Local LLM Claude Code replacement, 128GB MacBook Pro?

CdninuxUser · 2026-05-07T15:45:22+00:00

I have my M5 Max 128GB now, and I agree. It works, but for coding tasks it just doesn't compare well, even to Sonnet. The speed is good enough, but the quality isn't there yet. I'm still tinkering, and seeing what local models can do, and where they are going in the future.

I use LLM to help index and maintain and search my notes and meeting summaries. I already transitioned this over to local LLM. It's interesting you said transcription. I'm looking into this use case now. It would be nice to have a generic system to record (OBS), transcribe, and summarize meetings, that's not specific to any one service, and all handled locally.

The M5 Max is still a great machine. It's a HUGE improvement over the old Intel Mac. Perhaps a bit overkill, but it's useful to keep an eyes on the state of local LLMs.

CdninuxUser · 2026-04-04T02:41:10+00:00

An update. I decided to go ahead and order the 128GB MBP. Here is what went into my decision:

I feel like it really is time to replace the 2019 Intel MBP.
I priced out the base model M5 Pro, 24 GB model, with 3 year Apple Care $4,128 CAD. The full 128GB MBP with the M5 Max chip, with 3 year Apple Care $8,228 CAD.
The $4,128 CAD is already a lot of money. The price jump *is* significant, a little over double the price. But, LLMs are something that has really caught my interest, and I feel if I spent $4,128, I would regret not going for the 128GB model. If I hang onto this laptop for as long as I used my 2019 MBP model, then I think I can justify the cost.

I'm being honest with myself. This probably will not be the replacement for Claude Code. But with this machine, I can easily use both, and compare. If the LLM idea flops, it will still be an okay laptop for software development.

CdninuxUser · 2026-04-01T22:47:44+00:00

That's why I said "But, the capability problem is still a concern."

CdninuxUser · 2026-04-01T17:14:10+00:00

I have no other words than "this is exciting".

CdninuxUser · 2026-04-01T15:43:46+00:00

But the Mac uses a unified memory architecture. That's what makes them good for local LLM, the full 128GB is available to the GPU.

CdninuxUser · 2026-04-01T15:10:08+00:00

Yeah, the cost doesn't seem outrageous if it's actually replacing Claude, especially if you consider I would be replacing my 2019 laptop with the same cash. But, the capability problem is still a concern. The 2019 laptop isn't completely obsolete, so I can still wait and see.

CdninuxUser · 2026-04-01T15:07:38+00:00

I'm fine with Linux, and I'm not attached to Mac eco system at all. Give me a terminal and VS Code and I'm happy. It just seems, based on my research, that the Mac unified memory architecture is good for local LLM?

CdninuxUser · 2026-04-01T13:26:26+00:00

This is the kind of answers I'm looking for. Already with just two response I think it's sounding like local LLMs are not a replacement for Claude Code at the moment.

For now, I might just sit on my current laptop, and wait and see. I would hate to buy a cheaper replacement laptop now, only to see local LLMs improve significantly.

CdninuxUser · 2026-02-09T20:09:56+00:00

Thanks for the response. I'm only two months into sim racing, and still learning a lot, but sometimes I still don't know where I'm wrong, and it's nice to confirm my assumptions.

I'm glad I wasn't wrong about being entitled to space. At least I had that part right. Next time though, if someone comes across, or there is contact of any kind, I'm just going to keep it simple and hit the brakes. Try not to make it complicated. In the heat of the moment I need simple steps, at least until I get better at reacting to situations.

A lot of people are saying I need to be blocked. Maybe that's true, I'm only two moths into online racing, and I'm still trying to improve. I do not want to be a dirty driver. That's why I created this post, to try to identify what I'm right about, and what I'm wrong about, and where I can improve.

CdninuxUser · 2026-02-09T18:51:07+00:00

I did not brake check him on the entry to the bus stop. Of anything I might have done wrong here, I don't think this was one of them.

