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Would it be bad to mount a macbook pro upside down on a VESA tray?
I've got a smaller desk with two monitor arms -- one with a monitor (left side, different system) and one with a VESA mounted tray for my macbook pro (late 2013 15".)
I'm going to be adding a 1440p monitor from the macbook pro, but I'm short on desk space. Instead of having the laptop on the tray normally, if I lay it lid down with the laptop portion up, the laptop base could sit behind the new monitor with the screen coming out the bottom -- perfect for static applications like VSCode, iTerm2, etc.
Here's a mock up. The thicker outline represents the macbook pro screen.
Can anybody foresee any issues with this configuration?
When I was shopping around for mounts for my own setup, I stumbled upon a VIVO mount specifically for your kind of setup. I don't know if it will work perfectly for what you want, but it's probably going to be better than trying to rig up something yourself.
p.s. My setup: https://i.imgur.com/OQRVsCY.jpg :)
yeah, I think a mount like that might work out. Like @NobelPath said, flipping the laptop might cause unnecessary stress on the hinge. I think I'll end up with something like the arms you linked and run the laptop side by side.
I love these 'mission control'-like setups like yours. This is what I have now.
Ultimately, I wish I could just have a tower that runs MacOS that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I've got a modded chromebook as my 'out on the town' system.
What about a Hackintosh?
I've kept an eye on that scene for quite a while. It seems like a good option, but I'm trying to avoid having another piece of tech that has a craaaaazy setup. I seem drawn to things like rockbox, jailbreaking, etc where I end up fiddling / working around odd issues. It's basically my favorite thing, but in the same, I don't want that for a production system.
All that being said, I might do that if I can sort out the proper hardware. I'm in the market for a new PC to run Windows anyway, so this might do two birds.
That's a pretty sweet setup for just one monitor and a laptop. Super clean and efficient. I especially love the back-lighting too.
And after seeing it, I am even very tempted to grab one of those laptop stand mounts for myself. I have been considering getting a stand-up desk for a long time now, but they are really expensive and I don't even know if my knees can take it, since I have had multiple surgeries on them over the years. So since that mount would potentially allow me to stand when using my laptop, I can give standing for long periods at try without dropping several hundred $. :P
yeah, that laptop mount was a great find. This is the tray I have -- I got mine with the full arm, but if you already have arms, there's no need for more.
That lighting is so handy. Since this photo I've added four hue bulbs for the rest of the room, but the I still use that strip every so often. It's a perfect glow for late nights.
Ikea has a decent standing desk with a crank, though. Not too expensive, either. The upside is that you can return it within the window if you find that standing is too much.
I've considered either that sort of standing desk or building a pipe desk that is higher on one end (probably the same width as depth), maybe with some storage or something below the higher part.
It's tough to get the perfect desk setup, eh? When I eventually build a desk, I am certain that I'll put lots of grommets in it so I can easily hide cables without running them down the back edge of the desk. I think that'll be way cleaner.
I have seen that IKEA desk before, and others like it, but IIRC the weight limits for them are generally only 100lbs or so and I suspect I am well above that already with all my monitors+stands, my desktop PC and various other peripherals. Most of those kinds are also a bit small for what I would need, so I would likely have to buy at least 2. :/
That DIY pipe desk is super cool though, and if it turns out my knees can handle a standing desk and I decide to get one, I might just have to look into making a DIY one like that for myself (or getting my BIL to make one fore me ;). I especially like the idea of being able to customize it some more with storage underneath, grommets and integrated cable management.
Lol, tell me about it. And it's made more difficult because my collection of monitors, keyboards, mice, controllers, laptops, etc seems to keep growing steadily too. ;)
wtf. 110lb for a desk is nothing --- basically a keyboard, monitor, and someone leaning on it.
Pipe desks really seem like the best. They can take as much weight as anything, and you have full control over the height and width. For me, I want a really shallow (15") but longer desk (5') -- I'm definitely not the target market for the desk industry.
Really, we all just need Stefan Didak's setup :)
*drools profusely* Good god, that is glorious. That is basically my dream setup, but I would want ultrawide curved 144hz bezel-less monitors instead. :P
man, that'd be a dream. I'd love to have a lesser version of this layout with a bottom monitor tilted like that. Basically a dedicated panel for notes and weechat. This is all pointing to me needing a slightly deeper desk.
after all of this, this is what I settled on. https://i.imgur.com/D9WhsA3.png
I got a new dual arm for the left side, and used my old on the right. Nothing crazy.
Nice, that looks great! ... although the vertical alignment of the monitors being slightly off would bother me to no end. :P Or is it just the perceptive of the photo making it look that way?
ha. well, they're separate computers. The left one is a little NUC and is only for media. But the angle of the photo also makes it look extra wonky.
I'm also fake-sleeping the mbp's display using a magnet instead of disabling it internally. A light magnet at the base of the left speaker does the trick.
Are you actually using all 3 keyboards, or do they just live at your desk?
I use all 3 regularly. In that pic, the center keyboard is my old but still reliable MS Sidewinder X6 which I use for gaming, since it has:
The left side bottom keyboard is my Cherry MX Blue mechanical keyboard that I use for typing, which I am using right now to write this.
And the left side top keyboard is my Koolertron hardware programmable macro half-keyboard which I use for task automation. E.g. For rapidly creating invites and sending them out to users that request them on the /r/tildes official invite threads, complete with an included boilerplate message.
I also have another standard MS wireless keyboard + mouse combo on my coffee table for when I am sitting at my couch, since my 47" TV is hooked up as my 6th PC monitor. And I also have 2 other mice I regularly use at my computer desk as well; A Logitech G502 for gaming + daily use, and a Razer Naga specifically for playing MMOs/RTSs.
Maybe I'm ignorant to your use-case or budget here, but why not just get a Mac Mini? You can spec them out pretty decent, they're actually intended for what you've got set up, they've got better thermals than the any MacBook, more ports...
Unless you're going to "undock" the MacBook every now and then? Otherwise I would just sell it and upgrade to a Mini.
I've thought about that, actually. I'm starting to do more video work, so I'm not sure how well that would work. I wish they made something in between the Mac Mini and the pros -- and something I could upgrade. But while I'm getting my wishes, I'd also like a pony and another season of The Wire.
I'm stuck in that limbo where my current system is working well, but I'm tight on desk real estate and would benefit from a beefier system -- but not enough where I want to drop a couple grand. Ultimately, I think I'll be find if I figure out a good monitor setup and build a new desk. I also want to get a mid-level gaming PC going -- which is a whole other bag. I only play two games, but I'd like to get into some more.
I've been putting this off for so long, it's silly.
I was able to find a top spec'd 2014 Mini for $350 on ebay, with 16gb of ram and a 256 SSD: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-3.0-late-2014-specs.html
Might be worth a look if it's comparable to your 2013 Macbook Pro.
holy smokes. That's pretty decent, eh. I think I'll definitely go down the mac mini route when the time comes. That with an 'on-the-low-side' gaming PC would cover me nicely.
Thanks for this! This thread has really relieved me of my fears about retaining my workflow in the future, which is weird to admit.
I wouldn’t do that myself. I think you risk improper stress on the display hinge.
Edit: why can’t you set the mbp (closed) vertically somewhere?
Good call! Another buddy of mine said the same thing. The lid would be on the tray and I could build something to relieve the stress on the hinge, but after a good night's sleep, I've realized that this layout would be awkward and not really worth the risk.
I read somewhere that running the system closed can lead to the plastic around the hinge breaking down -- not really sure how, but I do a lot of processor heavy stuff, so I should allow this thing to vent as much as it can.