I recently shifted to an M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 24GB - base model from Windows Machine. I was reading few sub-reddits where most
people going for 48GB just to be future proof which they would never require mostly. Personally, I am fine with
24GB except that it doesn't allow much bigger LLM but realized that bigger LLM then would require more memory
bandwidth also which would mean M4 Max. Decided to go ahead with M4 Pro base model and will use online LLM.
I wouldn't spend money on the absolutely newest hardware like some new car buyer unless I were a decamillionaire, but even then, I don't think unthrifty habits are all that wise to adopt because they "leak" into other areas of life and habits also.
An 2021 M1 Max 64 GiB 2 TiB is only $1800, while an average 2024 M4 48 GiB 1 TiB is $4000. I'll take 1/3 more RAM over just slightly better performance and worse reliability for half the price. As long as the battery has at least 85% of life remaining and the SSD doesn't have excessive volume of wear, it's a better choice unless you absolutely needed every second of time and you're making $1M TC or owning a startup with a funding run-rate / TTM crunch like you're going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight.
Lot of people don't realize this - "I don't think unthrifty habits are all that wise to adopt because they "leak" into other areas of life and habits also." I personally faced this too.
Interesting perspective on preferring more RAM than a bit down performance which is potentially true as M1 apple mac are quite fast for most use-cases.
It depends entirely on your use-case(s). The cost and profiteering of new MBPs is so absurd and drifting away from classic SJ innovation and value, that its borderline immoral to $upport it. I do approve of their fig leaf potentially SSD swappable and repairable Mac mini M4 (and maybe Studio at some point), albeit the power switch is completely wrong for wall & rack mounting and brackets; I hope OWC will release some classic upgrades to mini and Studio rather than external sleds that are slower and bulkier. The trap TC fell into is that chasing design alone with maximum profit extraction is no way to make cool products that are also useful and endure, adding goodwill to form a brand culture rather than the highest possible stock valuation for a time.
Comments
How about you tell us what you have in mind and we'll tell you how much RAM you need.
I recently shifted to an M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 24GB - base model from Windows Machine. I was reading few sub-reddits where most people going for 48GB just to be future proof which they would never require mostly. Personally, I am fine with 24GB except that it doesn't allow much bigger LLM but realized that bigger LLM then would require more memory bandwidth also which would mean M4 Max. Decided to go ahead with M4 Pro base model and will use online LLM.
I wouldn't spend money on the absolutely newest hardware like some new car buyer unless I were a decamillionaire, but even then, I don't think unthrifty habits are all that wise to adopt because they "leak" into other areas of life and habits also.
An 2021 M1 Max 64 GiB 2 TiB is only $1800, while an average 2024 M4 48 GiB 1 TiB is $4000. I'll take 1/3 more RAM over just slightly better performance and worse reliability for half the price. As long as the battery has at least 85% of life remaining and the SSD doesn't have excessive volume of wear, it's a better choice unless you absolutely needed every second of time and you're making $1M TC or owning a startup with a funding run-rate / TTM crunch like you're going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight.
Lot of people don't realize this - "I don't think unthrifty habits are all that wise to adopt because they "leak" into other areas of life and habits also." I personally faced this too.
Interesting perspective on preferring more RAM than a bit down performance which is potentially true as M1 apple mac are quite fast for most use-cases.
It depends entirely on your use-case(s). The cost and profiteering of new MBPs is so absurd and drifting away from classic SJ innovation and value, that its borderline immoral to $upport it. I do approve of their fig leaf potentially SSD swappable and repairable Mac mini M4 (and maybe Studio at some point), albeit the power switch is completely wrong for wall & rack mounting and brackets; I hope OWC will release some classic upgrades to mini and Studio rather than external sleds that are slower and bulkier. The trap TC fell into is that chasing design alone with maximum profit extraction is no way to make cool products that are also useful and endure, adding goodwill to form a brand culture rather than the highest possible stock valuation for a time.