Nên chọn laptop nào để làm fullstack + AI trong tương lai

[ATT (An Tu)]

Chào mọi người, hiện tại mình đang có 1 công việc mới. Project của công ty khá nặng và con laptop cũ của mình đã không thể gánh nổi nữa. Mình có dự định nâng cấp laptop mới, mong mọi người tư vấn giúp mình ạ.
Công việc hiện tại của mình là fullstack có liên quan đến AI, làm việc với nextjs, docker, inngest, langchain, pinecone. Với tài chính < 30tr thì nên nâng cấp lên máy nào? Mình có dự định 2 máy này: MacBook Air 13 inch M4 16GB/256GB, Apple MacBook Air M3 13.6 inch (8CPU/ 10GPU/ 24GB/ 512GB).Mình cũng không biết gì về mảng AI nên không biết máy nào thì hợp lý.
Mọi người cho mình xin ý kiến với,
Xin cảm ơn mọi người

[Joe (Schwarz)]

As a developer, research is the first step. Research means searching for hidden solutions within the vast amount of information. This is especially true in IT, and above all, requires a good command of English. So, the first step is to use Google for research. For example: “Which laptop is best suited for full-stack and AI developers?” and you’ll get tons of results.

[ATT (An Tu)]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’ve also done some research and am currently deciding between two models. I’d love to hear more perspectives from everyone on this matter.

I created this topic to share and discuss the subject so we can all gain a better understanding. If my post isn’t clear, it would be great if you could suggest a more effective way to write it.

Thank you very much.

[Joe (Schwarz)]

Hi An Tu,
I have two questions.

First question: Are you working on this project, “1 công việc mới. Project của công ty khá nặng,” as a freelancer? If so, you should carefully consider the costs and scope of the project before investing in something that could later prove to be a waste of money or an overinvestment.

Second question: If you are employed and need a laptop for this project, why doesn’t your company provide you with one or share the costs so you can work for the company?

As a private individual, it’s not economical to buy such an expensive laptop anyway—unless you have a big idea, want to start your own business, and plan to use the laptop later.

A MacBook Air M3 13.6-inch (8 CPUs/10 GPUs/24 GB/512 GB) is perfectly adequate for moderate needs, as long as the code you write isn’t too extensive. But when dealing with millions of lines of code, you need something faster with at least twice the RAM and a completely different memory layout.

[ATT (An Tu)]

Thank you for sharing your perspective; I’ll take your opinion into further consideration.

First, regarding work: this is a company project, and I’m currently in my probation period. The company hasn’t provided a computer yet, so I have to use my personal machine.

Second, I bought my current computer about 4–5 years ago. At the moment, it can only handle smaller projects and isn’t suitable for heavy processing tasks. That’s why I’m considering upgrading to a more powerful machine—not only for my personal projects but also for company work on days when I’m not at the office. I’m planning to buy a new computer that I won’t have to worry about upgrading for a long time. As for much larger projects, as you mentioned, that’s probably something in the distant future that I haven’t planned for yet.
I’ve looked into it and found that the two machines are priced quite similarly. So I’m currently torn between a newer model and one with larger RAM and storage.

I’ve never used a MacBook before, so I’d also like to hear opinions and experiences from someone who has. Based on your suggestion, it seems that the MacBook M3 would be a better fit for my work.

Thank you very much!

[Joe (Schwarz)]

Frankly, Apple, or more precisely the Apple computer, was once the technology leader in the PC sector. Today, Apple is just one of many hardware manufacturers that have their computers assembled abroad. Not better, not worse, but more expensive because of the brand name. Furthermore, macOS is significantly better than Linux/Windows 11 (if you so will), as it’s based on BSD UNIX and the Mach microkernel (BSD Berkeley Software Distribution from the University of California, Berkeley) and surpasses Windows 11 or Linux in performance and user interface. The Mach kernel is conceptually very good (highly flexible), but quite slow due to massive interprocess communication (IPC). The more cores (or processors) a device has, the better macOS runs. This means, for example, that an M3 is slower than an M4, and an M4 is slower than an M5.

BSD logo

Back to your “employer” who forces you to use your own computer simply because you’re on probation. The crucial question is: What happens to you (and your computer investment) if the company terminates your employment? Will your investment pay off, or will you end up stuck with an expensive MacBook? I don’t know your employer, but based on what you’ve said, I consider them one of the worst.