Buying the new MBP for school

[SuddenlyOranges]

Howdy.

So I'm going back to school this August. I would love to use a MacBook, as I've been using them for a long time now. I'd be going with the M1 Max MBP. However, it seems that for this IT degree, I'm in need of a Windows machine for some apps.

For personal use, I'd use the M1 Max to its fullest. I'd be editing 4k HDR video, making music in Logic, intensive Adobe apps, etc. But I'm getting this for school first, and in this IT program Windows is recommended. Boot camp isn't an option on ARM Macs, and I'm really at a loss on when Microsoft'll release Windows on ARM outside of the insider builds and I can natively run it alongside MacOS. Is it even going to happen? Would VM software like Parallels really be useful for heavy IT work? I'm not going to be running games.

Not only that but now there's a rumor of a M2 Max floating around? If I buy the M1 Max now, am I going to be outdated immediately? I know I'd be outdated eventually no matter what, that's how things work in tech. I just don't want to buy at the wrong time when I could maybe survive until October for the release of something better, but that's not including the manufacturing delays... I've bought refurbished for years and was hoping to get something brand new this time.

Any thoughts? Is my M1 Max MacBook dream dead? Would I be better off if I just went with some Microsoft Surface product? I want to make a fully informed decision, so I'm asking for different points of view. Love to hear suggestions, some answers to these questions, or if I'm wrong on some things.

Thanks!

 

[rm5]

I'm going to preface my post by saying that I am not involved in IT so I don't know exactly what you need, but hopefully I can help.

now there's a rumor of a M2 Max floating around?

It's so confusing right now - so many conflicting leaks/rumors, so I have absolutely no clue. My speculation is that the M2 will be revealed in October of November of this year, with the M2 Pro/Max later in 2023.

Would I be better off if I just went with some Microsoft Surface product?

No. They're overpriced and use awful, underpowered processors and GPUs. You will not be happy editing 4K video on a Surface.

You might just get the M1 Max and use Parallels for a Windows VM - which runs at near native performance. THE ONE PROBLEM with this is that it ONLY RUNS THE ARM VERSION OF WINDOWS! So, if you need x86, you're pretty much out of luck with an M1 Max (or any Apple Silicon chip).

Like I said I'm not anywhere involved in IT so I don't know what you're needing to run that's "heavy." But a VM in Parallels will probably work just fine.

natively run it alongside MacOS. Is it even going to happen?

No. From what I know, Microsoft/Apple has no plans to release a "full" Windows version that works with Bootcamp. If you look in Launchpad on any Apple Silicon Mac, Bootcamp doesn't even exist. And, when you open it with Finder, it gives the error "This Mac doesn't support Bootcamp."

I have an M1 MacBook Air that runs VMs perfectly fine, so I'm sure that an M1 Max would run them fine, too.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

You can wait until closer to school to see I there are any new announcements, but MacBook Pro likely won't work for your school currently unless you can confirm from other students it would work on an M1 with a VM.

 

[Parisi]

Howdy.

So I'm going back to school this August. I would love to use a MacBook, as I've been using them for a long time now. I'd be going with the M1 Max MBP. However, it seems that for this IT degree, I'm in need of a Windows machine for some apps.

For personal use, I'd use the M1 Max to its fullest. I'd be editing 4k HDR video, making music in Logic, intensive Adobe apps, etc. But I'm getting this for school first, and in this IT program Windows is recommended. Boot camp isn't an option on ARM Macs, and I'm really at a loss on when Microsoft'll release Windows on ARM outside of the insider builds and I can natively run it alongside MacOS. Is it even going to happen? Would VM software like Parallels really be useful for heavy IT work? I'm not going to be running games.

Not only that but now there's a rumor of a M2 Max floating around? If I buy the M1 Max now, am I going to be outdated immediately? I know I'd be outdated eventually no matter what, that's how things work in tech. I just don't want to buy at the wrong time when I could maybe survive until October for the release of something better, but that's not including the manufacturing delays... I've bought refurbished for years and was hoping to get something brand new this time.

Any thoughts? Is my M1 Max MacBook dream dead? Would I be better off if I just went with some Microsoft Surface product? I want to make a fully informed decision, so I'm asking for different points of view. Love to hear suggestions, some answers to these questions, or if I'm wrong on some things.

Thanks!

You should consider a Microsoft Surface Studio Laptop, specifically the option with a dedicated Nvidia RTX GPU.

I am currently working on my B.S in IT and having a similar dilemma, except the only App I care about on the MacBook is Logic, I am waiting for my M1 14" to show up tomorrow but I am most likely switching to a SLS at some point. There is nothing like it with pencil and touch support, really nice for notes and creative flows.