By David Snow • 8:30 am, August 12, 2022

With so many people working from home these days, a whole lot of them spend much of their life in one room — wherever the computer setup is, that is. And that’s all the more the case in apartments and small homes. So improving the setup can have a pretty big impact.

In today’s featured Mac Studio setup, swapping out two smaller displays for one bigger one, adding a desk shelf and making a few other changes made quite a difference in enhancing the workspace.

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Redditor david_kimm showcased his setup’s transition in a post entitled, “Some enhancements to my room setup!” In it, he included one “before” photograph, below, and two “after” photos (top and bottom of this post).

You can see that the powerful Mac Studio desktop computer remains a constant, but significant changes take place around it.

Kimm found that replacing two older 22-inch monitors with a 32-inch Dell UltraSharp 4K IPS display and setting it on a desk shelf had the most impact of the various changes he made. The Dell’s 8 million pixels and 400 nits of brightness over 32 inches of screen real estate is a big improvement, as is its slight elevation.

“Biggest difference would be the 32” monitor and desk shelf. The workflow has been much better than the old dual 22” display setup (improved focus and a lot more screen space I can leverage + amazing when watching content or playing games on the PS4),” he wrote.

He also appeared to ditch a small ring light behind the displays, removed or stored a USB microphone, changed webcams and replaced his Magic Keyboard with a Keychron K2 mechanical keyboard with a control knob.

“I got the Keychron K2 mechanical keyboard and I absolutely love it. It’s Mac supported as well so all the FN keys will work as expected,” he said. “I got the Brown switch, which makes the keys feel clicky when I type. I type a lot as I’m a developer and I don’t think I’ll go back to the Magic Keyboard, haha.”

The paired OG HomePods remain, but they sit on the desk shelf, which also provides space for various other gadgets, with the Mac Studio tucked underneath.

But of all the changes Kimm made, it was the move from two displays to one that generated the most debate among commenters.

A few choice remarks outline the points nicely:

“I always seem to get neck and shoulder problems with dual monitor setup cuz I look at one screen for a long time while my neck is turned to that side,” Kimm said. “Seems like this new setup allows me to focus much better (I was genuinely surprised too).”

And he added: “I’m able to focus much better than the dual monitor setup where I always have to figure out where my windows are.”

“Definitely prefer one large monitor. Much easier to focus vs. bouncing back and forth between screens,” another commenter said.

But the pro-dual-display camp was also vocal.

“Dual display is life,” one proclaimed. “For work or really any multi tasking my brain cannot compute single display setups.”

“I usually have my monitors offset,” said another, referred to dealing with neck and shoulder pain. “One in front of [me] and the other to the right. For that very reason you mention.”

If you would like to see your setup featured on Cult of Mac, send some high-res pictures to info+setups@cultofmac.com. Please provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or dislike about your setup, and fill us in on any special touches or challenges.