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New MacBook Air with M2

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Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#771

Post by ratww »

CamelRocketFish wrote: post #442
ratww wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use my 8GB one for development (mostly web and Cocoa, but also some 3d stuff w/Metal) and the only issues are with things like Microsoft Teams or some other memory hog, but even my co-workers with 32GB machines suffer with those, so I guess it's alright.

I switched to running MS teams in safari as the app was terribly resource intensive. Unfortunately it’s only safari that works with voice/video calls.

I might accept your advice and do the same. It's really mind boggling how slow it is for me lately after some upgrades :(

Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#773

Post by spurgu »

hajile wrote: post #599
bastardoperator wrote: post #561

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My M1 MacBook Air is insanely fast and the battery life is easily the best I've ever experienced. If the M2 is anything like the M1 or better, I agree, these things are going to make Apple a nice chunk of change.

I suspect the best reason for upgrading is access to 24GB of RAM and maybe the hardware video encoders if that's your thing. Otherwise, M2 is a very solid iteration, but probably not worth dropping that much money if you already own an M1 system.

For me the main reason to upgrade would be Magsafe. I'm constantly afraid of someone stumbling on the cable and destroying the USB-C port.

I couldn't find any info on this, is this the same Magsafe as the 2015 devices, i.e. can I use existing old chargers? If so then I might even consider upgrading just due to this (I also have a 12/24V Magsafe charger).

24 GB RAM would be nice compared to 16 GB currently, but it's not something I'd really need.

Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#774

Post by LecroJS »

kirso wrote: post #722
H12 wrote: post #609

I want a 15" version of this hardware so badly. It would be my perfect personal webdev machine, assuming no significant M2 thermal issues. My workflows are all lightly threaded and CPU bound, so I don't benefit much from the Pro/Max/Ultra SKUs. So considering the base M1/M2 meets my performance needs, nothing else really comes close when it comes to portability/battery life. All I really crave is a bit more screen re…

Always wondered, where is the thin line between where you are ok with M2 Air and M1 Pro/Max... would you mind elaborating how you drew it?

I would also like to hear people’s thoughts on this. Considering pulling the trigger on this tomorrow morning or just getting an M1 Pro/Max

Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#775

Post by spurgu »

moneywoes wrote: post #772

How many external displays can this drive

Good question. The M1 can do more than one by using a special hub (don't remember the specifics) - would be nice if the M2 supported multiple natively.

Edit: Doesn't look like things have changed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32000299

Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#776

Post by Forgeties79 »

pc86 wrote: post #401

I spent an embarrassing amount on a lackluster early 2019 MBP. It's fine as a general purpose laptop but is just a little too slow for serious dev work, a little too heavy as the main travel laptop, battery life a little too short for my liking. I got an M1 for my work laptop maybe 4 months ago and it might honestly be the best laptop I've ever used.

My M1 Mac mini is, hands down, the greatest computer deal I’ve ever nabbed. 1TB SSD, 16tb memory (I do media production 8gb is a non-starter), all for $1450.00. It’s even a solid gaming machine which I wasn’t expecting.

No complaints at all except the 2 monitor cap.

Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#777

Post by Forgeties79 »

arvinsim wrote: post #699
mehrdada wrote: post #651

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The sad irony of it all is that I bet the vast majority of purchasers were developers like myself, who have absolutely no need for a dedicated GPU. I would seriously doubt that. Mac sales are huge and developers must be a relatively small segment of computer users.

They should have at least put it as an option to not have it. It would be even be cheaper.

That’s why many folks bought a MacBook and maxed it out. You’d get most of the way there firepower wise, just no dGPU/not quite as good of a screen if memory serves (could be missing something though).

Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#778

Post by deergomoo »

mehrdada wrote: post #651
deergomoo wrote: post #611

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 16" MBP would have been a much better machine for most people if it didn't have a dedicated GPU. The CPU got pretty toasty as-is, but adding a dGPU into the mix just turned it into a furnace. The way the thing was wired up also meant that connecting to an external display engaged the GPU, and some unacknowledged hardware or software flaw set the power/heat floor to about 20W (it's not just the minimum draw of the…

> The sad irony of it all is that I bet the vast majority of purchasers were developers like myself, who have absolutely no need for a dedicated GPU. I would seriously doubt that. Mac sales are huge and developers must be a relatively small segment of computer users.

Yeah but how many of those people are buying computers that start at over two grand? The 16” MBP is firmly a power user machine, and I would bet a lot more power users still don’t need a GPU than do.

Especially when you consider many of the people that do need a GPU surely need more than was ever offered in Intel MacBooks, considering they were never particularly good chips even by laptop standards.

The base config 2015 15” didn’t have a GPU, seems silly that they removed that option for the 16”.

Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#779

Post by Darmody »

chrisseaton wrote: post #762
Darmody wrote: post #744

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're saying it like you're the only one running docker. I use it daily too and it sucks. Containers needs rebooting a few times a day or the changes I make in the code won't work. Then there's the massive ram consumption. Emulated crap. Sorry if I hurt you feelings.

> Emulated crap. Docker is virtualisation, not emulation.

Yes, which is worse.

Slower and more RAM hungry.

Re: New MacBook Air with M2

#780

Post by chrisseaton »

Darmody wrote: post #779
chrisseaton wrote: post #762

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Emulated crap. Docker is virtualisation, not emulation.

Yes, which is worse. Slower and more RAM hungry.

No you've got it the wrong way around - virtualisation is lightweight - it's got very good hardware support - emulation is CPU and memory hungry - it's done in software.
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