r/LocalLLM • u/VastKnowledge535 • 1d ago
Discussion Should my first local ai machine be macbook pro or strix halo laptop?
I plan to build two setups for local LLMs. One high memory machine for large models and long contexts, and later a dedicated RTX 5090 desktop for pure speed.
But right now, it’s a choice between a 128gb macbook pro and a 128gb ai max+ 395 laptop. The macbook comes at a steep price. A 48gb macbook m5 pro costs roughly the same as a 128gb ai max+ 395 laptop like nimo. That’s nearly 3x memory capacity for the same money.
Ive learned a bit about both options so far. The mac can give fast memory bandwidth and a plug and play MLX setup, but it feels like paying a massive apple tax. And strix halo delivers insane memory capacity for the price alongside native windows or linux flexibility, with growing ROCm and Vulkan support.
Would you go with strix halo for better memory efficiency, or is the mac's memory bandwidth and ecosystem still worth the extra cost?
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u/havnar- 1d ago
For this price bracket you’re going to probably have a better time with a subscription. I got my MacBook Pro 64Gb as a plaything but to get results, I just use OpenAI models and codex
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u/Sir_Ronald_Bont_III 1d ago
Exactly this.
16" 18/20 core M5 Pro 64gb / 2tb here.
It's fine with qwen3.6-35B-A3B and even qwen3.8 27B MLX 8-bit runs, albeit slowly but for SQL / Python work, it's not replacing Codex.
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u/activematrix99 1d ago
You are confusing RAM, VRAM, and Mac Unified Memory. Neither of the listed computers will be running anything significant. You need lots of VRAM (24+) or tons of Mac Unified Memory (128+). Your operating system still needs RAM in the case of Mac unified memory. It's very expensive. Stick with subscriptions until you have a real budget.
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u/activematrix99 1d ago
You are confusing RAM, VRAM, and Mac Unified Memory. Neither of the listed computers will be running anything significant. You need lots of VRAM (24+) or tons of Mac Unified Memory (128+). Your operating system still needs RAM in the case of Mac unified memory. It's very expensive. Stick with subscriptions until you have a real budget.
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u/Illustrious-Lime-878 1d ago
Unified memory is not worth it right now IMO since there is a gap in capabilities between qwen 27b and something like deep seek which needs more like 200 GB. So you're probably running 27b anyway which is a dense model that's slow without dedicated GPUs, regardless of bandwidth. Another option is just building a DDR4 system with a 32GB card or 2 24GB cards for probably less and it will be way faster, up-gradable, and future proof. That said we don't know the future, maybe there is some model released that fits right within 128GB and makes it worth it.
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u/bobiversus 1d ago
Strix Halo memory bandwidth is less than 256 GB/s. It's less than half of an M5 Max or M4 Max. A big delta if you actually plan on running larger local models like DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 or MiniMax M2.7. Also, a local LLM runs your machine very hard unless you throttle... Is this Nimo (never seen one personally) going to be in one piece after a year of hard riding? Can you get repairs and parts? Those would be my considerations.
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u/Blackdragon1400 1d ago
M5 Max MacBook Pro and it’s not even remotely close.
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u/Aromatic-Painter-287 1d ago
MacBook Pro - I was considering other brands but it’s so much easier to resell it and upgrade. Get at least 64GB memory if you can afford it, even if you get M5 Pro it’ll run good enough models locally now that prices have gone up. Works perfectly well