MP 7,1 Mac Pro and standing desk (cable length, mounting)

[chfilm]

Hey,

I'm considering getting a movable desk that can move up to be used as a standing desk and was wondering how to mount the mac pro underneath - since the stupid thunterbolt cables only for the XDR exist only in 2 meter or at horrendous prices like 350€ each in 5 meters, which seems like an INSANE investment to me.
I'm not sure if I'm cool with hanging the mac pro at 19kg underneath a wooden desk though.

There's absolutely no way to extend the TB cables, right? Putting the mac on the desk is also not an option, for optical reasons in this particular room setup.
Any ideas?

 

[KeesMacPro]

A standard height for a table/desk is ~70-85cm.
A standing desk heigher than ~ 110cm will be very uncomfortable, supposing you like to use a keyboard placed on it.
So the difference in height is less than 40 cm ; I imagine this will be no problem at all with a TB cable of 2 meters...

 

[nickxiong26]

This is how I have mine set up right now. The Mac Pro is sitting on top of an IKEA dresser (21.25" height). My desk is set at 42.25". I had a cal digit ts3+ from my previous set up, so I use that to run all cables through the hub. Mounting the MP underneath the desk would be for a nice set up, but I think you'd have to find a desk and mounting brackets that can handle the weight. If you open up your case often I wouldn't mount it underneath.

 

[andrinho14]

I feel your pain. I posted a closely related question a couple of months ago and have finally settled on the Caldigit TS3 Plus as a "middleman", extending the maximum cable length. Yes, it is almost (should be 100 less) as expensive as your 5m cable, but gives me a lot more versatility as a hub (fewer cables I need to run down to the Mac Pro (which sits on the floor)

 

[chfilm]

I feel your pain. I posted a closely related question a couple of months ago and have finally settled on the Caldigit TS3 Plus as a "middleman", extending the maximum cable length. Yes, it is almost (should be 100 less) as expensive as your 5m cable, but gives me a lot more versatility as a hub (fewer cables I need to run down to the Mac Pro (which sits on the floor)

Is it possible to run 2 XDRs through it though?

@KeesMacPro sadly not, I’m already running short of cable for the 2nd XDR in my regular desk setup somehow.

 

[chfilm]

I feel your pain. I posted a closely related question a couple of months ago and have finally settled on the Caldigit TS3 Plus as a "middleman", extending the maximum cable length. Yes, it is almost (should be 100 less) as expensive as your 5m cable, but gives me a lot more versatility as a hub (fewer cables I need to run down to the Mac Pro (which sits on the floor)

Ahhh I see, I could maybe just extend the one cable for the 2nd display via this dock and the first cable might just be long enough... might be the best solution! It does run the XDR display? It says on their website: „The TS3 Plus supports a maximum of two monitors in either a mirrored or extended mode. When connecting one monitor though DisplayPort the maximum resolution is 4K 60Hz. If you are connecting dual monitors the maximum resolution for each monitor is 4K 60Hz. If you connect a monitor to the Thunderbolt 3 port the maximum resolution is 5K 60Hz.“

5k 60 hz is not sufficient. How are you running this?

 

[andrinho14]

Ahhh I see, I could maybe just extend the one cable for the 2nd display via this dock and the first cable might just be long enough... might be the best solution! It does run the XDR display? It says on their website: „The TS3 Plus supports a maximum of two monitors in either a mirrored or extended mode. When connecting one monitor though DisplayPort the maximum resolution is 4K 60Hz. If you are connecting dual monitors the maximum resolution for each monitor is 4K 60Hz. If you connect a monitor to the Thunderbolt 3 port the maximum resolution is 5K 60Hz.“

5k 60 hz is not sufficient. How are you running this?

Yes, good point. I cannot really comment on this as I am running the MacPro with a single display, the LG5k2k, running at 60hz.

 

[ivion]

If this is any help:

 

[ivion]

And a video of the cable in sitting to standing mode:

 

[chfilm]

Guys I might have found a solution, but I need to test it first- it seems that a new generation of USB 4 hubs could serve as an extension possibility for a second cable. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-dock this or this https://www.caldigit.com/de/thunderbolt-4-element-hub-de/. Caldigit claims that it should work and this one is particularly interesting cause it‘s relatively cheap. Sadly it‘s completely unavailable till at least may. I ordered the OWC one and will receive it shortly.

 

[chfilm]

And a video of the cable in sitting to standing mode:

And this is just a single 2m cable, right? My problem is the second XDR which stands further away...

 

[chfilm]

Guys I might have found a solution, but I need to test it first- it seems that a new generation of USB 4 hubs could serve as an extension possibility for a second cable. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-dock this or this https://www.caldigit.com/de/thunderbolt-4-element-hub-de/. Caldigit claims that it should work and this one is particularly interesting cause it‘s relatively cheap. Sadly it‘s completely unavailable till at least may. I ordered the OWC one and will receive it shortly.

