Running MacBook Pro in 'Clamshell mode' ?
Discussion
Currently looking to buy either a Mac Studio or MacBook Pro.
32" monitor will be used for one of them.
Is Clamshell mode a PITA if you use a laptop, or is it seamless and easy to flip between two modes?
Forget cost in this question... (I understand that the laptop M2 is quicker, either will do for my needs)... just how easy is it to move from laptop to desktop and back if you use your laptop as the main CPU?
Nobody on the interweb seems to answer this question, but I know some of you here will know.
TIA
ETA... oh, and is overheating going to be a problem if I close the lid on a 2023 MacBook Pro and use it with an external monitor for a couple of hours running Adobe stuff?
32" monitor will be used for one of them.
Is Clamshell mode a PITA if you use a laptop, or is it seamless and easy to flip between two modes?
Forget cost in this question... (I understand that the laptop M2 is quicker, either will do for my needs)... just how easy is it to move from laptop to desktop and back if you use your laptop as the main CPU?
Nobody on the interweb seems to answer this question, but I know some of you here will know.
TIA
ETA... oh, and is overheating going to be a problem if I close the lid on a 2023 MacBook Pro and use it with an external monitor for a couple of hours running Adobe stuff?
Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 16th March 14:23
I run a 2019 macbook pro 13" in Clamshell mode daily. Would I prefer a desktop? Of course, but it's a corporate issued device and i had to give my employer this whole essay on why I wanted a mac rather than a pissy low end thinkpad with a terrible screen. (Nothing against thinkpads, but my employer ladens windows with heaps of compliance s
tware and the LCDs are the base resolution).
I 3D printed a little under desk shelf for it, where i connect a single thunderbolt cable to it. That runs to a Caldigit TS4 thunderbolt 4 dock, which itself then connects my mouse, keyboard, headset and a Razer Core X eGPU with a Vega64 which powers two monitors. I need the eGPU as the macbook's built in intel GFX can't run my two 4k monitors on its own and handle stuff like video conferencing at those resolutions.
To answer your question, on the M series macbooks its near seamless switching to and from clamshell mode as the Apple Silicon graphics dont do the whole song and dance of going black for a few seconds. The windows just do their re-jig and thats that. On my coporate intel macbook, it takes a few seconds as you open the lid, but nothing too intrusive.
I'd get the Macbook pro for the convenience, unless you absolutely definitely have a need for the power of the studio.
tware and the LCDs are the base resolution).I 3D printed a little under desk shelf for it, where i connect a single thunderbolt cable to it. That runs to a Caldigit TS4 thunderbolt 4 dock, which itself then connects my mouse, keyboard, headset and a Razer Core X eGPU with a Vega64 which powers two monitors. I need the eGPU as the macbook's built in intel GFX can't run my two 4k monitors on its own and handle stuff like video conferencing at those resolutions.
To answer your question, on the M series macbooks its near seamless switching to and from clamshell mode as the Apple Silicon graphics dont do the whole song and dance of going black for a few seconds. The windows just do their re-jig and thats that. On my coporate intel macbook, it takes a few seconds as you open the lid, but nothing too intrusive.
I'd get the Macbook pro for the convenience, unless you absolutely definitely have a need for the power of the studio.
Edited by devnull on Thursday 16th March 15:09
I'm not using a Pro, but I have used an M1 Air in clamshell mode for 12 months now with zero issues. It has been perfect. Just a shake of the mouse and it wakes up instantly and turns on the external Dell monitors that I use.
I use it with the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, and a Dell D6000 dock, which means one single USB-C connection for charging, printer, webcam, monitors, external drives, etc.
The Pro may also require the MagSafe charger cable attached, as I doubt any docks can supply the wattage required by the Pro.
Using a MacBook in clamshell and docked is the best of both worlds IMO. Acts just like a desktop unit, but will also be a laptop whenever you want it to be.
I use it with the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, and a Dell D6000 dock, which means one single USB-C connection for charging, printer, webcam, monitors, external drives, etc.
The Pro may also require the MagSafe charger cable attached, as I doubt any docks can supply the wattage required by the Pro.
