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chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,425
2,110
Berlin
I remember we used to have a thread like this back in '13 so I thought why not have one again.
Just curious how people are setting up their new machine, how it looks with different displays etc.

I've got one XDR on order for end of January, and am a bit worried about how it's gonna look next to an "ordinary" display ;)

Gotta admit, I preferred the cleaner look with the trashcan on my desk, but hey.
IMG_2003.jpg
DSC01201.jpg
 

uller6

macrumors 65816
May 14, 2010
1,072
1,777
Nice setup! I too like having my trashcan on my desk, but I don't like the mess of wires sprouting from the back. Yours looks a lot cleaner than mine though :)
 

chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,425
2,110
Berlin
Speaking of trash cans... I think the mac pro would fit better on the right underneath your desk than where it is on the left.
Agree- but I’m getting problems with cable lengths because I have several TB2 raids left in that white box and their cables are pretty short...
 
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OkiRun

macrumors 65816
Oct 25, 2019
1,005
585
Japan
I remember we used to have a thread like this back in '13 so I thought why not have one again.
Just curious how people are setting up their new machine, how it looks with different displays etc.

I've got one XDR on order for end of January, and am a bit worried about how it's gonna look next to an "ordinary" display ;)

Gotta admit, I preferred the cleaner look with the trashcan on my desk, but hey. View attachment 885849 View attachment 885848
Is that a heat radiator in back of the Mac Pro?
 
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jasonmvp

macrumors 6502
Jun 15, 2015
422
345
Northern VA
I always get a kick out of showing off my setup. Not because I like to brag, but because of how it triggers people. Specifically the "cables have to be cleeeeeeeean!!!!" people.

IMG_0483.jpeg


Pardon the bad exposure; it's a bitch to meter off anything in that room. But, left to right:
  • My work-provided Macbook Pro, specs listed in my sig. As shown, it was not currently hooked to the two CalDigit Thunderbolt 3 docks that are on the desk; I was using the laptop while getting my new Mac Pro configured up, and needed to see everything on its LCD. So I kept it disconnected. Normally, while I'm WFH, it's connected to the two docks, and I use one of the keyboards you see under the center screen, a Logitech wireless USB mouse, and the:
  • 3 27" 4K displays. The two on the outside are LG 27UK650-W panels running 4K/60Hz. The one in the center is an Asus PG27UQ 4K/144Hz panel that while powered by the Mac via HDMI runs 60Hz. While the gaming PC (that ... thing ... on the far right) is powering it, it runs at 144Hz.
  • New Mac Pro. Specs are in the sig as well. It's new, the cabling is cleaned up yet, and I'm getting my "stuff" all organized and installed on it while I write this. Totally digging it so far except for the noise from the HighPoint NVMe PCI-E cards.
  • (under the Mac on the floor) Mackie DL32R mixer. Just... because. You'll note the iPad under the left-most LCD; that's actually controlling the Mackie via the network. I'm an audiophile with way too much... um... time on my hands. Yeah. Time. That's it. Scattered about the photo you'll also note Mackie studio monitors placed in a sorta/kinda 5.1 setup. And yes, there's on under the center display, too. You just can't see it. The thumper on the floor next to the mixer can shake my entire house, which is both terrifying and awesome.
  • My gaming PC. Specs are here. I was also editing play-around videos on it, but the intent is to move all of that to the Mac Pro, and just use the PC for gaming. In fact, a few days before the new Mac arrived, I completely re-formatted the PC and only re-installed some games.
Yeah, I know the cabling is messed up. I've got a lot of audio equipment on the desk because I just dig it. But that causes some messes. And it triggers folks. ;-)
 

kid2010

macrumors regular
Sep 12, 2013
119
77
Nice! I will have the same setup once my XDR arrives.

What graphics card are you using to drive the two Ultrafine 5K displays and the XDR display?

It's a single Vega II. This setup used up all the ports from the graphics card ?

