhere in this triple-screened Mac Studio and MacBook Pro setup.
Photo: [email protected]

After a recent debate over whether dual external displays should be lined up straight across or angled for better ergonomics, a Mac Studio and dual-MacBook setup addresses the question in a different way. It uses three identical displays in landscape mode, placing the center one one straight and one on either side of it at an angle.

And the setup also offers connecitivity tips, running the two MacBooks into two of the displays via a CalDigit dock while the Mac Studio drives one directly.

If you have dual displays, try this neat wallpaper trick [Setups]

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Dual-Studio Display MacBook Pro setup
This flat side-by-side look brought up debate, plus the question of getting wallpaper to work that way across two screens.
Photo: [email protected]

Few people would dispute that the extra screen real estate of a second display can be a huge help in a computer setup. But let’s say you have two Studio Displays in landcape (horizontal) mode. Do you place them side by side perfectly straight or do you angle them in some way?

Today’s MacBook Pro workstation brought up the debate and surfaced a cool tip for getting wallpaper to appear half on one display and half on the other.

Studio Display stars in designer’s Lego-rich home office [Setups]

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Setups Jose Munoz desk with MacBook Pro and Studio Display
Munoz loves his Studio Display the most, but he also praises his 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro and other gear.
Photo: Jose Munoz

If Apple’s popular but pricey Studio Display is well-suited to anyone, it’s any type of designer because of the monitor’s formidable graphics chops.

In today’s loaded MacBook Pro setup, a designer sets apart his Studio Display for the highest praise among many items in a remarkably well-equipped workstation. And his Lego collection is epic, too.

How many displays would you add to this MacBook Pro workstation? [Setups]

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MacBook Pro setup with ultra-wide Samsung display
Would you add displays alongside or above this ultra-wide monitor, or replace it?
Photo: [email protected]

If you had a gigantic 49-inch curved ultra-wide display, would you dream of adding more external monitors to it? If so, would you stack them, or add one or two displays in portrait mode (vertical) on either side of the big screen?

A MacBook Pro user with a giant Samsung display is pondering those very questions.

Stunning view comes with top display and killer KEF sound [Setups]

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David David Heinemeier Hansson's Mac mini setup with Pro Display XDR and KEF speakers.
Hansson's setup in Malibu, CA, features a Mac mini mounted behind a Pro Display XDR and a phenomenal set of KEF speakers.
Photo: [email protected]

Developer David Heinemeier Hansson, known for creating the Ruby on Rails web development framework, showcased his rather stunning Mac mini computer setup this week on X (formerly Twitter).

The extraordinary 6K graphics of his Studio Display XDR and the articulate sound of his highly recommended KEF speakers complement the ocean views through the glass walls of his California office.

Slammin’ Mac Studio is just the start of this rig’s massive upgrades [Setups]

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M2 Max Mac Studio setup with two 4K displays
This user went from a 2012 Mac mini to an M2 Max Mac Studio plus a MacBook Air.
Photo: [email protected]

A big upgrade to a computer setup is a major boost to any user. And today’s featured rig, though it may look unassuming, got a doozy of a makeover. A Mac mini dating all the way back to 2012 finally retired after a long career. And a powerful new M2 Max Mac Studio took over, with a late-model MacBook Air riding shotgun.

But that’s not all. Read more about other bonuses in the rejuvenated setup besides the laptop, and check out the full gear list below.

Get festive with holiday desktop wallpaper [Setups]

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Desktop wallpaper with holiday themes in iMac setup
You can almost hear Santa landing on the roof.
Photo: [email protected]

This time of year folks are getting in the holiday spirit and setting up Christmas trees, Hanukkah menorahs or Kwanzaa kinaras. But don’t forget to light up your Mac, iPad and iPhone screens with festive holiday wallpapers, too.

Today’s featured setup iMac and MacBook Air setup is so festive they could maybe skip all the other decorations!

You won’t see a vertical display more nuts than this one [Setups]

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Mac Pro setup with 55-inch curved Samsung display in portrait mode
Can you imagine working on that screen?
Photo: [email protected]

Curved ultra-wide gaming displays have been making their way into Mac setups for quite some time now. But some people want to experiment, maybe push the envelope a bit, so they mount them on top of other displays or sometimes in portrait mode (vertical). But today’s Mac Pro setup takes the cake in that regard.

The user nixed a Studio Display with a high-quality external webam in favor of a truly massive, 55-inch curved ultra-wide Samsung gaming display — mounted vertically. It towers over everything with a pronounced stoop.