Some setups are no-nonsense, just the facts, ma’am — strictly utilitarian. Others are fanciful and full of toys. Today’s featured setup leans toward the latter, with its burgeoning population of Transformer figures crowding the shelf above the display and even related wall art.
And there’s plenty of gaming going on there, too, via a custom gaming PC and Nintendo Switch OLED in addition to an M1 MacBook Air and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Oh, and it has one of the coolest speaker systems ever made, too.
In today’s featured computer setup, owned by a web developer, a 2012 Mac mini shares the spotlight with a new 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro.
Before you think, “Wow, the Mac mini must be amazing, competing with that sleek new laptop,” nah, this is more like take-your-great-grandfather-to-work day for the elderly little desktop machine.
It’s around because it still works for light lifting. And it does indeed show impressive longevity.
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.
We enjoy seeing computer setups grow and change. We last looked at today’s featured setup when its user described it as “temporary” back in June. Since then it has metastasized into a monstrous beast with a maxed-out Mac Pro, a 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, iPad mini and dual Pro Display XDRs.
And the custom-made desk with lights against a dramatic backdrop of 3D wall panels really enhances the setup, too.
Display towers — when monitors are stacked on top of each other — aren’t super common in computer setups. But they’re not terribly rare, either. From time to time we’ve even seen three stacked horizontally in the middle with two posted vertically on the sides. But today’s featured triple-display MacBook Pro setup sports an unusual choice at its base.
You can’t miss the 49-inch Samsung curved ultra-wide screen in the middle and the nice 34-inch LG 4K display on top. But at the bottom lurks a TidByt, which is a retro display for sports scores, stock prices and more. We don’t recall seeing one featured in a setup.
Getting great new gear for your computer setup has more than just the obvious benefit of awesomeness. Sometimes it’s the perfect reason to improve your setup in ways most people put off, like the dreaded cleaning up of cable clutter.
That’s what happened with today’s featured dual-display-and-M1 Max MacBook Pro setup. The user finally got his new Studio Display, and good things followed in the terms of taming the cable monster.
If you’ve got a tiny desk for a workspace, you’ve got to make the most of it. Today’s featured computer setup centers on an M1 MacBook Air driving a small 4K external display, clearly going away from the trend toward big-screen-TV-sized displays for a reason — namely, vanishingly small desk space.
A small external display is one way to save room. But the user has some other tricks up his sleeve, as well. Let’s take a look.
Modern computer setups lean more and more on smart lighting for practical uses and to set the mood. Some of it can even pulse and change in sync to music or action on your screen.
Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup leans heavily on colorful Nanoleaf smart-light patterns on the walls — so much so that people compared it to a strip club.
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.
