Using MacBook Air M1 as a desktop?

[ilikewhey]

I finally found some time today to unpack and hookup my M1 Air to three 4k monitors. Setup took me about a half hour to unbox and get everything working. I live in California so the total cost with tax for this setup was $2322.72. Pretty amazing little setup especially considering it's driving the monitors and powering the laptop through one cable. This is currently sitting on a test desk but will be moved to my office where all cabling and laptop will be hidden under the desk. This setup will replace one of my older 3 monitor setups that's currently powered by a 2015 13" MBP. Setup was a breeze with the plugable. The first thing I did was go to Youtube and watch some Jacob + Katie Shwarz 8K videos and I was blown away at how good the picture quality is right out of the box for these fairly inexpensive 4k monitors. Here's the prices i paid including tax:

(1) 2020 M1 Air, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB, 1TB SSD - $1199
(3) Dell 27 4K UHD S2721QS monitors on sale for $250 each - $823.10
(1) Plugable USB-C Triple 4K Display Docking Station - $300.62

If you've never had a setup like this, then once you use one you can never go back to working on laptop screens unless you are traveling. You get really spoiled with all this real estate and you'll become much more productive.

are all 3 monitors pushing 4k 60hz?

 

[Camarillo Brillo]

Where did you get an m1 air with 16/1tb for $1199? Must be used?

 

[1BadManVan]

Where did you get an m1 air with 16/1tb for $1199? Must be used?

No, it was b&h, the link was posted in the last page

 

[AppliedMicro]

I've been using a triple monitor office setup for 10 years and it's very efficient. I could not run my business without them.

You could. But you don’t want to. You prefer the three screens for being more convenient.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

Budget is not an issue. I have an unlimited budget when it come to gear which is why I have several different machines. That doesn't mean I just throw money away and don't try to get the best deals available when I do buy new gear. I have a 16" MBP M1 and other expensive desktop Macs/displays as I'm a business owner in the tech space. This M1 Air setup is specifically for my office work and I wanted the Air for portability to keep up with work and editing while I travel. Every ounce counts when traveling with bags of camera gear, big white lenses, drones, water housings, etc. When flying to places like places like Africa or on small aircrafts you are very limited with weight, so you micro manage every ounce. Sometimes I have to bring my iPad M1 and connect it to my card readers and SSD's for backup instead of the my other M1 Air because I need those extra few ounces.

So not everyone here buys apple products by stretching every penny in their budget, sometimes it's something specific someone needs. It's not a complete waste of time, in fact I've been using a triple monitor office setup for 10 years and it's very efficient. I could not run my business without them. Maybe you should try it and learn to make money with all that screen real estate instead of mowing lawns?

Cool, I'm very happy for you.

 

[Jwinnin]

I finally found some time today to unpack and hookup my M1 Air to three 4k monitors. Setup took me about a half hour to unbox and get everything working. I live in California so the total cost with tax for this setup was $2322.72. Pretty amazing little setup especially considering it's driving the monitors and powering the laptop through one cable. This is currently sitting on a test desk but will be moved to my office where all cabling and laptop will be hidden under the desk. This setup will replace one of my older 3 monitor setups that's currently powered by a 2015 13" MBP. Setup was a breeze with the plugable. The first thing I did was go to Youtube and watch some Jacob + Katie Shwarz 8K videos and I was blown away at how good the picture quality is right out of the box for these fairly inexpensive 4k monitors. Here's the prices i paid including tax:

(1) 2020 M1 Air, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB, 1TB SSD - $1199
(3) Dell 27 4K UHD S2721QS monitors on sale for $250 each - $823.10
(1) Plugable USB-C Triple 4K Display Docking Station - $300.62

If you've never had a setup like this, then once you use one you can never go back to working on laptop screens unless you are traveling. You get really spoiled with all this real estate and you'll become much more productive.

Thats awesome. I have a two-monitor setup with Dell 2723QEs. I was toying with the the ideal of a 3 monitor setup. Looks amazing, but probably overkill for my needs.