> The CPU innovation stagnation between 2012-2017 has resulted in 4 cores still being an acceptable low-end CPU in early 2022
I recently got M1 Max MacBook, and I was expecting a huge jump from my 2010 Mac Pro, but on my day-to-day work. It is barely noticeable, despite the raving reviews of M1. Perhaps for me it is not about things getting obsolete, but more of that my own needs on CPU/GPU performance were pretty much fulfilled in 2010. I am a programmer, so my needs are not that high. Or perhaps it is that after 12 years, the laptops are now on bar with desktops. I think the biggest improvements for me in last 20 years have been the SSDs and then the NVMe.
> I am a programmer, so my needs are not that high
This isn't true for all programmers. I'm a programmer, and until 3 years ago a good chunk of my day was spent waiting for compiles to finish.
> Or perhaps it is that after 12 years, the laptops are now on bar with desktops. I think the biggest improvements for me in last 20 years have been the SSDs and then the NVMe.
Not even remotely close. I have an AMD threadripper [0] in a desktop PC under my desk that I use for development. This is a mainstream, readily available x64 processor with 32 cores (and hyperthreading) that can sustain just 3.8GHz for at least 30 minutes (I've not pushed it any farther than that because I've needed to). Based on PassMark benchmarks [1], the threadripper is substantially quicker than the M1 Max.
[0] https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-threadripper-3...
[1] https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/AMD-Ryzen-Threadripper-...
Oh, can you share more? What is your programming environment?
I am debating a move to desktop/workstation with desktop CPU to support smoother Scala/lots-of-containers development experience.
Pandemic made laptops less appealing. With digital nomadism being a question mark for some. Yes, I do know some still continue to practice this lifestyle. I can be only jealous :)
Depending on your needs(!), you can just use the laptop as a frontend for a much more powerful machine. I did that for a while with a Sandy Bridge (core i7-2xxx gen) dual socket server in the basement, and it did work quite well. No matter if I was at home or somewhere else - but for dev work ssh into the Linux host OS was enough for me, with an occasional RDP into a Windows VM.
I considered this option with NoMachine and in-house power-machine or cloud workstation. In a way make sense, but ultimately, I decided against because:
Security – having open port to workstation makes me scared; bugs/0-days are discovered every day;
Quality Internet Connection – less tricky as most access would be local LAN, but I am certain that few times I need it remotely to fix a production issue, something will go wrong;
Maintenance vs Cost – in-house machine would be cheaper but will require remote power on/off capability vs in cloud server being rather pricey
But yes, in general, I agree. Having a light, portable device with long battery life and connecting to a remote, beefy machine would be a dream. And I am not imagining it, as this was my workflow back in 2013 when I was working for a bank. If it was possible then, it definitely is possible today.
Have high hopes for https://shadow.tech/