Everybody knows Macs don’t set the gaming world on fire, though Apple silicon has made some inroads. So while plenty of Mac users enjoy Apple Arcade and use Apple hardware to play games, many turn to other means. We’ve seen plenty a hybrid Mac – PC computer setups out there.
But today’s featured setup takes another course to gaming satisfaction. It’s owner, who describes himself as an “old gamer,” divides his time between work via an M1 MacBook Pro and gaming on a Valve Steam Deck.
Sometimes looking at computer setups is all about practicality, as in finding the right tools for the job at the right price. But other times it’s like ogling other cool stuff you wish you had, like pimped-out cars or beachfront real estate.
Today’s featured setup is a funny one, in that regard. It’s a “temporary” setup, just getting by in lieu of a bigger, better setup. But its gear could make many people drool with desire.
We see plenty of paired HomePod minis in our travels online among computer setups, but not many stereo twosomes of the OG HomePods, the big ones Apple discontinued that may one day return in some form.
So today’s featured M1 MacBook Air setup is not only super-clean, it rocks that killer sound system and boasts a pricey 5K monitor that rivals Apple’s Studio Display.
And it’s the first setup we’ve come across where someone hates on the wildly popular Logitech MX Master 3 wireless mouse.
We’ve seen a fair number of PC gamers converting to one or more of the new Macs lately, including some who let go of their main gaming machines entirely.
Today’s featured setup fits that bill. It belongs to a UI designer who ditched a gaming PC and got himself a Mac Studio and Studio Display to go with his work-provided MacBook Pro.
But he kept a few gaming devices around, along with a suite of Elgato AV streaming gear and a new Sonos Ray Soundbar used, strangely enough, as a wireless desktop speaker.
These days, more people than ever have more than one computer. That’s because many people work from home or do the “hybrid” work thing, toiling at an office part time but working remotely, too. And that means they probably tap away on both a work laptop and a personal one.
Today’s featured setup follows that trend. And its owner succinctly explained how they go about switching between the two machines on the same external display with the press of a button.
If you’re one of the many, many people waiting longer and longer periods for your Mac thanks to supply-chain delays, we apologize in advance. We don’t mean to rub your face in your misfortune.
But when we find a great computer setup featuring an exciting new 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro splitting time with an Xbox on a 40-inch, curved ultra-wide display, we’ve just got to talk about it.
Photographer and writer Chris Denbow puts an interesting twist on his computer setup. He credits its “Dark Mode” — which is obvious in the photographs of the desk and the room, but extends to the machines and the software he uses — for boosting his focus and creativity. He said the dark theme gives him a “space dedicated to creativity.”
“Introducing ‘Dark Mode,’ a minimal, monochromatic home office/workspace that helps eliminate distractions, [and] allows focus and productivity,” Denbow told Cult of Mac.
We don’t run across huge numbers of computer setups online driven by M1 MacBook Air laptops. When a laptop is the main computer, it’s more often a MacBook Pro.
But a MacBook Air powered by an M1 chip is a formidable machine, whether you’re tossing it in your knapsack for work on the go or leaving it on a stand on your desk, jacked into a USB-C hub and external display.
An M1 MacBook Air drives today’s featured setup — located in Germany — which also features some interesting bits and pieces we haven’t seen elsewhere. Those are a nifty Marshall wireless speaker and a foot hammock.
Mia, a software developer from Detroit who writes mobile apps, got in touch with Cult of Mac recently to share her MacBook Pro-driven, dual-display workstation.
“I love your setup articles but sometimes they make me feel bad about myself,” she said.
Las Vegas-based pianist, composer and educator Travis Lohmann reached out to Cult of Mac recently with an intriguing setup that hearkens back to yesteryear but still gets the job done in the here and now. Or in the “hear and now,” if you like.
It’s not every day you see a 9-year-old Mac Pro and an even older 30-inch Cinema Display getting the job done in 2022, but it happens.
Not every computer setup needs to be a visually stunning technological showcase, despite appearances to the contrary on social media sites. The best setup is the one that gets the job done. And, for many people, simpler is better.
Doug, a lawyer from San Francisco, extolled the virtues of his spare but highly functional MacBook-centered setup when he reached out to Cult of Mac recently.
You look at enough computer setups online and you realize people are never really done with them. There’s always something to add. It could be some gear got held up by shipping delays, or the setup’s owner got a sudden urge to try another type of input device or some other gadget. And people often take ages to tame the cable clutter.
So you rarely see people claiming a setup’s done for good. Or it’s the best it can be. Or it’s the proverbial “dream setup.”
But sometimes they say that. Today’s setup got called a “dream setup” by its proud owner. Would you agree?
