MacBook Pro M4 Max

[shadyman]

I wanted to hear your thoughts on my purchase of the aforementioned laptop.

I use it for work. My working space consists of Google Workspace and creation of PDFs.

I‘m wondering for how many years this laptop will last for my operating method.

Previously, I owned the M1 basic model, but it got to its limits. I experienced severe lagging.

 

[playtech1]

Which size? I have the 14 inch M3 Max and it's great, but I use it on low power mode on battery as it does chew through it quite quickly otherwise. I suspect much less of an issue on the 16 inch.

In regular day to day use though it's not massively quicker than an M1 Pro equivalent, so bear that in mind.

 

[shadyman]

Which size? I have the 14 inch M3 Max and it's great, but I use it on low power mode on battery as it does chew through it quite quickly otherwise. I suspect much less of an issue on the 16 inch.

In regular day to day use though it's not massively quicker than an M1 Pro equivalent, so bear that in mind.

16 inch. 😊

 

[Basic75]

Previously, I owned the M1 basic model, but it got to its limits. I experienced severe lagging.

With basic office stuff? How's your RAM usage? Is the SSD (nearly) full?

 

[Basic75]

In regular day to day use though it's not massively quicker than an M1 Pro equivalent, so bear that in mind.

"Severe lagging" on an M1 is probably not caused by the CPU being too slow.

 

[MacDevil7334]

With basic office stuff? How's your RAM usage? Is the SSD (nearly) full?

"Severe lagging" on an M1 is probably not caused by the CPU being too slow.

I agree with both of these. Basic office work and pdf creation should not be taxing the M1, and the M4 Max would be massively overkill. I would look at your storage space and RAM. Storage being close to full can really slow the computer down, especially if your RAM is also getting maxed out.

If you are determined to get a new computer, a M4 Pro chip will more than meet your needs. If Apple offered the plain M4 on the 16” size, I would say get that. Put the money saved into more storage and RAM. Also, if you can still find a M3 based machine from a reseller, they are often sold at a significant discount. A M3 Pro chip would also more than meet your needs.

 

[dmccloud]

I wanted to hear your thoughts on my purchase of the aforementioned laptop.

I use it for work. My working space consists of Google Workspace and creation of PDFs.

I‘m wondering for how many years this laptop will last for my operating method.

Previously, I owned the M1 basic model, but it got to its limits. I experienced severe lagging.

Assuming the OP picked up the base 16" MBP (1TB SSD/36GB RAM), that is far more horsepower under the hood than would be needed for the use case you outlined. Even if RAM is your primary concern, the M4 Pro configuration with 48GB RAM and a 2TB SSD would have cost the same as the base M4 Max, and still be more than enough machine for Google Workspace.

The issues related to lagging are likely not machine related at all given your reliance on Google Workspace. Considering how Workspace works, any lagging is most likely due to the connection between you and the remote server rather than anything on the Mac itself. The problem is that the lag could be caused at any point between your device and the servers you are connecting to, and if you are using a VPN that would add additional complexity into the equation.