I recently started a new job, and I needed to figure out what I wanted to do in terms of hardware for work. The company doesn't have any sort of standard setup, so future reference, and in descending order of cost, here's what I decided to get:

• Computer: MacBook Pro, 2016. This workplace is standardized on macs, and they said to get at least 512GB disk, 16GB ram. The main question here was whether to get the current model, or the 2015 model, which they still sell. I was on the fence there—the 2015 one has a larger battery and the older ports—but decided the newer one would probably be useful longer. ($2,762)

• Monitors: 2x Dell Ultrasharp 24" U2415. 1920x1200 resolution, good colors, minimial horizontal bezel. No monitor arm; elevating them on whatever's handy works for me. ($533)

• Desk: Jarvis Bamboo sit-stand, 42x27". I wanted a sit-stand desk that would go down to 24", and most desks out there only go down to 28". This was also the top recommendation on the Wirecutter. ($530)

• Cables: 2x Cable Matters USB-C to DisplayPort. Unfortunately if you want to run two monitors with OSX you have to use two USB-C ports. Under Windows you can use Display Port daisy chaining to drive two 1920x1200 monitors from the single USB-C port, but with OSX all you can do is mirror. ($67)

• Chair: IKEA IVAR. I want a hard chair, and I think I don't have strong preferences, so I figured I should probably start with something cheap and see how I like it. Pretty happy so far. ($25 —free shipping by including it in another order)

• Keyboard and Mouse: I had initially planned to use a separate keyboard and mouse, but after setting things up realized that I'm happier using the laptop keyboard and trackpad.

Update 2017-02-13: Instead of needing to pack up my charger every day to bring home with me, I decided to get a separate one to keep at work. The official USB-C charger is $79, so I was curious if there were cheaper options. This Anker option is $40, though it's 60W instead of 87W. I tried it (with this cable) and it worked well. It charges slower than the stock charger, but still puts out enough power that my battery fills while I'm using the computer.