I’ve been Mac only since about 2008.
My current machine:
2023 14 inch Macbook Pro M2 Max
32 GB RAM
12 cores
GPU (38 cores)
HD 2GB
Very happy with it, my last Macbook Pro lasted 9-10 years, hopefully I get 9-10 years from this one as well. Last time I used Linux was running Slack 7 years ago.
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To run local LLMs, it’s a little hard to predict how things will evolve over the next few years. For now maybe get an eGPU that connects over thunderbolt.
This is a really good point - when you are using a machine for long periods quality of life items matter. Companies know this and unfortunately use it to make people upgrade by allowing/introducing obsolescence over time, either with OS updates or through lack of upgrades for perishable components (eg, battery-gate where phones were being throttled).
We’ve talked about a number of these things over the years (including in Dimi’s thread on DT) such as (as per that comment) Affinity apps beginning to take an eon to open. When I first got the machine apps opened practically instantly, but over time started taking over 30 seconds to over a minute (on my M4 mini they open instantly again - wonder how long that will last!?) Similarly, closing Safari tabs started taking over a second! And as Dimi mentioned even opening system settings became laggy. Knowing there is a likelihood of this can push people to upgrade or opt for beefier specs, more so than a new computer taking less time to do a computationally intensive task, such as applying a photoshop filter (most people won’t care if a newer machine takes 10 seconds less to carry out a task that they are not constantly doing - but they will care about all the other much more frequent QoL items that add up through the course of the day).
Even aside from the above, it plays a role in initial purchase too: more RAM = ability to open more tabs, larger files, run more VMs etc, better GPU often means ability to run multiple monitors or the ones you have more smoothly (see my comments about the laggy animation above), better CPU helps with compilation speeds, working with image files or graphics programs etc. Can you do the same with a less beefier machine? Yes, but everything will be slower, laggier, and less pleasant to work with.
Hence beefier machines aren’t just for items that ‘need’ beefier machines (I.e where you would be unable to do those things without that machine) they also help with everyday quality of life, and if you spend a lot of time on your computer, that can make a big difference.
Glad you mentioned monitors as I forgot to say I think a good monitor is just as important as the machine itself.
Personally I would try to avoid glossy monitors as they can make it difficult for your eyes to focus on text.
HiDPI/Retina are also worth it imo, and personally I recommend getting a larger display so you can push it further away.
When my LG5K monitor broke last year (common TB port issue) I tried to fix it but ended up killing it 
(though got a semi-fix by buying a second hand one and swapping the motherboard - it works now but only on full brightness, which is bad for your eyes) so I bought an ultra wide 40" Dell, and I love it! Not because I can cramp so much on display, but because I can get enough of what I need and place things evenly with nice gaps. If you’re into things like Feng shui you’ll appreciate a monitor with a lot of real estate. The other thing I have done is download a massive amount of HQ desktop wallpapers, and set it to change every 5 minutes, This means every time a nice landscape image appears I get the feeling of being outdoors, can focus my eyes on things that appear to be in the distance etc. Only problem is after a while you yearn to be out in the real world!!! 
For anyone interested, I highly recommend https://wallscloud.net/en for wallpapers, easily the best site of its type around. I have my resolution bookmarked and check it every day.
A resounding YES to all that + the fact that Linux does not throttle performance with time!
If anything, I saw 2-3 performance improvements in the last two years on my Linux laptop. The kernel upgrades legitimately and unquestionably improve stuff here and there.
I always knew this of course but as mentioned above I had to get a Mac because I wanted to do more contracting, which meant I could not afford fighting with my machine several times a month and waste hours doing it just so I have a working dev environment.
But as also said above, Linux’s UX has improved drastically in the last years. You have to actively go out of your way to make sure you won’t have a bootable machine. Which most of us don’t do.
I already got recommended some pretty good displays for programming (and they are just generally for everything except gaming really), including one by you, if memory serves. When the time comes I’ll have to go find a show room where they are stationed so I can see with my own eyes and pick one. Mac displays can’t be unbeatable!
Because to be honest, to me and as of March-2025… that’s the only objective benefit you derive from a Mac – a very good display.
The one I ended up getting was the Dell U4025QW, which I highly recommend. We have an account with Dell so got a discount, but generally if you ring them and say you’ve found it cheaper elsewhere they will usually offer you a better price.
The size and curve is pretty spot on. They usually offer a trial period of no questions asked returns - so maybe give it a go one day…
Bookmarking it, thanks.
The other one I got recommended was this one: RD280U｜28.2" 4K+ 3:2 Programming Monitor | BenQ US
I love the idea of auto-dimming. That’s something I miss a lot when I am not working on my Mac. Though I also got used to do quick adjustments with the Fn combo on my laptop as well so maybe not such a big deal after all.
Here in Bulgaria I’ll be laughed out of the room if I did it. But I can always buy it through my company (which I planned to do anyway, it’s a company expense after all) and then they never ask questions – you say “I don’t like it” and they 99% of the time just take it and refund you, if it’s done within 2-3 months anyway.
I hate auto-dimming 
For Macs you can get https://monitorcontrol.app/ which will let you use the keyboard’s brightness up/down keys.
