M2 or M2 Pro (13/14" MBP) for a developer

[platypus]

Work are looking at getting me a new laptop and one of the offerings is a macbook pro. I've never ever used a Macbook so I'm not really sure what the best chip would be to go for, as it makes significant difference. Adding 16gb of ram also makes for an eye watering cost uptick! And whilst work are paying I need to make sure I'm getting value for money.

Essentially, compiling lots of code in both Visual Studio VS Code, SSMS, Azure, AWS, working on large databases both locally and in the cloud, would the M2 provide enough grunt? I don't need to care about the graphics capabilities, but I've never had less than 32GB of ram and usually have 64GB, so the max 24GB for the M2 is of vague concern.

I've spent some time trying to read around but lots of reviews just seem to claim the MBP is a great dev laptop without going into much detail about the processor.

TIA

 

[platypus]

M2 would be fine but I'd get the M2 Pro if you can just to make it last a little longer. I'm still on an M1 on my Mini and that handles just fine for app dev with XCode and Visual Studio. Even when I occasionally use it for work and work in Windows via Parallels. Builds some hefty solutions with no issues at all.

Ok I'd be using virtualisation a fair bit, but not all the time. I will push for a M2 pro then, thanks!

 

[platypus]

Thanks for all the advice, lot of stuff I wasn’t aware of, yes I’ve only ever used VS for windows, had no idea it was being discontinued for Mac, and need SSMS daily. Maybe a MBP just isn’t the optimal choice then, but I’m also not that keen on the Windows based options .