Code:
Vendor: AMD [00001002]: DiscreteGPU [2 30000] (0)
FBs: 6, Ports: 0x7e mst:0x7e ddc:0x7e aux:0x7e, Streams: dp:6 dvi:7 mst:6 max:6
Framebuffers:
* 0: Address:  1.0 Stream: Enabled  Group: 0   Online   Assoc'd  Grouped           
  1: Address:  2.0 Stream: Enabled  Group: 0            Assoc'd  Grouped           
  2: Address:  3.0 Stream: Enabled  Group: 1            Assoc'd  Grouped           
* 3: Address:  4.0 Stream: Enabled  Group: 1   Online   Assoc'd  Grouped           
* 4: Address:  5.0 Stream: Enabled  Group: 2   Online   Assoc'd  Grouped           
  5: Address:  6.0 Stream: Enabled  Group: 2            Assoc'd  Grouped           
Port Capabilities:
* 1: AUX, DDC, MST
* 2: AUX, DDC, MST
* 3: AUX, DDC, MST
* 4: AUX, DDC, MST
* 5: AUX, DDC, MST
* 6: AUX, DDC, MST
Connections:
* 1: [DP 1.4 4 x HBR3]      Status: [4 x HBR3 7777]      caps [features 0x101001b, p_encoding 0xd]             Sink   OUI:000-016-250 D1baba [068-049-098-097-098-097] HW Version: 17   FW Version: 6.55
* 2: [DP 1.4 4 x HBR3]      Status: [4 x HBR3 7777]      caps [features 0x101001b, p_encoding 0xd]             Sink   OUI:000-016-250 D1baba [068-049-098-097-098-097] HW Version: 17   FW Version: 6.55
* 3: [DP 1.2 4 x HBR2]      Status: [4 x HBR2 7777]      caps [features 0x101001b, p_encoding 0xd]             Sink   OUI:204-045-140 27MD5K [050-055-077-068-053-075] HW Version: 20   FW Version: 3.4
* 4: [DP 1.2 4 x HBR2]      Status: [4 x HBR2 7777]      caps [features 0x101001b, p_encoding 0xd]             Sink   OUI:204-045-140 27MD5K [050-055-077-068-053-075] HW Version: 20   FW Version: 3.4
* 5: [DP 1.2 4 x HBR2]      Status: [4 x HBR2 7777]      caps [features 0x101001b, p_encoding 0xd]             Sink   OUI:204-045-140 27MD5K [050-055-077-068-053-075] HW Version: 20   FW Version: 3.4
* 6: [DP 1.2 4 x HBR2]      Status: [4 x HBR2 7777]      caps [features 0x101001b, p_encoding 0xd]             Sink   OUI:204-045-140 27MD5K [050-055-077-068-053-075] HW Version: 20   FW Version: 3.4
 
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kid2010

macrumors regular
Sep 12, 2013
119
77
Can I ask what you are feeding into it?

Right now it's mostly for SD card, USB-C ports and daisy chain one of the display since the longest Thunderbolt 3 cable on the market is only 2m. The monitor on the left can't reach the Mac Pro directly ?
 
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aerialbyte

macrumors member
Jan 28, 2018
35
14
It's a single Vega II. This setup used up all the ports from the graphics card ?

Interesting, the specs for Pro Vega II on the Apple website says it can handle three 5K displays or two 6k displays. Does that mean the XDR resolution is capped at 5K?

I also have a Pro Vega II in mine and plan on running two 5K Ultrafine, one XDR, and one 49” 5K ultrawide. This confirms that I will for sure need another card to drive all four displays simultaneously, which was expected.

Thanks for sharing the details!
 
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kid2010

macrumors regular
Sep 12, 2013
119
77
Interesting, the specs for Pro Vega II on the Apple website says it can handle three 5K displays or two 6k displays. Does that mean the XDR resolution is capped at 5K?

I also have a Pro Vega II in mine and plan on running two 5K Ultrafine, one XDR, and one 49” 5K ultrawide. This confirms that I will for sure need another card to drive all four displays simultaneously, which was expected.

Thanks for sharing the details!

macOS reported that XDR is running at 6K. I was also super confused when reading Apple's support documents. It never mentioned about how mixing up Pro Display XDR with other 5K displays works. So far it's working fine ?
 
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aerialbyte

macrumors member
Jan 28, 2018
35
14
macOS reported that XDR is running at 6K. I was also super confused when reading Apple's support documents. It never mentioned about how mixing up Pro Display XDR with other 5K displays works. So far it's working fine ?

That’s good to hear. To me it seemed like the documentation was wrong because the graphics card page also says that the unreleased W5700X, which is less powerful than Pro Vega II, is able to support three 6K monitors. That didn’t make sense. When I reached out to Apple to ask, no one was able to answer since the Mac Pro is so new.
 

OkiRun

macrumors 65816
Oct 25, 2019
1,005
585
Japan
Right now it's mostly for SD card, USB-C ports and daisy chain one of the display since the longest Thunderbolt 3 cable on the market is only 2m. The monitor on the left can't reach the Mac Pro directly ?
Thanks. I have one on the way so wanted to get an idea of device segmentation for the Mac Pro.
 
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