BenQ are nice too - but the best monitors I have ever had, particularly in terms of helping with productivity/getting things done/feeling/health etc, have been large monitors - the 30" Dell I had with my Mac Pro and this 40" Dell.
This Dell is also rated for eye comfort, is 120hz, 5K, has an ambient light censor, etc. If you are using a computer for long periods a good monitor is very important imo.
I’ve been using the M1 MacBook Air with 16 gb of ram (although I’m switching to the M4 MacBoo Pro soon 
) with a 32" M7 Samsung Monitor (and a Microsoft Sculpt keyboard).
My previous computer was a Dell XPS 15, with the i7 and 16gb of ram, and when I switched I was blown away with the fact that a tiny fanless computer was way faster than the Dell.
I mainly do Phoenix projects with Elixir, and there the mac has power to spare. I’ve done some Flutter this year, and when running Android emulators I’ve experienced some lagging, but great overall.
When I had the Dell I was running a dual boot with Debian, and the only thing I miss is the tiling window manager. I’ve tried some mac alternatives (mainly yabai and aerospace) but they are just not it.
I normally have like 10 workspaces open, with full screen apps, and just switch between them with Contexts (one of the greatest mac apps I’ve tried, https://contexts.co/), so it doesn’t bother me that much, but I still miss it.
And for coding I’ve been using Zed. I used to use VSCode but it was noticingly slow for big projects and the vim mode, for me, fell in uncanny valley, while Zed’s feels more like the native experience.
I have an Entroware Proteus from a few years back.
OS: Garuda Linux Broadwing
Host: Entroware Proteus
Kernel: 6.13.7-zen1-1-zen
Shell: fish
DE: Plasma 6.3.3
WM: KWin
CPU: Intel i7-10510U (8) @ 4.9GHz
GPU: Intel CometLake-U GT2 [UHD Graphics]
Memory: 10.17GiB / 31.04GiB
Other than that, I also have the AOC U34G2G4R3 monitor (34")
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I’ve recently got a 14 inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro and it works well, would have been nice to spec more than 24GB RAM and 512GB SSD but it works well so far. Usually at desk with 4K 32 inch and QHD 27 inch screens, but occasionally just the inbuilt screen which is remarkably good.
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Primary:
Secondary:
The external display limitations of earlier m series macs made me update to a M4 macbook pro (14") last year. I went with 48GB given intentions to do more streaming/video content and also given RAM has always been the one theme, where previous machines eventually started to get limiting. I expect this machine to serve me for a while given how well the previous M1 aged before.
Running 2 external monitors at home, both at 4k mostly for the text sharpness, as well as logitech mx master peripherals. Also recently moved to a CalDigit thunderbold dock, which made cable mess move behind my desk. There’s just a single cable to my macbook.
Still in the process of renovating my future homeoffice room though, which I’m waiting for to truely setup my workspace fresh.
Here’s an interesting one for the future-proofers: ASUS Ascent GX10. Built-in GPU, unified memory, design for clustering. How will this perform vs one built on AMD Ryzen AI Max 395+? Someone please start buying these machines and report back.
My current dev machine is an 32 GB M2 Max MacBook Pro. This was a nice upgrade from a 16 GB Surface Book 2.
This MBP seems plenty fast enough for most things. I like that I can use Parallels to run Ubuntu and also Windows 11 to work with Visual Studio Pro. So, I can have three different simultaneous OSes running if I wish, though it’s usually only the one.
I find the VMs great for client work in that I can give each client a whole OS to install anything required for that project. After the project has completed, I can shut down that VM and not have to worry about cleaning up my main system.
I’m still hoping to upgrade to an M4 Max (or better) just to have the nested VMs. The M2 Max does not support running Docker within my Win or Ubuntu VMs. While 32 GB is fine for most things I work with, bumping the memory up more would help run larger local LLMs.
My work laptop (belongs to employer) is a 16-inch MacBook Pro M3.
It is extremely powerful given it’s weight & size, and I have never even once thought “I wish the battery life was longer”.
We have a very big codebase, and sometimes I wish I had even more CPU horsepower for compilation & running Dialyzer.
I have never heard the fan, so they could probably have made it thinner and lighter.
If I was working on smaller codebases, I think the 15 inch MacBook air would make more sense.
My personal laptop is a ThinkPad T14 with a Ryzen processor. It can compile any of my side projects near instantly. I run Linux mint. I have also never heard the fan and the battery life seems like it can last about 6+ hours which is way more than I need for a casual-use laptop.
Strong agree on battery. If a laptop can last 4 hours of moderate usage, it’s quite enough for me.
Never in my life I ever thought “I wish I could sit with a laptop for 13 hours”. I don’t see the true business need for it.
My Linux laptop lasts 3-4 hours of active usage. Love it.
How long does it last under load? I’ve had one from my previous employer but I never ran it more than a hour from the battery.
I have done an 8-hour work day on battery. I definitely could not do two such days on battery.
If I was compiling the entire time, or on Zoom calls the entire time, it would last for a shorter time, but that is unrealistic for me.
I have done a 2-hour Zoom call, and it seems to eat less than 30% of the battery.
It also has all the corporate “security” software installed, I’ll bet money that it would last longer without that stuff.
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