| Cult of Mac

Thunderbolt 4 dock helps M3 MacBook Pro share massive display and more [Setups]

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Setups with two MacBook pros and an LG smart TV
A powerful M3 MacBook and its older sibling -- an M1 Max -- play nice with a big LG smart TV via a Thunderbolt 4 dock.
Photo: Halzen@Reddit.com

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.

Powerful Mac Studio rig brings the symmetry [Setups]

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An M1 Ultra Mac Studio drives this setup.
An M1 Ultra Mac Studio drives this setup.
Photo: orglickman@Reddit.com

Computer-setup gawkers on social media love their symmetry. It’s really just human nature to prefer those clean lines and even spacing — you know, stopping short of full-blown obsessive compulsive disorder and blowing a gasket if one little cable appears out of place.

Today’s M1 Ultra Mac Studio workstation brings not only powerhouse computing, but a few tricks of the trade when it comes to creating that pleasing symmetry. And it packs an interesting device we don’t see very often.

Fun ‘overly complicated diagram’ lays out complex MacBook Pro rig [Setups]

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At a glance it doesn't look overly complex, but wait'll you see the diagram.
At a glance it doesn't look overly complex, but wait'll you see the diagram.
Photo: ReportoDownvoto@Reddit.com

Getting a complex computer setup just-so can be a daunting experience for even seasoned users. Maybe somebody should create a diagram or something? Well, someone did, making a highly capable MacBook Pro-and-PC setup with external display, storage, audio and more look even more complicated than it really is.

The sleekly executed diagram delighted viewers on social media. Check it out below.

Maxed-out Mac Studio drives ‘dream setup’ Down Under [Setups]

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This handsomely compartmentalized setup gets its computing power from a maxed-out Mac Studio and a MacBook Pro.
This handsomely compartmentalized setup gets its computing power from a maxed-out Mac Studio and a MacBook Pro.
Photo: vincesuarez@Reddit.com

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).

Dual Studio Display workstation prioritizes open space [Setups]

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Two Studio Displays are better than one, don't you think?
Two Studio Displays are better than one, don't you think?
Photo: FreshJs59@Reddit.com

People who show off their computer setups often go for a clean, spare look without much, if any, clutter — from cables or anything else. But few have as clean and spacious a look as today’s featured MacBook Pro setup with two Studio Displays.

There are many ways of making a setup minimalistic without simply leaving out the crucial gear. In this case, it has a lot to do with a very cool desk with some interesting features.

Super-clean MacBook Air rig shrugs off all distractions [Setups]

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Solid cable management helps keep this MacBook Air setup clean.
Solid cable management helps keep this MacBook Air setup clean.
Photo: kevohreal@reddit.com

Some of the best computer setups look a little boring at a glance. But that’s just because they include only essential gear and they keep it well lit and free of cable (and other) clutter.

Today’s featured M1 MacBook Air setup is a good example. And that’s not to say it’s plain or overly simple. You can see that in  the well-thought-out gear list below, which features 19 items.

Pristine design workstation’s keys to clean cable management [Setups]

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Does this look like a designer's setup, or does this look like a designer's setup.
Does this look like a designer's setup, or does this look like a designer's setup.
Photo: jgcarolina@Reddit.com

Leave it to a digital product designer to work their magic in a tastefully pristine workstation with an absolute minimum of cable clutter. “Cable management gets a 10 out of 10,” one person said of today’s featured computer setup. And all that walnut wood doesn’t hurt, either.

But how did they manage to tame the cable monster?

Clean M1 Mac mini station is an audio-visual beast [Setups]

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This clean, M1 Mac mini-based setup packs a lot of audio-visual firepower.
This clean, M1 Mac mini-based setup packs a lot of audio-visual firepower.
Photo: Halzen@Reddit.com

Some computer setups are remarkably cool for their awesome computing power. Others wow you with incredible displays, with several high-def monitors. And still others blow you away with premium sound. Or, in the case of today’s featured setup, premium audio-visual gear many people would be psyched to get their hands on.

Going from a 27-inch iMac to an M1 Pro MacBook with a 4K external display [Setups]

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This M1 Pro MacBook setup uses a 27-inch Dell monitor and a pumped-up audio rig.
This M1 Pro MacBook setup uses a 27-inch Dell monitor and a pumped-up audio rig.
Photo: Andrew Michletz

Andrew, a customer service experience manager for an internet service provider in Minneapolis, shared his computer setup with Cult of Mac after a big revamp. He replaced a 27-inch 2017 iMac with a 14-inch 2021 M1 Pro MacBook, which he runs alongside his work laptop, a Lenovo ThinkPad T480S. He uses his Apple gear mostly for photo editing and music production.

“With work from home, I needed the ability to use the screen with both my personal computer and my work device,” Andrew told Cult of Mac (he requested we use only his first name). “I had been running Windows on the iMac via Boot Camp and using Miracast to wirelessly extend to the iMac screen from my ThinkPad. When it worked it was great, but it became unreliable over time, and I decided that a monitor with multiple inputs are the way to go.”

Andrew said the Miracast connection with the iMac became unreliable when he got a mesh network. It would sometimes work great, but often fail to connect, despite rigorous troubleshooting. So it was time to do a little shopping.

Why go with stacked displays? [Setups]

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People wonder why one monitor isn't set vertically (portrait) rather than way up high. Well, there's a reason for that.
People wonder why one monitor isn't set vertically (portrait) rather than way up high. Well, there's a reason for that.

When you see people online showing off their computer setups with dual displays, you often see side-by-side horizontal monitors (landscape mode). Sometimes you see a horizontal screen and a vertical one (portrait mode). And sometimes you see stacked displays, with one landscape-oriented monitor mounted on top of another.

Sometimes you see the stack because of space issues, where there’s simply no room to either side of the setup. Other times you see a stack when someone wants to run four or five displays. And there are cases where the user couldn’t get one monitor to work in portrait mode, so they had to have both screens in landscape mode.