Is it worth the $2700 for a Macbook Pro 16" M3 Pro and 36GB?

[Jose_49]

Jesus Christ, this is expensive. 

I had sworn that I wouldn't buy a laptop for more than $1600, and I've always scavenged the refurbished and open-box ones. 

I'm rocking a Dell XPS 15 7590 with an i7 9750H and 32 GB of RAM. 

I love the PC, except for throttling and battery life. I do mostly programming work, which tends to be CPU intensive due to recompiling and transpilation. 

The problem?

Battery life. It doesn't matter how many undervolting tricks I apply; I won't go past 3.5 hours in a full setup (VS Code in WSL2, Firefox, Vivaldi, Edge, Slack opened). They may not seem much, but they eat CPU and RAM (It seems everything is an Electron app these days).

Unfortunately, Apple is the king of batteries. The MacBook Pro seems to give you 10+ hours under heavy load. 

While I don't need the performance of the M3 Pro, I like to have multiple displays (2 - 3 ), and the Pro is the only one that can do that.

I also want my devices to last. I'm not considering an M1 or an M2 because of fear that Apple would likely drop the support for those devices in the coming years. 

Do you think it is worth it? 

Best Buy is selling them $200 off for that price. I can't go to 18GB as my current Windows setup eats around 24 GB (Mac will probably be lower, but I don't want to risk it, especially since it's soldered). 

 

 

Edit:

Damn, that{s not including taxes. Add around $160 to it 🤦‍♂️

Edited November 21, 2023 by Jose_49

[devHead]

No, it's not worth it.

[ThaCrip]

Personally I think desktops are far better than laptops as a general rule and are probably more reliable long term and you don't have to worry about battery BS. so unless portability is of high concern, don't even bother using a laptop.

but if you are asking me if '$2700' is worth it. hell no! ; that's too much for any computer outright. I figure $1500-2000 for any computer variation is pushing it already.

[devHead]

So, I am assuming you need a laptop because you're taking this PC with you all kinds of places, and working away from home?  I've always been of the mind that laptop computers have a specific use case, but I know lots of people who keep them at home but still want laptops.  I just cannot understand that reasoning.  

[Astra.Xtreme]

Just plug your laptop into the wall, and problem solved.  Bill Gates says "You're using it wrong."

[ThaCrip]

On 21/11/2023 at 15:47, devHead said:

I just cannot understand that reasoning.  

Amen. desktops are far superior unless portability is a high priority.

you generally get a more powerful/reliable setup, bigger screen and can use a proper keyboard on a desktop as laptops keyboards always feel awkward to type on vs a desktop keyboard and starting at a smaller screen is more taxing on your eyes.

[+Warwagon MVC]

What they said. The only time i use a laptop for work is when i'm at my gf's house. When I come home I hug my Ryzen 9 5900x desktop system with it's 4 monitors.

[adrynalyne]

On 21/11/2023 at 13:37, Jose_49 said:

Jesus Christ, this is expensive. 

I had sworn that I wouldn't buy a laptop for more than $1600, and I've always scavenged the refurbished and open-box ones. 

I'm rocking a Dell XPS 15 7590 with an i7 9750H and 32 GB of RAM. 

I love the PC, except for throttling and battery life. I do mostly programming work, which tends to be CPU intensive due to recompiling and transpilation. 

The problem?

Battery life. It doesn't matter how many undervolting tricks I apply; I won't go past 3.5 hours in a full setup (VS Code in WSL2, Firefox, Vivaldi, Edge, Slack opened). They may not seem much, but they eat CPU and RAM (It seems everything is an Electron app these days).

Unfortunately, Apple is the king of batteries. The MacBook Pro seems to give you 10+ hours under heavy load. 

While I don't need the performance of the M3 Pro, I like to have multiple displays (2 - 3 ), and the Pro is the only one that can do that.

I also want my devices to last. I'm not considering an M1 or an M2 because of fear that Apple would likely drop the support for those devices in the coming years. 

Do you think it is worth it? 

Best Buy is selling them $200 off for that price. I can't go to 18GB as my current Windows setup eats around 24 GB (Mac will probably be lower, but I don't want to risk it, especially since it's soldered). 

 

 

Edit:

Damn, that{s not including taxes. Add around $160 to it 🤦‍♂️

You are better off getting an M1 Max with more RAM and paying less. Otherwise, just plug it in. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by adrynalyne

[Jose_49]

On 21/11/2023 at 21:46, ThaCrip said:

Personally I think desktops are far better than laptops as a general rule and are probably more reliable long term and you don't have to worry about battery BS. so unless portability is of high concern, don't even bother using a laptop.

but if you are asking me if '$2700' is worth it. hell no! ; that's too much for any computer outright. I figure $1500-2000 for any computer variation is pushing it already.

