p.1 #1 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
Don't know if anyone is itching for a reasonably well specced MacBook Pro, but I saw a pointer for the above. I know, not everyone has a MicroCenter nearby. However, a couple posters indicated they could get BestBuy to price match.
MicroCenter: Apple MacBook Pro 16.2" M4 Max 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD $2915.99
FWIW, I'm still waiting for my Amazon budget M2 Max Studio, that I previously posted about, to arrive. Supposed to be within the week.
p.1 #3 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
Taperwing wrote:
Don't know if anyone is itching for a reasonably well specced MacBook Pro, but I saw a pointer for the above. I know, not everyone has a MicroCenter nearby. However, a couple posters indicated they could get BestBuy to price match.
MicroCenter: Apple MacBook Pro 16.2" M4 Max 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD $2915.99
FWIW, I'm still waiting for my Amazon budget M2 Max Studio, that I previously posted about, to arrive. Supposed to be within the week.
I'm sittin' on a 16" MBP M2 Max with 64GB, 2TB for a few years now ... it has been a very good rig for me. That ^ spec should do very well for many folks, for quite some time. I'm probably standing pat on the M2 until the M6 or M7. My target upgrade cycle when I got my M2 Max was 5-8 years.
p.1 #4 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
With retirement on the fuzzy horizon, in about 5 years, I have to agree with the assement from buggz. IMO, entry level Macs are quite reasonable, but it gets a bit dear towards the leading edge.
Will be in your neck of the woods, from a computing standpoint, as I recently purchased a Mac Studio M2 Max. Hopefully it will arrive soon. Looking forward to cutting the power footprint of my elderly PC by 75%, while simultaneously finding significantly better performance. Will still have some Windows laptops around for the technical and engineering applications that need them.
p.1 #6 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
Taperwing wrote:
With retirement on the fuzzy horizon, in about 5 years, I have to agree with the assement from buggz. IMO, entry level Macs are quite reasonable, but it gets a bit dear towards the leading edge.
Will be in your neck of the woods, from a computing standpoint, as I recently purchased a Mac Studio M2 Max. Hopefully it will arrive soon. Looking forward to cutting the power footprint of my elderly PC by 75%, while simultaneously finding significantly better performance. Will still have some Windows laptops around for the technical and engineering applications that need them.
I prefer a modest laptop for travel and to put most of the money into a more powerful home system. Prices do seem to go up exponentially with highest performance.
I'm not sure how much power you will save unless you are gaming all day or processing photos/video constantly. If you are just on the web or Office you may find the display uses more power than a computer, assuming all SSDs.
p.1 #7 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
EB-1 wrote:
I prefer a modest laptop for travel and to put most of the money into a more powerful home system. Prices do seem to go up exponentially with highest performance.
I'm not sure how much power you will save unless you are gaming all day or processing photos/video constantly. If you are just on the web or Office you may find the display uses more power than a computer, assuming all SSDs.
EBH
About the only time I carry around a personal laptop is while traveling, and modest is the word. I occasionally have to carry around an expensive work laptop, which is more of a portable workstation. An absolute pig and on a good day runs for 30 minutes maximum unplugged. Like you, I prefer the value proposition of a fixed system for most cases.
You are likely quite correct on overall power draw as my home system is only used for 10-20 hours per week. Since recording and evaluating engineering data streams is a primary part of my professional life, I might pull out a power meter and find out directly.
p.1 #8 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
It looks like that particular laptop is not longer at most if not all of the stores, and not shippable.
The one thing about MicroCenter is that if you cannot order for shipping you practically have to order online for store pickup. Unless the store is nearby too often you will find that in stock really is not.
I wish MC were in more locations. There are so few physical computer stores in the States where you can buy such a range of products and components.
p.1 #9 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
RoamingScott wrote:
I'd be buying a Studio for that kind of money, not a MBP.
Studio + Apple Monitor + TouchPad + Magic Keyboard + Speaker system + Camera + Storage Upgrade + Chip / Cores Upgrade.
I'm assuming you'd be considering the Max (not the Ultra) to get it close on spec.
It's not like the M2 Studio (Max) version is built on significantly different chipset architecture ... mostly a different form factor, and two generations previous. Of course, if you're talking about an Ultra config, you starting off well above the MBP, even before adding in your peripherals.
For a quick response without vetting through it very much ... it might look a bit different after vetting through things a bit more.
p.1 #10 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
Check the TDPs of the SoC and other components. Desktop systems of similar configuration almost always have higher power levels than laptops for better performance under high loads. The highest power Studio is listed as using up to 480W. Even assuming some of that is for extra TB ports, no MacBook pro laptop of similar architecture will be able to compare. For example the 16'" uses a 140W power adapter that also has to power the display and charge the battery.
p.1 #11 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
EB-1 wrote:
Check the TDPs of the SoC and other components. Desktop systems of similar configuration almost always have higher power levels than laptops for better performance under high loads. The highest power Studio is listed as using up to 480W. Even assuming some of that is for extra TB ports, no MacBook pro laptop of similar architecture will be able to compare. For example the 16'" uses a 140W power adapter that also has to power the display and charge the battery.
EBH
Understood, it's not exactly apples to apples ... just pointing out that the form factor has the peripherals built in, so you may not be out the door quite the way first blush might suggest.
I didn't take notice of the TDP vs. cost on the "highest power Studio" ... what is the config spec / cost of that one? Is the TDP the same for all Studio's (i.e. Max / Ultra)?
Noting also, when the "high load" makes the diff. In my use case (YMMV), I've not had any real issues with thermal throttling for loads, etc. with mine. Although, I did notice throttling with the 14" version MBP (back when I demo'd through them) in my testing. The 16" MBP Max did just fine in my torture testing demo's, and has served me well since day one.
I think that if someone is thinking they truly need a Studio with Ultra capability, they likely weren't considering an MBP to begin with. Rather, folks that are considering a bang / buck scenario or indeed prefer a mobile platform, the OP is still a good rig (imo).
p.1 #12 · MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB RAM 1TB SSD ===>$2916 at MicroCenter
Taperwing wrote:
Don't know if anyone is itching for a reasonably well specced MacBook Pro, but I saw a pointer for the above. I know, not everyone has a MicroCenter nearby. However, a couple posters indicated they could get BestBuy to price match.
MicroCenter: Apple MacBook Pro 16.2" M4 Max 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD $2915.99
FWIW, I'm still waiting for my Amazon budget M2 Max Studio, that I previously posted about, to arrive. Supposed to be within the week.
Spec-wise, that sounds like a machine that would be fine for typical (and more than typical) photography use with the usual apps. You’d obviously need attached storage if you have any quantity of files that you need to access.
As someone else mentioned, I’ve also moved away from using a higher spec’ed laptop for travel. Some years back I switched away from higher-end Mac laptops (at one point Apple actually gave me one of the top systems, and later on I could get them at a discount) to a much smaller and less capable Air. These days I’m using an iPad Pro while on the road.
I don’t know your work practices, but when I’m traveling I almost never need to do high end, high demand work. I’m more engaged with capturing photographs than post-processing during travel.
BTW, near the beginning of the year I moved to a M4Pro Mac mini with 48GB and 2TB SSD with a couple of 27” monitors for my studio system, and it is a very capable system for photographic use — plenty of speed and more than sufficient number of ports.
