Mac Setup: The Mac Pro Man Cave

Jun 6, 2015 - 19 Comments

Mac Pro Man Cave setup with a jumbo screen TV and iPad

This weeks featured Mac setup comes to us from Jordan W., who has a nice dedicated workstation which makes up a self-described “man cave“, complete with some great hardware and a jumbo screen to enjoy it all. Let’s jump right in to learn more:

What hardware is included in your setup?

The setup consists of the following hardware:

  • Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
    • 3.46Ghz 8 core CPU
    • 28gb RAM
    • 4tb HDD’s
    • 120gb OWC Mercury PCIE SSD
    • AMD Radeon R9 280x
  • iPad Air 16gb Wifi
  • iPhone 6 64gb (Used to take photos)
  • Apple Wireless trackpad
  • Apple Wireless keyboard
  • 2tb Time Capsule
  • 2tb Seagate external HDD connected to Time Capsule
  • Sony 46” TV
  • Sony Soundbar

Other geekery consists of a PowerMac g5 as a coffee table with some iOS icon coasters, an Xbox One, some iOS icon pillows I had specially made, and a G5 wall clock.

Man cave Mac pro setup

Why did you go with this particular setup?

I chose the Mac Pro simply because of the life span they can achieve due to their upgradability. I do not have room for a full size desk and monitors in the small room, so I decided simply to use the TV and turn the room into a sort of man cave.

What do you use your gear for?

I do quite a bit of photo editing simply as a hobby, many just from an iPhone 6 but the vast majority from my DSLR. I also love to play games on the Mac Pro, some within OS X and others within Boot Camp, I also have an Xbox One for gaming as well as a retro Xbox. I also like to edit and make movies in iMovie. 

Mac Pro man cave, couch with wireless keyboard and mouse for Mac Pro

Do you have any essential or favorite apps for OS X or iOS?

I love iPhoto and iMovie, both of which I use on a regular basis. Other essentials include Photoshop and Handbrake. One of favourite apps is Geektool, which is very fun the play around with and get your desktop looking funky. I also use Macs Fan Control which can run under OS X and Windows so I can monitor all temps and fans inside the Mac Pro, useful during a long Handbrake or gaming session.

Any advice or productivity tricks you’d like to share?

I would advise anyone with a older Mac Pro to simply upgrade it and extend its life, thats the beauty of this Mac that no other Mac has. Putting a PCIE SSD and a nice powerful GPU inside makes the world of difference, you can even change the CPU’s like i did if you feel you can tackle it. 

I also believe backing up via Time machine is hugely important, I back up to my Time Capsule and to another 2tb HDD thats connected to the Time Capsule, so including the Mac Pro itself I have essentially 3 HDD’s that have my thousands of photos on, I would have to be extremely unlucky to ever lose them!

Mac Pro connected to a  46" tv

Do you have an interesting Mac setup you want to share? We like to feature desks and workstations of all kinds, so go here to get started and send them in! Or, if you’re just looking to check out more setups, you can browse through previously featured Mac workstations too.

.

Related articles:

Posted by: OSXDaily in Mac Setups

19 Comments

» Comments RSS Feed

  1. Droid Freak says:

    Now there is a true FanBoi. Steve Jobs would be proud of you!

  2. Dude says:

    This is a pretty freaking awesome setup, very inspiring and creative!!

  3. Jordan W says:

    The coasters are from ebay, really easy to find and cost about £7, the pillows however i had specially made, there are people on ETSY that make them, i told this particular seller which icons i wanted and he made and shipped them from the Ukraine.

    The upgrades for the MP where around £500 in total, for the graphics card, the PCI SSD, 2x CPUS and the RAM.

    Ive always liked the man cave idea and thankfully for girlfriend doesnt really mind, the room would have any use otherwise. Although i really have run out of room now so im looking forward to moving house to get a bigger room in which i would like a projector and an actual desk and monitors for the MP. The TV works ok as a monitor, nice and big but not as good as a monitor for games and photo work.

  4. Wharf Xanadu says:

    I’ve found a 1080p TV works quite well as a display if you’re sufficient distance from it. I bet this works really well. Good to have a dedicated room for play.

  5. Ken Dodd says:

    Why?

  6. John says:

    Where did you get the coasters and how much did the Mac Pro and upgraded cost?

  7. ian says:

    What kind of webcam is that? I’m looking for one. It’s the only thing missing in my mac mini setup.

  8. Ethan says:

    Looks like a fun room, love the iOS icon coasters and pillows, where did you find those?

    Also really like the idea of using the wireless keyboard and mouse in a true wireless fashion like that, from the couch! That’s genius, I’d do that in my living room but I think my wife would kill me. I guess I need a mancave too, I think once upon a time a mancave was just called a den, right? LOL. Anyway, this gives me an idea for the spare bedroom, just gotta sell the wife on it. Thanks.

    • Bob says:

      I find the whole concept “man cave” to be completely cringeworthy!!! if not outright misogynistic!

      The idea of using a wireless keyboard from the couch is not genius – rather, it is obvious…..

Leave a Reply

 

Shop on Amazon.com and help support OSXDaily!

Subscribe to OSXDaily

Subscribe to RSS Subscribe to Twitter Feed Follow on Facebook Subscribe to eMail Updates

Tips & Tricks

News

iPhone / iPad

Mac

Troubleshooting

Shop on Amazon to help support this site