A cool aspect of both Mac minis and the newer Mac Studio are the platform-like USB-C hubs festooned with ports and added storage capacity that third parties have designed for them to sit on. Satechi was quick out of the gate with one for the mini, but there are other such cleverly designed, space-saving hubs on the market. And many of them also fit the Studio.
Today’s featured setup boasts a powerful new Mac Studio perched on a Qwiizlab hub as it drives an LG UltraWide display, among other gear.
Apple products are famously not cheap. So much so that some people will go to considerable lengths to avoid shelling out for a new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or iPad with keyboard. Today’s featured computer setup belongs to a traveling musician (famously not rich).
He takes his Mac mini on the road with him. Of course, with a Mac mini, you also need some sort of display and input devices, as in a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad. And you have to find room and set it all up wherever you lay your head.
Is it worth it? For some people, it is. We’ll explain why.
Recently we wrote about a PC gamer converting to the Apple ecosystem, happily, with an M1 MacBook Pro-based setup. Now we have a lucky recipient of not one but two recently shipped Studio Displays, freshly arrived to replace a pair of gaming monitors.
We usually prefer to feature sunny or exotic or just-plain-fun computer setups on Fridays, but today a dark and brooding one caught our eye. A 13-inch M1-powered MacBook Pro and a 34-inch LG curved ultra-wide display are at its center.
But the “cozy productivity corner” also features excellent input devices, formidable audio and a rather nice standing desk.
“Conversion” stories are fairly common in computing, with people deciding to switch from one “ecosystem” or another. Given Apple’s recent rash of hugely popular products, a fair number of folks are switching from PC-and-Windows-based setups to Apple-centric ones.
An avid PC gamer — strike that, a former avid PC gamer — owns today’s featured setup. In it, a new M1 Pro MacBook drives a couple of big displays. And an Elgato Stream Deck and killer audio components also enter the mix.
Here at Setups Central we love spotting people working with gear we rarely or never see. Today’s featured setup includes rarities in the form of its input devices.
One of the peripherals is a high-quality Leopold mechanical keyboard and the other is an original Apple Mighty Mouse, which first came out in 2005. It was the company’s first mouse with more than one button as well as a trackball.
The setup’s owner called the mouse “kind of controversial.” And it was.
When a computer setup sports massive curved and stacked displays, it can be easy to miss other details. Today’s featured Mac mini setup features a 32-inch curved monitor sitting on top of a super-ultra-wide screen spanning a jaw-dropping 49 inches.
But a tiny object sitting off to the right in the photograph quietly steals the limelight. Look at what the AirPods Max headphones are sitting on.
You can have a lot of good gear in your computer setup but still feel it falls short somehow. Like with today’s featured setup, you could have a recent MacBook Pro and an Xbox Series X gaming console. You could have a sweet curved gaming monitor. You might even have a kick-ass Lego Technic McLaren Formula 1 Race Car mounted on the wall.
But do you have stellar audio or just OK audio? That’s the issue our setup’s owner faces.
A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. So today’s M1 Mac mini-driven computer setup, with eight smashing photos, must be roughly equivalent to 8,000 words. But instead of burying you in a horrible cascade of text, we’ll let the pictures tell most of the elegant rig’s story.
The newly updated setup has some exceedingly nice touches. Each of the photos below includes a little commentary.
We love serious audio here at Setups Central. But is it possible for the audio gear in your computer setup to be too serious? For example, can your desktop speakers be too comically oversized, as if you’re making some sort of visual joke about your life being all about the music?
In today’s featured setup, a magnificent 32-inch Pro Display XDR actually manages to look puny in between two monstrously huge Yamaha powered studio monitors. And yet, believe it or not, they may not actually be too big.
After Apple rolled out its new Studio Display on March 18, the reviews poured in. Many praised the 27-inch 5K display. But some found faults. Ultimately, after the dust settled, a primary question lingered. It’s good, for the most part, but is it worth the $1,600 price?
Today’s featured setup seems to answer the question in the affirmative. See how the Studio Display in the photo floats in the air? When you think about it, it’s really just a matter of factoring in the value of levitation.
At a glance, today’s featured computer setup appears simpler than it really is. It showcases a Mac mini, a pair of mounted monitors and some typical-looking input devices. A row of water bottles stands to the right because the owner, who lives in India, is big on hydration as summer hits the subcontinent.
But there’s more to the setup than meets the eye. And some of it escapes the camera’s lens.
Ever show off your painstakingly constructed computer setup only to have everybody race past the gear just to ogle what’s showing on the screen(s)? The desktop wallpaper.
It’s kind of like that with today’s featured setup, the brainchild of a graphic designer.
He put together the dual-monitor setup around a 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with a lineup of nice touches. And he also made the neato race-car wallpaper that got most of the attention.