I agree, but in my case, I need the portability! I like to move to all kinds of places!

On 21/11/2023 at 21:47, devHead said:

So, I am assuming you need a laptop because you're taking this PC with you all kinds of places, and working away from home?  I've always been of the mind that laptop computers have a specific use case, but I know lots of people who keep them at home but still want laptops.  I just cannot understand that reasoning.  

Yes!

From parks to cafes where outlets aren't always available!

On 21/11/2023 at 21:47, Astra.Xtreme said:

Just plug your laptop into the wall, and problem solved.  Bill Gates says "You're using it wrong."

I'd love doing that, except when there isn't

On 21/11/2023 at 23:11, adrynalyne said:

You are better off getting an M1 Max with more RAM. 

How about Apple support for the long run?

Even an M1 Pro would do the trick. I'm concerned about the long-term support.

At least with Windows, I know I can kick 6-7 years without issues (I also tend to give away my laptops to other people who use them!)

[Jose_49]

I know this may sound crazy, but if there would be an i3 U or a low powered i5-i7P versions with a 97WHr battery that'd do the trick.

At least synthetically they seem to perform better than the 9750H that I have, and their TDP doesn't exceed the 55W.

I'm hoping for Qualcomm to bring a decent Snapdragon X, but I'm also worried about apps support and price. That thing won't come cheap.

[adrynalyne]

On 21/11/2023 at 15:29, Jose_49 said:

I agree, but in my case, I need the portability! I like to move to all kinds of places!

Yes!

From parks to cafes where outlets aren't always available!

I'd love doing that, except when there isn't

How about Apple support for the long run?

Even an M1 Pro would do the trick. I'm concerned about the long-term support.

At least with Windows, I know I can kick 6-7 years without issues (I also tend to give away my laptops to other people who use them!)

That is a concern for sure; nobody really knows when it comes to the M-series yet.

 

However, if we go by them dropping off one model every year on a new OS, and 2018 is currently at the mark, we are looking at probably 4-5 years for an M1 model, though I see some people claiming 10 years from onset. Not so sure about that.

You will get security updates longer than OS upgrades and by the time its an issue, there may be a workaround like we have for Intel Macs.

[Sikh]

Macs are generally supported for 5-7 years and the hardware usually lasts as long or longer. I have a 2007 macbook pro thats still working without any issues, only ever replaced the battery. I have a 2012 rMBP (first model) and it still works to this day, never had any issues. I am buying a M* soon and I expect the same longevity.

In between the 2012 Retina and my work providing my Macbooks, I took the chance to reevaluate what's on the market and got a Razer Blade 15, Surface Laptop 3 and a Framework. I love the framework out of all 3 laptops and am looking forward to the 16". The Razer Blade 15 is built correctly but the first gen had absolute ###### hardware and im not surprised cause thats what Razer is known for. The Surface Laptop is what I wanted the Macbook Air to be eventually but its Trackpad is trash and Microsoft's optimization has been garbage till earlier this year. With enough firmware updates, the laptop is finally worth using. I did NOT get the Ryzen version cause I didn't trust Microsoft to support the Wifi or the laptop and I was right. I got the "Business" model from a Microsoft store that came with an i7 and it was good out of the box but the battery life was ###### and still is ###### for what I expect from this computer.

As far as the cost of a computer, no matter what brand, that's on the user. Anyone commenting "i wouldnt blah blah blah" is sharing their opinion. I am going to share mine and say I have spent up to $3500 for a Macbook (the 2012 rMBP) and it's still going 10 years later.

For what its worth, I am a devops engineer whos now an SRE. I both develop and manage systems from all my computers and they all run at about 50-75% regularly. I usually have 3 x 27" monitors(1440p) or a 51" ultrawide @ 5120x1440p with some kind of video playing while im working. 

Based off my use case and the amount of computers (desktops and laptops) i've had and the different brands of Laptops i've had, I will always buy a Macbook. I can't find a laptop that is comparable to Macbook at the same price or cheaper. They have lasted me an easy 5 years, i've had no issues with them and they come with the best build quality, best battery life and best trackpad I've ever used. Now, they come with arguably the best screen (resolution, accuracy and refresh rate). For $2500, I would get a 16" M3 Pro with 18gb of RAM and 512GB of Storage with a great screen, great battery, great trackpad and great experience overall. With virtualization now being solid on M series macbooks, I can finally commit to buying one. Even thou I have plenty of servers and other machines I can use for Windows and Linux, I prefer if all my machines can run every OS I use and the M series are finally there. 

