| Cult of Mac

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.

Before and after photos show MacBook Pro rig’s subtle evolution [Setups]

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See if you can spot the differences between the setup in the photo above and the setup in the photo below.
See if you can spot the differences between the setup in the photo above and the setup in the photo below.
Photo: wrong24@Reddit.com

We love it when computer setup users show their work as they trudge toward home-office nirvana. Today’s featured MacBook Pro and iPad Pro setup does it in a subtle way, providing “before” and “after” photos showing incremental changes that improved the workstation.

You can see the before photograph below and the after shot above.

Mounts make the most of this MacBook Pro workstation [Setups]

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A dual monitor mount is used for the external display and the MacBook Pro.
A dual monitor mount is used for the external display and the MacBook Pro.
Photo: MDevonL@Reddit.com

Monitor mounts and the like may not be terribly glamorous or exciting, but they can do an awful lot for a computer setup.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro workstation uses them to make the laptop and two other crucial pieces of hardware easy to move around. And they keep the hardware off the desk, creating space for other items.

Vintage computers flank dual-display M1 MacBook Pro rig [Setups]

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This is a modern computer setup, but Dalzell also has about 100 vintage machines.
This is a modern computer setup, but Dalzell also has about 100 vintage machines.
Photo: Drew Dalzell

Cutting-edge computer setups are cool. Vintage computer museums are also cool. But do you know what’s super-cool? Both. Together.

Los Angeles-based sound designer Drew Dalzell sent Cult of Mac his M1 MacBook Pro setup this week. As it turns out, it sits in the middle of a vintage computer collection. It includes an Apple IIGS, an Apple II Plus, an Ortrona, a Commodore 64 and more. The space is also his business HQ.

You paid how much for that Pro Display XDR? [Setups]

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A Pro Display XDR typically costs about $5,000, but this user got his for quite a bit less.
A Pro Display XDR typically costs about $5,000, but this user got his for quite a bit less.
Photo: hungmale420@Reddit.com

In a world of shockingly expensive Apple products, one magnificent items stands supreme — Pro Display XDR. If you’re among the legion of Apple fans who can’t quite crack open their wallets wide enough for a $1,600 Studio Display, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Today’s MacBook Pro setup sports a Pro Display XDR that came at a shocking price, too — shockingly good, that is, all things considered.

Huge OLED TV makes ‘perfect’ display (for some) [Setups]

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That's a 42-inch OLED HD TV for a monitor.
That's a 42-inch OLED HD TV for a monitor.
Photo: FrankyHi5@Reddit.com

New computer displays tend to get not just better over time, but bigger — within reason. Unlike TVs, they’re designed to be viewed from just a few feet away at most. But increasingly, we see people using smart TVs as external monitors to get that extra size into their desktop setups.

Today’s featured setup sports an M2 MacBook Pro driving a 42-inch LG OLED smart TV that the user describes as “perfect.”

An overpowered gas arm is ready to launch this MacBook Pro [Setups]

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The bass player running this rig said the mount's gas arm is a little over-eager.
The bass player running this rig said the mount's gas arm is a little over-eager.
Photo: stephotosthings@Reddit.com

We recently talked about what a boon to computer setups stands and mounts usually are — but not when they cause problems. Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro setup is an interesting example. The bass player who runs it said the gas-powered arm of the mount where the laptop sits is so hair-trigger it can “randomly launch it into the air.”

That’s not ideal when you have $2,000 laptop not designed for flight. The user also has a PC laptop for work, a massive 4K display and a compact mechanical keyboard and badass speakers we haven’t seen elsewhere.

Bizarre LG DualUp display beguiles another Mac fan [Setups]

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Another oddly shaped LG DualUp monitor finds a home in a Mac setup.
Another oddly shaped LG DualUp monitor finds a home in a Mac setup.
Photo: StijnVDS@Reddit.com

When the eccentric LG DualUp display came out, its nearly square, 16:18 aspect ratio raised eyebrows. But the monitor is kind of like two displays in one, so it’s making inroads into computer setups like today’s featured MacBook Pro workstation.

The user wanted a Studio Display, but he finds the DualUp an economical alternative and then some.

New OnePlus mechanical keyboard plays well with Macs

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It's designed in collaboration with keyboard maker Keychron, and it looks it.
It's designed in collaboration with keyboard maker Keychron, and it looks it.
Photo: OnePlus

Best-known for its smartphones, OnePlus broadened its horizons Tuesday by rolling out the new OnePlus Featuring Keyboard 81 Pro wireless mechanical keyboard, among other products.

The keeb’s name may be off-kilter, but its design and functionality, co-engineered by well-known keyboard maker Keychron, look right on target for Mac users.

Triple-display MacBook Pro rig perches in attic ‘closet’ [Setups]

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A wall mount lets the huge display sit up and behind the others.
A wall mount lets the huge display sit up and behind the others.
Photo: nx10293901@Reddit.com

A room is what you make of it, and today’s featured computer setup finds a home in a room only a computer science student could make. He may have to live in a windowless attic, but he brings a lot of computing power and light to it, making it look and feel larger than it is.

Check out all the gear in the M1 Max MacBook, custom PC and triple-display outfit below.