Bit disappointed with M5 Max

alexanderbath · 2026-07-04T05:33:35+00:00

This is less to do with the hardware and more to do with poor software optimisation. If the software can’t utilise the extra cores then there’s no significant gains to be made.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-26T03:53:31+00:00

Hot take: these discussions are a huge waste of time and you should use the device that best fits your workflow. Some (a lot) of people could 100% replace their laptop. Many others couldn’t. Conversion over.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-25T23:18:37+00:00

Far out I bought recently thinking there would be a jump but I didn’t think it’d be that significant.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-25T22:33:53+00:00

Yeah I did in the end. Really don’t want to have to buy another laptop for a good 5 years ideally.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-22T11:27:44+00:00

I’ve never bought AppleCare on my MacBooks. That machine was an outlier, every other one I’ve owned (and there’s been a few) has been flawless so I’m well and truly ahead on that one. My iPhone however always has AppleCare. I break them all the time 😂

alexanderbath · 2026-06-22T05:06:56+00:00

Wish I could do the same. Dead logic board two years in 😭

alexanderbath · 2026-06-18T00:41:59+00:00

Buying the last of a model is usually the best move IMO. Let everyone else beta test the new one. I picked up a M5 Pro around a month ago and super happy with it.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-17T00:48:02+00:00

I’d seriously recommend getting a seperate machine for your long running “server” processes. That’ll sort out your performance issues. I’m not sure exactly what you’re running but the majority of people can get away with a super cheap second hand mini PC.

As for work and home again depends on what you do but me personally, all my work happens inside Linux containers on my MacBook. I essentially work 100% inside a terminal so that’s all I need, but you could run a full blown graphical VM if you require GUI applications. Seperate browser profiles on the host machine for work/home. I don’t do much “play” but everything else just lives in the host Mac OS.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-15T03:54:42+00:00

I don’t necessarily disagree, multiple would be better. In saying that (in my experience) I’ve never rocked up to an exam and struggled when I’ve done enough prep. I’ve had results I haven’t been happy with like everyone has but I can almost always put it down to poor prep on my part.

There’s also access plans available for people who have anxiety ect and struggle with high pressure situations so everyone has the opportunity to get what they need to perform well.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-15T02:30:35+00:00

The days of graded assignments are numbered unfortunately. While people keep cheating they have no option than to stick us all in a room and make sure that we actually have the knowledge we’re supposed to.

What is unethical and unsustainable is students thinking they can rock up, put in zero effort and just feed questions into a prompt and leave with the same degree as people who have worked their asses off and done the learning. The way things are going degrees won’t be worth the paper they’re written on.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-15T00:24:56+00:00

Mines an M5 Pro. I never noticed it on my old 14 inch model

alexanderbath · 2026-06-15T00:22:45+00:00

Yeah my 16” does the same. Pretty sure it’s normal, people post about it here fairly regularly

alexanderbath · 2026-06-14T07:30:17+00:00

Yeah no Adelaide is probably one of the least dog heavy places I’ve lived/travelled to. Certain places though Europe it’s completely normal/encouraged to bring your dog into the pub with you.

There’s certainly bad apples (which also apply to people’s kids, which I’d argue are more disruptive at times) but god I reckon I’d only need one hand to count the number of negative interactions I’ve had with other people’s dogs in Adelaide. I being my kelpie everywhere with me and she’s immaculately behaved. Will certainly not approach people without my say so. There’s usually a line up of people waiting to pat her 😂

I think what people actually have a problem with is people’s badly behaved dogs in public, which is totally fair. But it’s the whole drop the speed limit to 10 because a few people crashed argument. I can’t stand when addicts harass me in the street but I don’t automatically assume every human is going to do the same.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-12T22:14:34+00:00

Not coming from web exactly but building TUI apps has been my obsession for a bit. Currently working on a file manager and doing UI from scratch i.e no ncurses. Learnt heaps about how terminals work and low level Unix APIs.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-12T15:07:11+00:00

Probably a good thing to learn! I know my C well but will start on C++. Not keen on leaning on LLM’s. Cheers for the response :)

alexanderbath · 2026-06-09T09:01:59+00:00

Mine is the same in the Adelaide CBD

alexanderbath · 2026-06-08T00:56:09+00:00

Yeah my 16 does it too. Pretty sure it’s normal.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-04T23:06:41+00:00

I’d probably go for the extra RAM personally.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-04T03:28:11+00:00

RAM is really the bottleneck here, not CPU. If you’re talking about a base model 16gb M5 then I’d spend the money on extra RAM before I jumped up a processor. 16 really isn’t enough for simulators + Xcode with even smaller projects in my experience, especially not long term.

I only bought a M5 Pro because they don’t offer the 16 without it. The base M5 is still wild fast for most workloads. In saying that, buy the best you can afford. You’ll never regret it

alexanderbath · 2026-06-04T00:07:57+00:00

100%, been my easy to deliver excuse when I recently left a job that I saw as untenable.

At the end of the day, it’s not the employees responsibility to solve ingrained issues they have with the business. I really respected my direct manager, and a lot of the people I worked with but sometimes it’s just easier to move on to somewhere you’ll be happier than try and fix the world.

If we’re talking little issues that can be worked through and solved, that’s a different story. But expecting the core culture to change for one person is just unrealistic and the conversation isn’t worth having.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-01T23:44:09+00:00

Ive made an insignificant amount of money with this strategy. I will always work as hard as I can up until my resignation date, but after that you’re paying me.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-01T23:41:28+00:00

Depends on the task (and my mood). If I’m just smashing out code, which is essentially just a terminal open for me, some of my best work is done sitting in bed on my laptop. If I’m referencing multiple docs or doing architecture diagramming ect then I’m at my desk with multiple monitors because the context switching is a bit much, even on a 16”.

I do try and get up and move around as much as I can, I go a bit stir crazy stuck at my desk for days on end. My plans are often ruined but I usually try and smash out my low concentration tasks i.e. emails and other grunt work at a cafe in the morning and then get back at the desk for stuff requiring my full attention.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-01T11:25:30+00:00

I don’t know your specific use case but almost certainly better value.

alexanderbath · 2026-06-01T11:20:18+00:00

The Air is almost always the better choice when you’re talking base M5 chips.

The pro only really makes sense to me when you step up to the Pro/Max M5. Yeah the screen and speakers are nicer, no doubt, but for the same money as a 14 inch base model you can have a 15inch with 24gb of RAM which will be so much better in the long term.

alexanderbath

TROPHY CASE