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Big data on the cheapest MacBook

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Re: Big data on the cheapest MacBook

#61

Post by swiftcoder »

raegis wrote: post #44
Robdel12 wrote: post #37

I’ve been tempted to buy one and do “real dev work” on it just to show people it’s not this handicapped little machine. I built multiple iOS apps and went through two start up acquisitions with my M1 MBA as my primary computer, as a developer. And the neo is better than the M1 MBA. I edited my 30-45 min long 4k race videos in FCP on that air just fine.

Can you say a little more about what you mean by "better"? How much faster is editing?

Better in terms of raw specs. The original M1 Air also came with 8GB of RAM, and the A18 Pro in the Neo is faster than the version of the M1 that shipped in the base model Air

Re: Big data on the cheapest MacBook

#62

Post by rob »

Robdel12 wrote: post #37

I’ve been tempted to buy one and do “real dev work” on it just to show people it’s not this handicapped little machine. I built multiple iOS apps and went through two start up acquisitions with my M1 MBA as my primary computer, as a developer. And the neo is better than the M1 MBA. I edited my 30-45 min long 4k race videos in FCP on that air just fine.

It's starting to show its age, but I've been using a 2019 MacBook Pro with the Intel chip and 16GB of memory. Still handles multiple terminal sessions with Claude Code and Codex simultaneously, building in Xcode, running Docker in the background, etc.

(Maybe the fans sometimes sound like they're a jet engine taking off…)

Finally just put an order in for a new 16" MBP M5 Max with 48GB memory only because it looks like they're going to stop supporting the Intel stuff this year and no more software updates. It'll probably be obsolete in six months with the rate things are going, but I've been averaging seven years between upgrades so it should be good!

Re: Big data on the cheapest MacBook

#64

Post by tjoff »

Robdel12 wrote: post #37

I’ve been tempted to buy one and do “real dev work” on it just to show people it’s not this handicapped little machine. I built multiple iOS apps and went through two start up acquisitions with my M1 MBA as my primary computer, as a developer. And the neo is better than the M1 MBA. I edited my 30-45 min long 4k race videos in FCP on that air just fine.

It will do real work fine. But slack and a browser will bring it to its knees.

Re: Big data on the cheapest MacBook

#67

Post by lowkj »

jsheard wrote: post #55
nicoritschel wrote: post #52

> compared to 3–5 GB/s Their numbers are a bit outdated. M5 Macbook pro SSDs are literally 5x this speed. It's wild.

I'm seeing ~6GB/sec: https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/macbooks/m5-macbook-pro... That's decently fast but not especially remarkable, most Gen4 NVMe drives can hit 6-7GB/sec.

To be clear, that article is about the base m5, not the m5 pro or m5 max.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macb...

"The new MacBook Pro delivers up to 2x faster read/write performance compared to the previous generation reaching speeds of up to 14.5GB/s..."

Re: Big data on the cheapest MacBook

#68

Post by red-iron-pine »

tasuki wrote: post #66

That's not Big Data. If you "need to process Big Data on the move" - what you need is a network.

aye.

the laptop is gonna have some local code, maybe a lot, but if I'm doing legitimate "big data" that data is living i the cloud somewhere, and the laptop is just my interface.

Re: Big data on the cheapest MacBook

#69

Post by bryanrasmussen »

Robdel12 wrote: post #59
ramgine wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just retired my m1 air to being a server this month. They’re very capable laptops. If the neo is even comparable in spec it’s excellent for the price

Yeah! My M1 air is now my iOS build server since GH actions bill macOS mins at 10x the price.

why does GH actions bill macOS minis 10X?

Re: Big data on the cheapest MacBook

#70

Post by jsheard »

lowkj wrote: post #67
jsheard wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm seeing ~6GB/sec: https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/macbooks/m5-macbook-pro... That's decently fast but not especially remarkable, most Gen4 NVMe drives can hit 6-7GB/sec.

To be clear, that article is about the base m5, not the m5 pro or m5 max. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macb... "The new MacBook Pro delivers up to 2x faster read/write performance compared to the previous generation reaching speeds of up to 14.5GB/s..."

OP did just say M5 (implying the base model)

Those speeds on the Pro/Max are impressive though, more in line with Gen5 NVMe drives. Those have been available in desktops for some time but AFAIK the controllers are still much too hot and power hungry for laptops, so I think Apple's custom controller is actually the first to practically hit those speeds on mobile.

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