Hmmm I got the OWC dock and attached it in various configurations, using both the cable that came with it and one XDR cable, and also both XDR cables, as in and out, but in both configs I get only a 5k signal to my XDR display. What's wrong? Any ideas?

 

[rawweb]

Hmmm I got the OWC dock and attached it in various configurations, using both the cable that came with it and one XDR cable, and also both XDR cables, as in and out, but in both configs I get only a 5k signal to my XDR display. What's wrong? Any ideas?

I had nothing but trouble with that new OWC thunderbolt dock. I was super excited about it, but it didn't work out for me. I received it in December and when using with LAN on my 16" MacBook Pro, as soon as the computer would sleep it would somehow crash and shutdown my Unifi Dream Machine router. Thinking it was a fluke, I tried it on an old Aiport Extreme router and it did the same thing. I sent it back for RMA and their engineers spent the last 3 months working on it with very poor communication. Last week, I just demanded my 260 bucks back. Hopefully they iron out that kink.

 

[matinski]

Hey,

I'm considering getting a movable desk that can move up to be used as a standing desk and was wondering how to mount the mac pro underneath - since the stupid thunterbolt cables only for the XDR exist only in 2 meter or at horrendous prices like 350€ each in 5 meters, which seems like an INSANE investment to me.
I'm not sure if I'm cool with hanging the mac pro at 19kg underneath a wooden desk though.

There's absolutely no way to extend the TB cables, right? Putting the mac on the desk is also not an option, for optical reasons in this particular room setup.
Any ideas?

I attached my MP to my desk for this very reason. It shortens the length of the cables and I can still raise and lower my desk.

 

[chfilm]

I attached my MP to my desk for this very reason. It shortens the length of the cables and I can still raise and lower my desk.

Hey, looks great - what mount is that? I ordered the Corning 5 meter cable and it also doesn't work at 6k but only at 5k. WHY? Nobody knows, I spoke with my senior representative from Apple and he also just could tell me that he doesn't understand and some form of voodoo must be going on with the original cable+XDR so that it's NOT POSSIBLE to make a longer cable. So messed up.
I'm even tempted to accept the 5k resolution but not at that price. Your mount looks like a great solution though, hope I can order it here...

 

[matinski]

Hey, looks great - what mount is that? Your mount looks like a great solution though, hope I can order it here...

Its made by Eureka Ergonomic and comes in black or grey. I bought this one because of the small mount footprint. All of the mounts I found wouldn't fit where I mount it. I bought mine from Amazon in case it didn't work out, I could easily return it.

I added round rubber bumpers on the top and bottom holder brackets so that they didn't markup the MP case.

 

[timerickson]

You can use an optical TB3 cable from Corning to remove yourself from the 6ft (2 meter) constraint of the cable from Apple. I've just purchased one and working flawlessly in Catalina.

 

[ivion]

You can use an optical TB3 cable from Corning to remove yourself from the 6ft (2 meter) constraint of the cable from Apple. I've just purchased one and working flawlessly in Catalina.

Also at 6k resolution on the XDR display with the 580X or the Vega II (or a comparable card without DisplayStreamCompression)?

 

[timerickson]

Yes at 6K and yes full working USB ports

I’m using W5700X, haven’t tested with the 580X or either of the Vega II cards

 

[chfilm]

Yes at 6K and yes full working USB ports

I’m using W5700X, haven’t tested with the 580X or either of the Vega II cards

Ah just great- with the Vega I can confirm that it does NOT work at 6K! Must be because of the lack of DSC. Sigh- my desk will arrive soon, I’ll go with that eureka mount for my Mac and hope it’ll not look too silly.

 

[Ryan P]

I keep mine on the desk. LG 4K thunderbolt displays...they do support daisy chaining, although I have each one hooked up direct. I did have to get one 3 meter 20Gbit thunderbolt cable to stretch to the leftmost monitor and still be able to hide the cord. The main desk is 80” x 30”, with a 42” x 24” return.

 

[chfilm]

I keep mine on the desk. LG 4K thunderbolt displays...they do support daisy chaining, although I have each one hooked up direct. I did have to get one 3 meter 20Gbit thunderbolt cable to stretch to the leftmost monitor and still be able to hide the cord. The main desk is 80” x 30”, with a 42” x 24” return.

Duuuuude what a setup! Seems those cryptos/stocks you’re trading are paying off haha!

 

[Ryan P]

Duuuuude what a setup! Seems those cryptos/stocks you’re trading are paying off haha!

Lol. Thanks.

The standing desk setup totally worth it. My back was killing me before. Has been about 6 weeks and back pain totally gone. I'm standing about 2/3 of the time now, a lot more than I would have thought. I really love the rocker board, gives a pretty insane core workout when you are on it for a few hours.