Budget 90k+ Macbook M4 line up worth the wait for a fresher in CS?

jakehifi

Recruit
Hi Forum Members,
I am looking to give my niece a macbook. She is enrolling for CS so the scope of usage would be a minimum of 4 years.
I want to get technical inputs if it would worth the wait to give the latest line up instead of choosing current m3 ones since Apple is infamous for slowing their old gen devices with OS updates to market their newer gen "faster". Would an M3 powered Macbook pro survive 4 years without lagging or lacking of doing anything a CS student required to do?
 
Yes for atleast 6 years it's good. Using an M1 as my work daily driver since last 2.5 years and it still feels the same as it was when i got it, the performance and the battery.
 
It really doesn't get that "slow". Still I think you should wait and buy the M3 version as it will be available for cheaper when the newer version releases and that way you can snag a good deal. I am sure some will be available on the fourm too. Otherwise you can always buy the newer version, just don't buy the M3 at retail or regular discounted price right now.
 
Fresher? Give me a 25k ThinkPad duh
 
unless you have the dough for atleast the 16gig version, then dont buy her a mac, specially if she's enrolling for CS
 
There will be massive changes w.r.t Neural engine on M4 as Apple is now investing heavily in AI. If it not urgent, as new laptops are just months away, wait!
Also, M4 would be more efficient than M3. M3 MBPs used to heat up more and there were instances where heavy workloads would cause laptop to heat up. Dont know if Apple released any microcode updates to throttle a bit. They did it to A17 Pro chips on iPhone 15 Pro series.
Do not buy one with non-Prom M* chip.
Do not buy the base config.
You need at least 16GB memory and 512GB storage.
Factor in Apple Care + for Mac cost when you are buying. This is mandatory. Repairs without Apple Care plus is not easy on purse. I have seen people move to WIndows laptops from Mac when the motherboard of Mx Mac had issues and they did not take Apple Care plus. Yes, it costs less to buy a Windows laptops in case where you have to do major repair or replacement to MBP motherboard.

As for lag, I have an Intel Mac from 2018 and still, it just works. My pesonal macbook is powered by M2 Pro and it is insanely fast. When it comes to a Mac, you do not have to worry about speed/lag.
 
desiibond said:
Do not buy one with non-Prom M* chip.
Click to expand...
why avoid the non pro? are the differences that drastic? I have used a base M2 and it seemed fine to me granted I havent dived into the Apple ecosystem at all. OP would have to easily shell out 2L+ for the config you are specifying and considering its for a student, it does seem a little drastic