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M4 MacBook Pro

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161–170 of 1001 posts

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#161

Trying to find how many external displays the base model supports. Because corps almost always buy the base model #firstworldproblems The base model doesn't support thunderbolt 5. And the base model still doesn't support more than 2 external displays without the DisplaySync (not DisplayPort!) hardware+software.

https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

"M4 and M4 Pro

Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and:

Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, or one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI

One external display supported at 8K resolution at 60Hz or one external display at 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI"

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#162
post #93

These chips are incredible. Even my M1 MBP from 2020 still feels so ridiculously fast for everyday basic use and coding. Is an upgrade really worth it?

I guess it’s only worth it for people who would really benefit from the speed bump — those who push their machines to the limit and work under tight schedules.

I myself don’t need so much performance, so I tend to keep my devices for many, many years.

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#163

What’s amazing is that in the past I’ve felt the need to upgrade within a few years. New video format or more demanding music software is released that slows the machine down, or battery life craters. Well, I haven’t had even a tinge of feeling that I need to upgrade after getting my M1 Pro MBP. I can’t remember it ever skipping a beat running a serious Ableton project, or editing in Resolve. Can stuff be faster? Tec…

Guess that’s why most of their comparisons are with the older Intel Macs.

And M1 from 4 years ago instead of M3 from last year; while a 2x speed improvement in the benchmarks they listed is good, it also shows that the M series CPUs see incremental improvements, not exponential or revolutionary. I get the feeling - but a CPU expert can correct me / say more - that their base design is mostly unchanged since M1, but the manufacturing process has improved (leading to less power consumption/heat), the amount of cores has increased, and they added specialized hardware for AI-related workloads.

That said, they are in a very comfortable position right now, with neither Intel, AMD, or another competitor able to produce anything close to the bang-for-watt that Apple is managing. Little pressure from behind them to push for more performance.

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#165

What’s amazing is that in the past I’ve felt the need to upgrade within a few years. New video format or more demanding music software is released that slows the machine down, or battery life craters. Well, I haven’t had even a tinge of feeling that I need to upgrade after getting my M1 Pro MBP. I can’t remember it ever skipping a beat running a serious Ableton project, or editing in Resolve. Can stuff be faster? Tec…

I have the same feeling performance-wise with the laptop I bought in 2020 with a Ryzen 7 4800H.

But it's a heavy brick with a short battery life compared to the M1/2/3 Mac.

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#166

What’s amazing is that in the past I’ve felt the need to upgrade within a few years. New video format or more demanding music software is released that slows the machine down, or battery life craters. Well, I haven’t had even a tinge of feeling that I need to upgrade after getting my M1 Pro MBP. I can’t remember it ever skipping a beat running a serious Ableton project, or editing in Resolve. Can stuff be faster? Tec…

Same feeling. The jump from all the previous laptops I owned to an M1 was an incredible jump. The thing is fast, has amazing battery life and stays cold. Never felt the need to upgrade.

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#167

What’s amazing is that in the past I’ve felt the need to upgrade within a few years. New video format or more demanding music software is released that slows the machine down, or battery life craters. Well, I haven’t had even a tinge of feeling that I need to upgrade after getting my M1 Pro MBP. I can’t remember it ever skipping a beat running a serious Ableton project, or editing in Resolve. Can stuff be faster? Tec…

> I haven’t had even a tinge of feeling that I need to upgrade after getting my M1 Pro MBP.

I upgraded my M1 MBP to a MacBook Air M3 15" and it was a major upgrade. It is the same weight but 40% faster and so much nicer to work on while on the sofa or traveling. The screen is also brighter.

I think very few people actually do need the heavy MBPs, especially not the web/full-stack devs who populate Hacker News.

EDIT: The screens are not different in terms of brightness.

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I feel like Apple has done the opposite of planned obsolescence with the M chips. I have a Macbook Air M1 that I'd like to upgrade, but they're not making it easy. I promised myself a couple of years ago I'll never buy a new expensive computing device/phone unless it supports 120 hertz and Wi-Fi 7, a pretty reasonable request I think. I got the iPhone 16 Pro, guess I can wait another year for a new Macbook (hop…

Apple equipment always last a long time and retain value on the second-hand market.

Not true. Look at how little supercharged intel apples are going for in Facebook marketplace.

The quality stuff retains value, not brand.

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#169
post #20

> "up to 1.8x faster when compared to the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro" I insist my 2020 Macbook M1 was the best purchase I ever made

And my 2020 Intel Macbook Air was a bad purchase. Cruelly, the Intel and M1 Macbook Air released within 6 months of each other.

Re: M4 MacBook Pro

#170

What’s amazing is that in the past I’ve felt the need to upgrade within a few years. New video format or more demanding music software is released that slows the machine down, or battery life craters. Well, I haven’t had even a tinge of feeling that I need to upgrade after getting my M1 Pro MBP. I can’t remember it ever skipping a beat running a serious Ableton project, or editing in Resolve. Can stuff be faster? Tec…

Yeah, I feel like Apple has done the opposite of planned obsolescence with the M chips. I have a Macbook Air M1 that I'd like to upgrade, but they're not making it easy. I promised myself a couple of years ago I'll never buy a new expensive computing device/phone unless it supports 120 hertz and Wi-Fi 7, a pretty reasonable request I think. I got the iPhone 16 Pro, guess I can wait another year for a new Macbook (hop…

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