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gustavehenne

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 20, 2020
3
1
With everything else that is going on right now I forewarn you that this will definitely be classed as a ‘first world problem’ post.

I’ve always worked from home but done so from an ill-advised setup - at the dining room table, on the sofa, (propped up) in bed etc. although the recent lockdown forced me into new working patterns. Since I can remember I have been a Mac user and I’m now planning to invest some money in my new setup although having a difficult time trying to figure out what to do. I’m not a power user nor one that crunches massive data sets or edits (any) video. I use a lot of web applications, spreadsheets, powerpoint slides etc. but that’s about it. A power office user lets say.

I’m very much into new tech and I got it into my head that buying an Apple Pro Display XDR and Mac Pro base model w/ 2TB would be a cool thing to do. Crazy? yes. Cool? Well, to me yes. The problem is that this comes to £12k which I can stretch to but it does seem like a fantastic amount of money to use it for my PowerPoint slides.

I’ve also considered a multi-monitor (quad 27” 4k displays) hooked into a Mac Pro or maybe even a Mac mini. Does anyone have any takes on what a cool alternative setup could be for c£8k or whether its one of those ‘jump off the cliff' moments and buy the Pro setup...? Any contributions appreciated.
 

Expos of 1969

Contributor
Aug 25, 2013
4,793
9,431
With everything else that is going on right now I forewarn you that this will definitely be classed as a ‘first world problem’ post.

I’ve always worked from home but done so from an ill-advised setup - at the dining room table, on the sofa, (propped up) in bed etc. although the recent lockdown forced me into new working patterns. Since I can remember I have been a Mac user and I’m now planning to invest some money in my new setup although having a difficult time trying to figure out what to do. I’m not a power user nor one that crunches massive data sets or edits (any) video. I use a lot of web applications, spreadsheets, powerpoint slides etc. but that’s about it. A power office user lets say.

I’m very much into new tech and I got it into my head that buying an Apple Pro Display XDR and Mac Pro base model w/ 2TB would be a cool thing to do. Crazy? yes. Cool? Well, to me yes. The problem is that this comes to £12k which I can stretch to but it does seem like a fantastic amount of money to use it for my PowerPoint slides.

I’ve also considered a multi-monitor (quad 27” 4k displays) hooked into a Mac Pro or maybe even a Mac mini. Does anyone have any takes on what a cool alternative setup could be for c£8k or whether its one of those ‘jump off the cliff' moments and buy the Pro setup...? Any contributions appreciated.
What are you using now and what does it not allow you to do that you need to do? Is 8 grand easy for you to spend on something that may be in excess of what you really require but makes you happy?
 

chown33

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2009
10,990
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A sea of green
Figure out where you'll use the equipment first. That means a place to put it, furniture of some kind to keep it on, and a place to put the person using it.

None of the electronic equipment you mentioned (XDR display, Mac Pro, mini, quad 27" displays) strikes me as especially usable from any of the locations you gave:
dining room table - possible, but only if no dining occurs.​
sofa - even a single 27" display seems impractical.​
bed - other than for a laptop or a tablet, this seems even worse than the sofa.​
 

gustavehenne

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 20, 2020
3
1
Figure out where you'll use the equipment first. That means a place to put it, furniture of some kind to keep it on, and a place to put the person using it.

None of the electronic equipment you mentioned (XDR display, Mac Pro, mini, quad 27" displays) strikes me as especially usable from any of the locations you gave:
dining room table - possible, but only if no dining occurs.​
sofa - even a single 27" display seems impractical.​
bed - other than for a laptop or a tablet, this seems even worse than the sofa.​

Sorry, should have said - I have moved the house around a bit and now have a dedicated room for an office :)

This is the setup for the new office in place of the less than suitable previous setups.


What are you using now and what does it not allow you to do that you need to do? Is 8 grand easy for you to spend on something that may be in excess of what you really require but makes you happy?

A fair point. If I went with the 4 x 4k screens I would need a Mac Pro as the Mac mini doesn't support four screens. Plus it has more opportunity in the future to upgrade. It's an expensive choice for sure but it does have me torn....