TL;DR: What's worth to one person isn't always worth it to another. I would do research, go play with one at a store and ultimately think about what you want in a laptop and what laptop meets your needs. 

[adrynalyne]

On 21/11/2023 at 19:49, Sikh said:

Macs are generally supported for 5-7 years and the hardware usually lasts as long or longer. I have a 2007 macbook pro thats still working without any issues, only ever replaced the battery. I have a 2012 rMBP (first model) and it still works to this day, never had any issues. I am buying a M* soon and I expect the same longevity.

In between the 2012 Retina and my work providing my Macbooks, I took the chance to reevaluate what's on the market and got a Razer Blade 15, Surface Laptop 3 and a Framework. I love the framework out of all 3 laptops and am looking forward to the 16". The Razer Blade 15 is built correctly but the first gen had absolute ###### hardware and im not surprised cause thats what Razer is known for. The Surface Laptop is what I wanted the Macbook Air to be eventually but its Trackpad is trash and Microsoft's optimization has been garbage till earlier this year. With enough firmware updates, the laptop is finally worth using. I did NOT get the Ryzen version cause I didn't trust Microsoft to support the Wifi or the laptop and I was right. I got the "Business" model from a Microsoft store that came with an i7 and it was good out of the box but the battery life was ###### and still is ###### for what I expect from this computer.

As far as the cost of a computer, no matter what brand, that's on the user. Anyone commenting "i wouldnt blah blah blah" is sharing their opinion. I am going to share mine and say I have spent up to $3500 for a Macbook (the 2012 rMBP) and it's still going 10 years later.

For what its worth, I am a devops engineer whos now an SRE. I both develop and manage systems from all my computers and they all run at about 50-75% regularly. I usually have 3 x 27" monitors(1440p) or a 51" ultrawide @ 5120x1440p with some kind of video playing while im working. 

Based off my use case and the amount of computers (desktops and laptops) i've had and the different brands of Laptops i've had, I will always buy a Macbook. I can't find a laptop that is comparable to Macbook at the same price or cheaper. They have lasted me an easy 5 years, i've had no issues with them and they come with the best build quality, best battery life and best trackpad I've ever used. Now, they come with arguably the best screen (resolution, accuracy and refresh rate). For $2500, I would get a 16" M3 Pro with 18gb of RAM and 512GB of Storage with a great screen, great battery, great trackpad and great experience overall. With virtualization now being solid on M series macbooks, I can finally commit to buying one. Even thou I have plenty of servers and other machines I can use for Windows and Linux, I prefer if all my machines can run every OS I use and the M series are finally there. 

TL;DR: What's worth to one person isn't always worth it to another. I would do research, go play with one at a store and ultimately think about what you want in a laptop and what laptop meets your needs. 

I like the idea of Framework, but I’m not pleased with the reliability. We have purchased 6 for the office, with 12th and 13th gen Intels. Three of them have had motherboard replacements under warranty; with one of them having the motherboard replaced a second time along with the battery. 
 

Its pretty cool that it’s even possible to do that but considering we are at a 50% failure rate in just a year (the 12th gens just went out of warranty), I’m not very impressed. Haven’t had any issues with 13th gen yet but they are only a month or so old. 

[Dick Montage]

On 21/11/2023 at 20:37, Jose_49 said:

I do mostly programming work, which tends to be CPU intensive due to recompiling and transpilation. 

 

You do not need an M3. Support for the M1 is going nowhere anytime soon.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I would say $2700 for a Macbook isn't worth it. I've paid $2400 (if I remember correctly...it was somewhere in that region) for the Framework 16, but my justification for that is how replaceable all the parts are. I will be able to do little upgrades as the years go by rather than buying a brand new computer every 2 years. With a Macbook you're not as able to replace and upgrade parts.

[binaryzero]

Can you turn the money spent into say... $5k, $10k, $50k, $100k, $200k? 

Use the machine for something meaningful, and it'll pay for itself. Computers are tools, it's up to you what you do with it to justify the price, and the return...

If you're going to use it as a toy, then well, maybe it's not worth the price to you?

 

[Jose_49]

On 22/11/2023 at 15:28, binaryzero said:

Can you turn the money spent into say... $5k, $10k, $50k, $100k, $200k? 

Use the machine for something meaningful, and it'll pay for itself. Computers are tools, it's up to you what you do with it to justify the price, and the return...

