points by YegoBear 2 days ago | 0 comments
I have an X9-15p with the X7 CPU and an M4 Max 16” MBP. I love the X9, it’s so light and powerful enough for most of what I do. That being said, it’s nowhere near as powerful as the M4 Max, not even close, and here in the US, there’s no 64GB model available.
[–] Grombobulous 2 days ago
[–] YegoBear 11 hours ago
Believe it or not the Max was less than $3K on a good sale, but that was before the price hike. You’re right though, the X9 only cost me $2100ish, and I love the damn thing. Wish I could get on the mobile GPU bandwagon but every time I try one (I bought and returned the 2025 G16 you mentioned) they’re loud as hell and cheap out on the trackpad. The 2026 G16 still doesn’t have a haptic one and they’re selling the 16GB model for over $3K!
What you’re saying is true, but if your workflow involves graphics at all, Apple’s Max chips are subpar compared to getting a laptop with an Nvidia discrete GPU (e.g., 2026 ASUS Zephyrus G16).
For the Mac chips to make sense you have to specifically need very high CPU performance, be running local AI workflows (which you can do with cloud subscriptions for less money and better results, or you have alternatives like RTX Spark that cost roughly the same as MacBook Pro alternatives), and not want to play games (see gaming benchmarks on multi-platform native games like Cyberpunk 2077, high end Macs get walloped by mid-range discrete GPUs in laptops).
In short, I imagine that 90%+ of MacBook Pro buyers are buying the base M chip or at most the Pro chip, and those SKUs have much more competition.
A Mac is more of a good laptop for your employer than for you and me.