Questions about choosing a Macbook
Hello, long time Windows (+ WSL) user here, im thinking about getting a new laptop, specifically a Macbook. Currently I'm choosing between:
- Macbook Pro M4 Pro 16" (14 cores) with 24GB RAM and 512 GB storage (2500€)
- Macbook Pro M4 Pro 14" (12 cores) with 24 GB RAM and either 512 GB (2000€) or 1TB storage (2500€)
My usecases would be: programming on the laptop, connecting to my homelab for either programming/managing homelab, and usual stuff like web browsing etc
I was also thinking about the alternative - getting a normal laptop and using linux - but I heard macbooks tend to be quieter and dong heat up as fast compared to other laptops (which could be completely off, I just got this sort of vibe off internet).
If you would have any insight about what would be a better choice, please help me choose the right model. Im currently leaning towards the 14" model with 512 GB storage as I would assume 14" screen is more than enough for programming (I could also use external display if I don't like it) and I wouldn't have anything on it so 512GB seems enough for it, especially if i store all large file libraries on homelab?
Thank you for any advice/insight :)
4 Replies
I have a 14” after always having a 16” and I regret nothing, perfect size for programming. The screen is next level, unless you have an oled tv or an external monitor that costs at least 1K € it will shock you how nice it is which is the main reason I prefer it over the air.
The two extra cores on the 16” won’t matter much especially for now if you are doing mainly web development (might change once tsc has been ported in Go but I doubt the two cores will be a big difference).
After you get I strongly advice you to install Raycast which has some amazing features that will make daily life with Mac OS much better and also install Ghostty which is the best terminal emulator available now.
Thank you for your input about screen sizes - I'm now certain 14" is the right for me.
About the extra cores: my development is not limited only to web development, but also android development (both in android studio and with React Native) and desktop development (primarily with Go). Do you think these 2 cores would still be redundant?
Raycast (and Ghostty although it is also available on Linux) are one of the top productivity wins I see in MacOS, so I will certainly be using those!
14 would be good choice. It's not cost effective and screen resolution as well. Just focus on performance, cores for development, 14/1TB is great.
or getting normal laptop and using linux is also fine. You can switch any os you want to use easily
macbook often suggested for ios develop case
I'm using linux mainy for all type of work except ios only
I got 14", 24GB, 1TB a few months ago and I'm shocked at how good it is.
I mostly do embedded development, meaning I often have a lot of things open at the same time - emulators, debuggers, a few code editors.
Normally I work on 2x ultrawide monitors. I can comfortably work from my couch with this macbook (though still more productive with monitors of course). At any rate - I never imagined that I could do my work in a park or a caffe with any comfort, now I do it often.
For me the smaller size id a benefit. The heat performance is amazing and when I truly load it (I compile Linux quite often...) the fans spin up for a short duration and even then they are not as loud.
I often need windows for some specialty software - Windows App is a very good RDP client - I host Windows & Linux VMs for those special tasks in my home lab.