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My 2.5 year old laptop can write Space Invaders in JavaScript now (GLM-4.5 Air)

(simonwillison.net)
577 points simonw | 1 comments | 29 Jul 25 13:45 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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chickenzzzzu ◴[29 Jul 25 14:00 UTC] No.44723491[source]▶
"2.5 year old laptop" is potentially the most useless way of describing a 64GB M2, as it could be confused with virtually any other configuration of laptop.
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OJFord ◴[29 Jul 25 14:14 UTC] No.44723660[source]▶
I think the point is just that it doesn't require absolute cutting edge nor server hardware.
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jphoward ◴[29 Jul 25 14:18 UTC] No.44723700[source]▶
No but 64 GB of unified memory provides almost as much GPU RAM capacity as two RTX 5090s (only less due to the unified nature) - top of the range GPUs - so it's a truly exceptional laptop in this regard.
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turnsout ◴[29 Jul 25 14:54 UTC] No.44724184[source]▶
Except that it is not exceptional at all; it's an older-generation MacBook Pro with 64GB of RAM. There's nothing particularly unusual about it.
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jphoward ◴[29 Jul 25 15:38 UTC] No.44724740{3}[source]▶
64 GB of RAM which is addressable by a GPU is exceptional for a laptop - this is not just system RAM.
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1. turnsout ◴[29 Jul 25 19:01 UTC] No.44727070{4}[source]▶
I understand, but that is not exceptional for a Mac laptop. You could say all Apple Silicon Macs are exceptional, and I guess I agree in the context of the broader PC community. But I would not point at an individual MacBook Pro with 64 GB of RAM and say "whoa, that's exceptional." It's literally just a standard option when you buy the computer. It does bump the price pretty high, but the point of the MBP is to cater to higher-end workflows.