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High travel amount with 16" screen?

F

FlyingTexan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
I'm a pilot, obviously I travel a lot. I currently have a 14" M1 Pro but wondering if anyone that travels a lot has ran with a 16". The 14" is already a PITA to use on an airline tray in economy. However, the boss let me get a new ipad so I have one of those with all the bells and whistles that I use when on an airline. So really it's about how well the 16" travels in a backpack and honestly me using it in the cockpit. My 14" has been great but wondering how two inches really matter on a 16". Is it more of a weight thing to you? Is 2 inches diagonally even noticeable?

The 14" has been great for travel. It wasn't ever really about power but capability. This is my main machine for everything and when you spend half your life in a hotel that matters. The screen has been fantastic. The promotion is great (not a deal breaker) but using the vivid app and being able to get the brightness up there is. I can use it in broad daylight in the cockpilt. It's great. The speakers are amazing so no needing to travel with big earphones. I haven't honestly turned a TV on in a hotel room in years because the media quality has been great.

So for me it's about the upcoming new abilities in the M5 series for AI. I'm getting into LLMs pretty big and I'd 100% go 14", I bought the M5 Max with 128GB, and it arrives tomorrow but now that I'm seeing it's limited to like 96w charging I'm debating getting the 16" because of that.
 
I was 9 weeks backpacking in Asia and Australia with a 16“.

It was no problem. Just sometimes I wished for a lighter device
 
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The "two inches" makes a massive productivity difference. Go into an Apple Store and compare side-by-side. As @Sheepish-Lord said, it's a desktop replacement. Yes, it can be taken on the go, but cramped cockpit or coach seating aren't ideal for the 16-inch. And using it "on your lap" is a bit more unwieldy than the 14-inch. Weight is 3.4lbs vs. 4.7lbs doesn't sound like much but it can add to those small rollers I see most pilots pulling along and you'll definitely notice in a backpack. If your main use is in a cockpit or in non-business class, stick with the 14-inch.

I just re-read your post, and at the end you talk about getting into LLMs bigly. If that's the case, get the 16" M5 Max as the main benefit is thermal headroom. 35% larger heat sink and larger fans than the 14-inch. Less likely to throttle during those late night LLM sessions at the hotel. It won't be as convenient to carry or use in the cockpit, but when you have downtime at the hotel, you'll appreciate the larger screen and the superior cooling of the 16-inch.
 
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conmee said:
The "two inches" makes a massive productivity difference. Go into an Apple Store and compare side-by-side. As @Sheepish-Lord said, it's a desktop replacement. Yes, it can be taken on the go, but cramped cockpit or coach seating aren't ideal for the 16-inch. And using it "on your lap" is a bit more unwieldy than the 14-inch. Weight is 3.4lbs vs. 4.7lbs doesn't sound like much but it can add to those small rollers I see most pilots pulling along and you'll definitely notice in a backpack. If your main use is in a cockpit or in non-business class, stick with the 14-inch.

I just re-read your post, and at the end you talk about getting into LLMs bigly. If that's the case, get the 16" M5 Max as the main benefit is thermal headroom. 35% larger heat sink and larger fans than the 14-inch. Less likely to throttle during those late night LLM sessions at the hotel. It won't be as convenient to carry or use in the cockpit, but when you have downtime at the hotel, you'll appreciate the larger screen and the superior cooling of the 16-inch.
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I was wondering how much the cooling makes a difference if the LLMs are largely all about the GPU and just a little of the CPU, etc where it's not pegging it. All the stats I saw were on the notebookcheck review and they were based on gaming. I've been using API's so it hasn't been a concern yet but based on the cost of the API's and limit rates it's just better I self host.
 
FlyingTexan said:
I was wondering how much the cooling makes a difference if the LLMs are largely all about the GPU and just a little of the CPU, etc where it's not pegging it. All the stats I saw were on the notebookcheck review and they were based on gaming. I've been using API's so it hasn't been a concern yet but based on the cost of the API's and limit rates it's just better I self host.
Click to expand...
Your local AI/LLM work will spike the GPU and the accompanying Neural Accelerators. Those workloads are generally not CPU-bound. So the GPU will be generating the heat. But they tend to be bursty rather than continuous, so you may not encounter long periods of 100% load, but always nice to have the additional thermal headroom for when you do more sustained workloads such as generating images or video. But I'm no expert ha! I think you'll be fine with either size, but I still recommend 14-inch if you prioritize travel/portability/convenience and the 16-inch if you want no compromise top of the line performance.
 
Why is using the Macbook in the cockpit a concern, since you say you have an iPad for use on the plane? Sounds like the MBP is for use once you get to the destination, in hotels etc?

I do a lot of traveling with my 16" M1 MBP (no good for LLM's but I haven't gotten into that stuff yet) and I'd never consider sizing down. It fits perfectly in my backpack, and the extra weight gives me extra exercise when walking around. I jog with it on too, to cafes an stuff. the 16" is great for travel, all sorts of uses like watching movies on the extra large screen, optimal speaker quality, more screen real-estate for productivity. A true desktop replacement as others have noted.

Leave the MPB in your backpack during the flight and use the iPad, unless you must do LLM's on the plane. You'll be glad to have the 16"er with you after you land.
 
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Do you have to be doing on-device LLM while on the road? I have no idea how that kind of thing works, but can you leave the heavy hitter AI box at home and remote in via VPN from your existing 14" MBP while at work? That has the added benefit of being able to buy an even better LLM performer (like a Studio, etc), and it'll piss you off less if something happens to your laptop while you're out traveling.

Just a thought. I fly too, and I don't think I'd want to hump a 16" MBP around.
 
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Heavy LLM use is going to generate immense heat and prematurely trash your battery. Maybe wait until the M5 studio is released and SSH into the machine on the road. You’ll be able to get the best performance and none of the fan noise while traveling.

The 16” has its place but the 14” is the absolute sweet spot for a powerful mobile computer.
 
The 16" MBP weighs just about the 15" Retina 2012-2015, and believe it or not, similar to the 13" cMBP. None of them were regarded as 'heavy' with around 2kg if we are honest, we just got used to the light yet still pretty capable Air. But I agree, carrying around my thicc boy is noticeable and a 15" Air with 1.5kg would be more pleasant. But it comes with too many compromises for me (performance, active cooling, screen, speakers, ports...) while the 14" MBP doesn't harmonize well with the recent, power-hungry Max chips.

I think for a semi-mobile use, moving it around in the own apartment, or now and then to the office or my family house (via car), the 16" is absolutely perfect. 50% of the time I use it with my Studio Display, the other time standalone, where I am grateful to still have enough screen space for more complex tasks. A 14" or even 13" screen would feel way too crammed then.

However, for a pilot, traveller, student, Starbucks-nerd, or similar, I agree that the 14" MBP and both Airs are more convenient.
 
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