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Best Dual-Screen Desk Setup for Mac Studio!

11:01 video

I was looking for a second monitor to go with my Apple Studio Display and Mac Studio, and I think the 14-inch Dell C1422H is the right solution. For months, before the Mac Studio, I used my 16-inch MacBook Pro in front of me with an Eve Spectrum 4K display above it, rather than to the side or in clamshell mode, and fell in love with that setup. I wanted to replicate it with the Mac Studio.

What it is

A 14-inch, 1080p full HD display that connects over USB-C. In the box: a wool travel sleeve, a USB-C cable and the display. The design is minimalist: thin modern black bezels, silver back, and a base with a USB-C port and power button on one side, and another USB-C port, brightness up/down and a ComfortView button (limits blue light, with no adjustment) on the other. It weighs about 20 to 21 ounces and folds into the sleeve.

The angle adjusts from maybe 5 to 10 degrees back to nearly flat, and rubber feet keep it in place. (And, the name: I’d call it the “Dell Tandem” instead of C1422H. Apple doesn’t call the Studio Display the MK0Q3LL/A.)

Specs

  • Matte coating; Dell says 178 degrees of viewing, but brightness drops off quite a bit to the side, so it’s fine head-on.
  • 98% sRGB and 75% P3, up to 300 nits (311 on my equipment) and a 700:1 contrast ratio. Not great, but fine for a secondary office display.
  • A single cable carries power and video, and the second USB-C port allows pass-through charging up to 65 W, enough for a MacBook Air or Pro under normal use.

It’s not in the league of a MacBook Pro’s Liquid Retina XDR display or even a MacBook Air’s Retina display, so if you already use a MacBook with an external display, keep doing that. For a desktop setup, it’s a good secondary display for some things.

Why not two big displays or Sidecar?

I don’t like two displays side by side: even with a second Studio Display (far too expensive), there’s a seam down the middle and you turn your neck left and right. A 27-inch display off to the side feels too wide. I prefer a smaller screen below a larger one: looking up and down feels more ergonomic. An iPad with Sidecar is an option if you don’t want to spend around $300, but for me Sidecar isn’t 100% reliable: it sometimes doesn’t connect, I have to reset the arrangement in Display preferences, the mouse won’t always go down to the iPad instead of the Dock, and there can be wireless lag.

Good and bad

  • Good: the clean, modern design looks great under the Studio Display; the angles are right; a single cable; the cable port on the base is out of the way (I dislike side-mounted connectors); and the second port lets you connect from either side or pass power through.
  • Bad: the response time. At 60 Hz, pixels change color slowly, leaving a tail on moving objects. Fine for office work and documents, but video, even YouTube, shows tearing. It isn’t a good multimedia display.

Verdict

It’s for notes, research, email, logging into servers (which I do every day for my day job) and reference material, not for editing photos or video or watching content. For what I need, it fits the bill in a nice clean package. Does it have what it takes as a secondary Mac display for you? And if you’re still deciding on a main display, I compare the Studio Display and the Eve Spectrum 4K in another video.

In this video

  • 0:00 Just like a MacBook?
  • 0:52 Design
  • 2:44 Display
  • 4:28 Other Features
  • 6:09 VS Other Dual-Screen Setups
  • 7:31 Good and Bad

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

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