If you're going to use it as a toy, then well, maybe it's not worth the price to you?

 

I could. I use it for work. It'd be used mainly for programming work (startups and the like) without the need to plug it in.
 

 

On 22/11/2023 at 13:44, Dick Montage said:

You do not need an M3. Support for the M1 is going nowhere anytime soon.

I don't. M1 would do fine, I just like having hardware that lasts for ages. My previous laptops (XPS 15 M1530, Lenovo Y510p) have lasted me each 5 years!

I'd still be rocking the last one if it wasn't because of the dead motherboard.

My reasoning is that if I go with an M3 Pro (which is discounted at Best Buy) I could probably extend its lifetime 7-9 years (Am I wrong?)

And unfortunately, the Pro allows me to connect up to 2 external displays, otherwise I wouldn't need it and I'd bump the memory to 3x with the M3 (if that's possible).

 

I've also considered M1 Pro alternatives, but I think the value I can get from an M3 with its current discount will outprice the price/year ratio  (The cheapest I've found is around $1,500)

 

[Dick Montage]

On 22/11/2023 at 15:49, Jose_49 said:

I could. I use it for work. It'd be used mainly for programming work (startups and the like) without the need to plug it in.
 

 

I don't. M1 would do fine, I just like having hardware that lasts for ages. My previous laptops (XPS 15 M1530, Lenovo Y510p) have lasted me each 5 years!

I'd still be rocking the last one if it wasn't because of the dead motherboard.

My reasoning is that if I go with an M3 Pro (which is discounted at Best Buy) I could probably extend its lifetime 7-9 years (Am I wrong?)

And unfortunately, the Pro allows me to connect up to 2 external displays, otherwise I wouldn't need it and I'd bump the memory to 3x with the M3 (if that's possible).

 

I've also considered M1 Pro alternatives, but I think the value I can get from an M3 with its current discount will outprice the price/year ratio  (The cheapest I've found is around $1,500)

 

Your arguments hold water. So you don’t need an M3 Pro “now” but yes, it adds to the longevity and multiple monitor use.

[adrynalyne]

Something else to consider, what is your experience with macOS? Not everyone likes it. 

[Jose_49]

On 22/11/2023 at 20:25, adrynalyne said:

Something else to consider, what is your experience with macOS? Not everyone likes it. 

My family members (dad, cousin, two sisters) have MacOS.

I've used it to debug their issues.

I haven't driven it daily (Like running my programs and such). I don't dislike it, but I prefer Windows.

 

P.S: I've yet to learn keyboard combos or all the gestures.

[adrynalyne]

On 22/11/2023 at 14:27, Jose_49 said:

My family members (dad, cousin, two sisters) have MacOS.

I've used it to debug their issues.

I haven't driven it daily (Like running my programs and such). I don't dislike it, but I prefer Windows.

 

P.S: I've yet to learn keyboard combos or all the gestures.

Ah yeah I don’t think I could live with macOS without gestures and keyboard shortcuts. 

[Jose_49]

I think I'm getting it. Amazon has it for $2650 right now.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM5KXB2B/ref=fs_a_mbt2_us2?th=1

[anthdci]

On 23/11/2023 at 12:50, Jose_49 said:

I think I'm getting it. Amazon has it for $2650 right now.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM5KXB2B/ref=fs_a_mbt2_us2?th=1

have you considered the remote option? For that money you could get a pretty chunky computer that you leave on at home, along with a cheaper lighter laptop that you remote into the machine that does the heavy lifting? Obviously internet connection dependant but that's basically everywhere these days. 

[Jose_49]

On 23/11/2023 at 13:56, anthdci said:

have you considered the remote option? For that money you could get a pretty chunky computer that you leave on at home, along with a cheaper lighter laptop that you remote into the machine that does the heavy lifting? Obviously internet connection dependant but that's basically everywhere these days. 

 🤔🤔🤔

 

That could work! Let me do some calculations!

As you've said, we are mostly dependent on Internet Connection. I could get a computer that's solid with battery life and the other one that serves as a hub. I"ve seen people connecting with their iPads

[anthdci]

On 23/11/2023 at 13:33, Jose_49 said:

 🤔🤔🤔

 

That could work! Let me do some calculations!

As you've said, we are mostly dependent on Internet Connection. I could get a computer that's solid with battery life and the other one that serves as a hub. I"ve seen people connecting with their iPads

 

you could pick up a M2 Air pretty cheaply that would last double the macbook pro and if you have a more powerful CPU/GPU back at home your work would be considerably faster than a M3 would do. Best of both worlds.