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"2.5 year old laptop" is potentially the most useless way of describing a 64GB M2, as it could be confused with virtually any other configuration of laptop.
by chickenzzzzu 1y ago
"2.5 year old laptop" is potentially the most useless way of describing a 64GB M2, as it could be confused with virtually any other configuration of laptop.
- OJFord 1y agoI think the point is just that it doesn't require absolute cutting edge nor server hardware.
- jphoward 1y agoNo but 64 GB of unified memory provides almost as much GPU RAM capacity as two RTX 5090s (only less due to the unified nature) - top of the range GPUs - so it's a truly exceptional laptop in this regard.
- turnsout 1y agoExcept that it is not exceptional at all; it's an older-generation MacBook Pro with 64GB of RAM. There's nothing particularly unusual about it.
- jphoward 1y ago64 GB of RAM which is addressable by a GPU is exceptional for a laptop - this is not just system RAM.
- chickenzzzzu 1y agoTo emphasize this point further, at least with my efforts, it is not even possible to buy a 64GB M4 Pro right now. 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB are all sold out. We can say that 64GB addressable by a GPU is not exceptional when compared to 128GB and it still costs less than a month's pay for a FAANG engineer, but the fact that they aren't actually purchasable right now shows that it's not as easy as driving to Best Buy and grabbing one off the shelf.
- turnsout 1y agoThey're not sold out—Apple's configurator (and chip naming) is just confusing. The MacBook Pro with M4 Pro is only available in 24 or 48 GB configurations. To get 64 or 128 GB, you need to upgrade to the M4 Max. If you're looking for the cheapest way into 64 of unified memory, the Mac mini is available with an M4 Pro and 64GB at $1999. So, truly, not "exceptional" unless you consider the price to be exorbitant (it's not, as evidenced by the long useful life of an M-series Mac).
- chickenzzzzu 1y agothank you for providing that extra info! i agree that $2000-4000 is not an absolutely earth shattering price, but i still wonder what the benefit one receives is when they say "2.5 year old laptop" instead of "64GB M2 laptop"
- turnsout 1y agoI understand, but that is not exceptional for a Mac laptop. You could say all Apple Silicon Macs are exceptional, and I guess I agree in the context of the broader PC community. But I would not point at an individual MacBook Pro with 64 GB of RAM and say "whoa, that's exceptional." It's literally just a standard option when you buy the computer. It does bump the price pretty high, but the point of the MBP is to cater to higher-end workflows.
- tantalor 1y agoIt was also something he already had lying around. Did not need to buy something new to get new functionality.
- simonw 1y agoThe thing I find most notable here is that this is the same laptop I've used to run every open weights model since the original LLaMA. The models have got so much better without me needing to upgrade my hardware.
- chickenzzzzu 1y agoThat's great! Why can't we say that instead? No need to overly quantize our headlines. "64GB M2 makes Space Invaders-- can be bought for under $xxxx"