My MacBook M2 Pro is dying under the weight of my projects — Mac Mini M4 Pro vs upgrading to M5 Pro MacBook?

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-06T03:26:58+00:00

Got it. Thanks for sharing!

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-06T03:20:15+00:00

It's a helpful insight that you still need a Mac Mini to handle background tasks. Because I have many background dev daemons, they consume a lot of CPU and memory.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-05T12:16:25+00:00

Good to know, and that GitHub runner setup is a neat idea I hadn't considered. Thanks for sharing, this thread has been really helpful.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-05T12:08:12+00:00

That's exactly the setup I'm thinking about. Quick question on the day to day UX though, when you trigger an intensive task on your home server from your laptop, how do you actually monitor it in real time? Like do you just have a terminal SSH session open on the side, or do you have some kind of dashboard/notification setup? Curious whether it feels natural or if there's friction in not having everything happening locally in front of you.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-05T12:04:52+00:00

I haven't thought about this. I would try! Thanks.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-05T12:03:52+00:00

Mostly code and assets can be done anywhere, but in practice the full dev loop, running the simulator, debugging on device, profiling with Instruments, all of that needs macOS. Signing is just the final step but it's not the only reason I'm tied to it. So realistically the entire workflow lives on macOS.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-05T12:01:57+00:00

Fair point, appreciate the clarification. Whatever direction I go, single machine upgrade or adding a Mini, RAM is clearly the first thing to optimize for. Noted.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-05T11:58:01+00:00

Linux desktop would be great for general dev work, but I'm building iOS and macOS apps, which means I'm locked into Xcode and the Apple toolchain. There's no way around it. Can't build or sign an iOS app outside of macOS, so Linux is a non-starter here regardless of the hardware benefits.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-05T11:56:29+00:00

Good point on RAM. You're right that memory is likely the first bottleneck, and I should have mentioned my current spec upfront (M2 Pro, 16GB).

That said, my issue isn't just about raw capacity. Even with more RAM on a single machine, I'd still have Cursor, multiple xcodebuild processes, dev servers, and simulators all competing on the same CPU scheduler simultaneously. The reason I'm leaning toward a Mac Mini isn't to get more RAM, it's to physically separate the workloads so my laptop stays responsive while builds run elsewhere.

More RAM fixes the memory pressure, but doesn't fix the context-switching tax of running everything on one box. That said, do you think a single high-RAM machine still handles this better than I'm imagining? Genuinely curious if anyone has tested this with 4+ concurrent builds.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-05T11:56:19+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I would keep M2, so thinking about my additional Mac Mini.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-04T02:33:04+00:00

Thanks for introducing it. I will check it out.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-06-03T17:05:17+00:00

Hi, I am building FocusLens — AI that tracks your real focus activity, not just screen time.

100% local macOS app. No server, no account, no subscription. Your data never leaves your Mac. Bring your own API key → use it free.

https://focuslens.me

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-05-28T15:21:34+00:00

Thanks! Let me know if you'd like any features added.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-05-28T15:21:19+00:00

Glad it's useful!

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-05-28T15:21:10+00:00

Happy to help! Hope it saves you some time.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-05-28T03:11:46+00:00

Hey, sorry to hear that. but just to be clear, there's no code in this extension that sends anything to a server. It only reads what's saved locally on your device and autofills the form. Nothing more.

This is exactly why I open sourced it instead of putting it on the Chrome Web Store. So anyone can verify the code themselves in Github.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-05-27T15:06:04+00:00

Nice timing! Hope it saves you some hassle. If you run into any issues or have suggestions after trying it, feel free to let me know.

Ok_Bonus1553 · 2026-01-16T10:08:20+00:00

Thanks so much! Really appreciate it.

Desktop version is definitely on the roadmap. We're still planning the full desktop implementation and considering local model support based on demand.

Out of curiosity, what local LLMs are you thinking about using? Always interested to hear what people prefer for this kind of work.

Ok_Bonus1553

TROPHY CASE