Using a MacBook in clamshell and docked is the best of both worlds IMO. Acts just like a desktop unit, but will also be a laptop whenever you want it to be.
Lord Marylebone said:
I'm not using a Pro, but I have used an M1 Air in clamshell mode for 12 months now with zero issues. It has been perfect. Just a shake of the mouse and it wakes up instantly and turns on the external Dell monitors that I use.
I use it with the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, and a Dell D6000 dock, which means one single USB-C connection for charging, printer, webcam, monitors, external drives, etc.
The Pro may also require the MagSafe charger cable attached, as I doubt any docks can supply the wattage required by the Pro.
Using a MacBook in clamshell and docked is the best of both worlds IMO. Acts just like a desktop unit, but will also be a laptop whenever you want it to be.
Ta.I use it with the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, and a Dell D6000 dock, which means one single USB-C connection for charging, printer, webcam, monitors, external drives, etc.
The Pro may also require the MagSafe charger cable attached, as I doubt any docks can supply the wattage required by the Pro.
Using a MacBook in clamshell and docked is the best of both worlds IMO. Acts just like a desktop unit, but will also be a laptop whenever you want it to be.
Lord Marylebone said:
The Pro may also require the MagSafe charger cable attached, as I doubt any docks can supply the wattage required by the Pro.
I run a 16in M1 Pro in clamshell pretty much permanently powered by USB-C connection to two LG 4K monitors. It’s fine unless the battery is dead or the machine is working extremely hard and drains quicker than the monitor output can charge. In practice, because the M1 is so powerful, it never works that hard. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever heard the fan even come on. Frankly the biggest annoyance is having to type my password in all the time on the external keyboard to unlock it, rather than being able to use the fingerprint reader on the power button.
Had no idea this had it's own name - I do this with my 15" 2019 Pro and my 15" 2021 Pro. I charge and power them via USB-C from the display and have no issues with cooling.
It does quite a good job of remembering where all your windows were when switching between modes, though it seems to do a better job when going back to the external display.
It does quite a good job of remembering where all your windows were when switching between modes, though it seems to do a better job when going back to the external display.
CheesecakeRunner said:
Lord Marylebone said:
The Pro may also require the MagSafe charger cable attached, as I doubt any docks can supply the wattage required by the Pro.
I run a 16in M1 Pro in clamshell pretty much permanently powered by USB-C connection to two LG 4K monitors. It’s fine unless the battery is dead or the machine is working extremely hard and drains quicker than the monitor output can charge. In practice, because the M1 is so powerful, it never works that hard. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever heard the fan even come on. Frankly the biggest annoyance is having to type my password in all the time on the external keyboard to unlock it, rather than being able to use the fingerprint reader on the power button.
My D6000 dock delivers 65w via USB-C and perhaps that is enough to keep a Pro running throughout the day. Even if it does start using up the battery during heavy workload, it will charge again during periods of lesser work.
Fortunately, I don't have any sort of a lock set on mine. I just shake the mouse and thats it. The only time I need the password is when I have actually turned it off, which is infrequently.
andygo said:
Doesn't having the laptop constantly being charged shorten the battery life?
Apparently it does, yes. It is bad for the health of a lithium-ion battery to be kept charged at 100% all the time. Ideally, it should be used to no less than 20%, and charged up to no more than 80%, and run down and charged up reasonably regularly, for optimum life.
I sold my 2019 MacBook Pro 13" after 3 years of solid 'plugged in all the time' use, and upon checking the battery health, the data said it had only ever had 148 battery cycles in 3 years. The battery is supposed to be good for 1000 cycles, so I thought it would be fine. Just after I sold it, the buyer complained that the battery had completely failed, which Apple had confirmed via testing.
I put that down to the battery being plugged in for 3 years and rarely cycled. Looks like I sold it just in time...
The 1000 cycles is apparently enough for about 3 years of daily use, charged, unplugged, and then charged again etc, and after that, it will begin to degrade.
So the question is, do you really care?
I change my MacBook every 3 years so I don't honestly care. Also, it would appear that using it plugged in all the time, or using it unplugged daily all the time, will result in pretty much the same thing, a degraded or shonky battery after 3 years, so why worry either way?
