I got M1 Air first and then upgraded to a pro Max (64 GB).
1. I haven't heard any noise at all. My pro has been tucked behind my monitors during the last couple of months though. It's pretty warm where I live and it's not running hot. I had a few instances of lockups (VSCode most often) with my basic M1 Air. But the pro has taken everything I throw at it.
2. When I first got the air there were a few tools that had compatibility issues. All of those are ironed out now. Most apps I use these days have official M1 support.
3. I use lima, nerdctl these days and haven't any issues in running containers. I haven't had any issues with container performance either.
4. I'm planning to use this machine for quite a few years as well and I got the 64GB. In hindsight 32 GB could have been sufficient.
Summary: Go for it. If you are flush with cash, go for the 64GB M1 Max but 32GB is plenty.
1. I haven't heard any noise at all. My pro has been tucked behind my monitors during the last couple of months though. It's pretty warm where I live and it's not running hot. I had a few instances of lockups (VSCode most often) with my basic M1 Air. But the pro has taken everything I throw at it.
2. When I first got the air there were a few tools that had compatibility issues. All of those are ironed out now. Most apps I use these days have official M1 support.
3. I use lima, nerdctl these days and haven't any issues in running containers. I haven't had any issues with container performance either.
4. I'm planning to use this machine for quite a few years as well and I got the 64GB. In hindsight 32 GB could have been sufficient.
Summary: Go for it. If you are flush with cash, go for the 64GB M1 Max but 32GB is plenty.