Getting a non M mac now is a waste of money If you ask me. Keeping things working with OpenCore patcher etc is incredibly niche with no guarantee it'll work next week.
Like others have mentioned though, if £400 is a stretch, then by all means get a non-M mac, but be aware that it's obsolete tech and can turn in to a brick at some point
I don't think it turns it into a brick. You just cannot take advantage of any updates. One of my iMacs (a 2012 model) is still running on a Power PC processor and OSX 10.6.8, which I think is Snow Leopard. It doesn't get used very much.
Getting a non M mac now is a waste of money If you ask me. Keeping things working with OpenCore patcher etc is incredibly niche with no guarantee it'll work next week.
Like others have mentioned though, if £400 is a stretch, then by all means get a non-M mac, but be aware that it's obsolete tech and can turn in to a brick at some point