Clearly there will be people who still use a MacBook with an 8 year old battery without issue, as their usage patterns will be ideal for battery life, but that won't be me, and I won't lose any sleep.
Lord Marylebone said:
I'm not using a Pro, but I have used an M1 Air in clamshell mode for 12 months now with zero issues. It has been perfect. Just a shake of the mouse and it wakes up instantly and turns on the external Dell monitors that I use.
I use it with the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, and a Dell D6000 dock, which means one single USB-C connection for charging, printer, webcam, monitors, external drives, etc.
The Pro may also require the MagSafe charger cable attached, as I doubt any docks can supply the wattage required by the Pro.
Using a MacBook in clamshell and docked is the best of both worlds IMO. Acts just like a desktop unit, but will also be a laptop whenever you want it to be.
I have an M1 Air and I have a couple of issues, but that's probably down to the aged docking station that I'm connecting it to.I use it with the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, and a Dell D6000 dock, which means one single USB-C connection for charging, printer, webcam, monitors, external drives, etc.
The Pro may also require the MagSafe charger cable attached, as I doubt any docks can supply the wattage required by the Pro.
Using a MacBook in clamshell and docked is the best of both worlds IMO. Acts just like a desktop unit, but will also be a laptop whenever you want it to be.
I have mine docked n a Brydge vertical dock https://www.brydge.co.uk/products/macbook-vertical...
FaceTime doesn't work particularly wel for me via an external Logitech webcam. People on the other end can see me, but they can't hear me because the damned thing keeps defaulting to the internal mic instead of using the one on the webcam, despite me telling it to use the external webcam mic. So as the lid is shut the internal mic can't pick up anything.
Sometimes applications will just sit bouncing in the system tray without actually opening, although they will always open when undocked with the screen open.
apart from those two quirks it's absolutely fine.
andygo said:
Doesn't having the laptop constantly being charged shorten the battery life?
Recent PC laptops that I've used have an option to restrict charging status to ~80% which reduces this issue hugely. My M1 MBA does it automatically once it has looked into the future and decided you're unlikely to unplug it anytime soon.wyson said:
Whats the advantage of putting it in clamshell mode, as opposed to using the laptop monitor as a second screen?
With older really crappy integrated GPUs, you got better performance on a large external display. That said, I always have mine open and on a stand so it is at a decent height ergonomically, as I want every extra pixel I can get.wyson said:
Whats the advantage of putting it in clamshell mode, as opposed to using the laptop monitor as a second screen?
Everyone will probably have different reasons, but for me it’s just desk neatness and the fact that when at home, I use a wireless Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard anyway, in preference to the keyboard and trackpad on the laptop.It just looks a lot neater to have the laptop shut and neatly stored vertically in a stand, and my main monitors are 2 x 24” ‘frameless’ Dell IPS monitors floating above the desk on a dual arm bracket. The two monitors are more than I need for screen space, so I don’t need the laptop open.
I have an external webcam and mic on the top of my monitors, some external speakers, and all cables neatly zip tied and hidden. Even my dock is attached to the underside of my desk to hide it.
wyson said:
Whats the advantage of putting it in clamshell mode, as opposed to using the laptop monitor as a second screen?
Depends if you want two (or more) screens or you want one bigger one in a better position than a laptop screen. I’m my case I have two identical 27in 4k screens attached to mine with a separate keyboard and trackpad. Much more comfortable for day to day use than a laptop, but when I need to travel for work (mine is work issued kit) I just pick up and go.
I’m using a MacBook Pro M2 in clamshell mode in a cheapy vertical stand from Amazon. It takes almost no desk space and can drive two monitors (4K and ultra-wide) through a docking station which also provides charging. With the Apple Silicon models you want to use an Apple wireless keyboard with touch key, which boots and wakes it up without opening - you couldn’t do that with the Intel models. Charging is adaptive - if it lives in the dock, then it learns to only charge to 80% to prolong battery life
And then of course you can also use it as a laptop
And then of course you can also use it as a laptop
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