why not? its more like a retro machine nowadays but still a good one. but then i should admit that most power-hungry workloads have now been offloaded to newer machines, alas..
Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
11–20 of 36 posts
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
#12Still on intel Monterey 2015 mbp and emacs 30 something. Switched to macports in 2024 and no complaints.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
#13I have one as a backup machine, but nothing important is really supposed to happen on it unless something catastrophic has happened.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
#14[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
#15It'll run Linux if you want, but they're fairly functional. What do you need to do on it?
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
#16I've got a 2015 MacBook Pro running Monterey which I can code on. It's offline (no DNS entries) but I can AirDrop[1] stuff to it. I use Dash[2] for offline documentation and Sublime Text[3] for editing.
It's really just an experiment to see how little (software, hardware and internet) I can get away with. We are moving next year and I may not have space for the large desk and monitor I have now.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
#17I remember using an old 2018 Intel MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM about two years ago. That thing was noisy. Every time I tried to compile a larger project or work in Logic, the RAM would fill up and the fans would go full blast. Now I am on an M1 MacBook Pro, also with 8GB. Granted, the RAM is still a bottleneck, but the fan noise is completely gone and the machine always stays at a comfortable temperature.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
#18I use a 2019 27-inch iMac every day.
I replaced its internal drive with a 1TB SSD myself, and it handles all my work needs perfectly.
I use Ghostty for remote server access and Parsec to remotely control my Windows PC.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
#192018 Mac mini, running Monterey, for webdev and Ruby scripting and it’s still fine. The biggest issue, as ever, is that the OS can only feasibly be upgraded to a certain point and that ultimately limits whether you can run current browsers.
Xcode and Android Studio do, of course, necessitate a more recent Mac.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone still do work on Intel Macs?
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