Thanks for the responses!
 

cambookpro

macrumors 604
Feb 3, 2010
7,228
3,365
United Kingdom
Sounds to me like your computing needs could easily be met by a 27” iMac, or maybe a Mac Mini with two LG Ultrafine 5K displays? I’d use the money left over to buy a really good desk chair if you don’t have one already, a good desk lamp, maybe Philips Hue bulbs/light strips, a hifi system (or WiFi speakers like Sonos), maybe even an iPad if you don’t already own one for around the house use? Kit out the new office with things that will make an appreciable difference to your day, be it making it more comfortable, more fun, easier to do things, etc.

I’m not against spending a lot on tech - I’d be hypocritical if I was! - but I think you could get a lot more enjoyment from £8k worth of tech than paying for specs you’ll never use. The Mac Pro and XDR Display are beautiful pieces of kit, but once the computer is under the desk and you’re doing day-to-day work (i.e. in the XDR Display case, not editing HDR content - PPI and brightness are very similar to the iMac/LG’s 5K panel), you’ll be hard pressed to notice a difference between it and an iMac or Mac mini.
 
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gustavehenne

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 20, 2020
3
1
Sounds to me like your computing needs could easily be met by a 27” iMac, or maybe a Mac Mini with two LG Ultrafine 5K displays? I’d use the money left over to buy a really good desk chair if you don’t have one already, a good desk lamp, maybe Philips Hue bulbs/light strips, a hifi system (or WiFi speakers like Sonos), maybe even an iPad if you don’t already own one for around the house use? Kit out the new office with things that will make an appreciable difference to your day, be it making it more comfortable, more fun, easier to do things, etc.

It's a reasonable point although I have all of the things above and the environment is pretty comfortable - I need to buy a sofa for the room but that's unrelated to tech buying. Divorce brings some wonderful things, like space in the house ;).

I'm planning to do a much more detailed full home network setup as what I've got is fairly rudimentary although wanted to get the core workstation bit right first.

I’m not against spending a lot on tech - I’d be hypocritical if I was! - but I think you could get a lot more enjoyment from £8k worth of tech than paying for specs you’ll never use. The Mac Pro and XDR Display are beautiful pieces of kit, but once the computer is under the desk and you’re doing day-to-day work (i.e. in the XDR Display case, not editing HDR content - PPI and brightness are very similar to the iMac/LG’s 5K panel), you’ll be hard pressed to notice a difference between it and an iMac or Mac mini.

Thanks for your views on this - I've reflected a lot recently and on balance I do agree. I'm going to get some lower-spec 4k monitors but I will likely still splurge for the Mac Pro - not from a position of sanity but that of geekery ;)

The monitor is a step too far although the Mac I could justify... to myself... after drinking... a lot.
 
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cambookpro

macrumors 604
Feb 3, 2010
7,228
3,365
United Kingdom
It's a reasonable point although I have all of the things above and the environment is pretty comfortable - I need to buy a sofa for the room but that's unrelated to tech buying. Divorce brings some wonderful things, like space in the house ;).

I'm planning to do a much more detailed full home network setup as what I've got is fairly rudimentary although wanted to get the core workstation bit right first.



Thanks for your views on this - I've reflected a lot recently and on balance I do agree. I'm going to get some lower-spec 4k monitors but I will likely still splurge for the Mac Pro - not from a position of sanity but that of geekery ;)

The monitor is a step too far although the Mac I could justify... to myself... after drinking... a lot.
Sounds like a good compromise to me. The Mac Pro should at least last a while, and give you something to tinker with. I’d buy one if I had the disposable income and nobody to judge me! Those LG Ultrafines are pretty decent for consumer-grade monitors, and integrate really well with macOS - I’d recommend looking at them if you aren’t already (although at the 4K resolution there’s a lot more options from other manufacturers). I use one 5K display with my MacBook (and occasionally also plug in my old Thunderbolt Display if I’m doing things like video editing where I want a lot more real estate) and it’s fabulous.

Hope you enjoy whatever you buy - and remember to post what you end up with in the Mac Setup thread in the Picture Gallery forum on here ;)
 
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