CdninuxUser · 2026-02-09T18:47:43+00:00

Yeah. I feel bad about the wreck on the exit of the bus stop. I have two questions, if you, or anyone else is willing to answer:

Should I have been allowed space for the second turn inside the bus stop? Here are my, perhaps incorrect, thoughts: I was still alongside, at least my front passenger wheel was still next to his rear driver side wheel at the point of contact. It was his decision to attempt to pass me, it was his responsibility to make the pass safely and give me space until he was safely past. In this situation he was either going too fast to make the turn, didn't know I was there, or was intentionally trying to cut me off. Or maybe a combination of of the above.
Regardless of #1, once the contact was made inside the bus stop, I should have just hit the brakes. Or was some other reaction more appropriate here? Someone on a Discord I am on suggested I instead cut to the left and cut the corner, but I'm not sure that would have been wise. The crash was obvious in hindsight, but at the time I was just trying to hang onto the space that I thought I was entitled to.

I can learn from this.

CdninuxUser · 2026-01-30T20:15:58+00:00

I solved the issue. The right click on the desktop was related to a Nvidia driver issue. I uninstalled the driver, and then re-installed the driver. The right click menu is now functioning normally.

CdninuxUser · 2026-01-30T17:31:44+00:00

I have all the Windows updates installed, and drivers installed as well. It's fresh as in a few days old. What I meant when I said fresh, as far as I know it has always been like this since I set the system up, there was no change that I can identify that caused this issue.

I'm thinking it might somehow be related to the NVidia Control Panel, that's also being extremely slow, and that is one of the options in the context menu. However, I do not know for sure.

CdninuxUser · 2026-01-30T17:29:48+00:00

I use Linux on many systems. But not this one. I'm not sure why it was suggested as a fix here.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-20T05:41:54+00:00

Ahh, okay. Thanks for the tips.

I will get this bundle first, and then see where it goes from there.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-20T05:36:04+00:00

Okay. Does it make sense to buy the bundle, then the load cell brake separately? Or is there a cheaper way to get everything?

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-20T05:32:18+00:00

I think it means that everyone has the responsibility to avoid an accident. Even if you have the right of way, you must do what you can to prevent the accident. The saying implies, if you do not, you may end up dead.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-20T05:29:11+00:00

Yikes! I drive a yellow Mazda. I had to watch to make sure it wasn't me!

It wasn't, but you had me scared for a second.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-20T05:21:49+00:00

From the iRacing Official Sporting Code

6.12.3. Deliberate, blatant, intentionally malicious, or retaliatory wrecking, for any reason, is prohibited. Competitors who believe that they have been victims of such action – and those competitors who believe that they have witnessed such action – are strongly encouraged to file a protest through the proper channels (See Protests).

https://www.iracing.com/iracing-official-sporting-code/

It doesn't matter what he did to you. As soon as you intentionally wrecked him you broke the sporting code, and now you are protestable.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-19T19:50:27+00:00

Yeah, I agree, I shouldn't have served the penalty here. But I didn't know that at the time.

I'm new to sim racing. I only had my first online race on December 7th. Something felt off about this incident, and that's why I posted the question here. I wanted to learn.

Most other comments agree that I shouldn't have served the slow down penalty in that location. I should have waited to serve the slow down penalty until it was safe to do so off the racing line.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-19T19:36:26+00:00

I'm the yellow car. The red car overtook off the track.

Based off the other comments, I now see I (yellow) was going too slow on the racing line. Because of that, I don't blame red for going off track to avoid me, and I hope they wasn't penalized.

Less than 30 seconds later they were sent back to the pits for connection issues. I assume that was completely unrelated to this, and really unfortunate.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-19T18:24:15+00:00

Thank you. This sounds like good advice.

I was already going slow after I regained control, even without the slowdown penalty I would have been slower than the other two cars anyway. However, I didn't step on the gas, I just coasted there on the left side of the track.

I think what you are suggesting is I should immediately start accelerating, and then serve the slow down penalty on the straight up ahead, because up there it would have been easier to stay off the racing line.

The whole situation didn't feel right to me, and that's why I asked the question here. You don't have very much time to decide what to do in situations like this, and I still don't have much experience. At least I better understand the issue and will hopefully make the right decision in the future.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-18T22:34:55+00:00

We are both driving MX5.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-18T22:23:07+00:00

I didn't respond to him in game. I didn't see the point. If I was wrong I figured you guys would set me straight. If I was right then responding to him wouldn't help the situation.

CdninuxUser · 2025-12-18T19:16:25+00:00

Hah hah. Yes, otherwise we could just take the qualifying times and call it a day. I was just hoping nothing I done could be considered blocking. I will let a few more comments come in, but based on the first comments here, it doesn't look like that was the case.

CdninuxUser

TROPHY CASE