I want that retina PPI, so sadly a scaled 4K monitor only works at 24”.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Flip Flopping between macOS and Windows
- Thread starter LiE_
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yeah, I think that some people want Retina for the better quality. I run all of my monitors at native resolution. 4k at 27 inches is a bit hard to see but I need it for trading. I think that 32 inches for 4k would have been easier to read but I wouldn't have the desk space for it. The other thing about running at native resolution is that you don't have that funny thing with rectangular capture where you have to rescale the image.
I have to drive my monitors at 30 Hz as the video card won't do 3x4k @ 60 Hz. High resolution support isn't all that great for most of the equipment out there.
An M1X with 64 GB of RAM, 8 or 12 performance cores and the ability to drive 3x4k would be ideal. I have gone back and forth on the current products at 16 GB of RAM and I watch my RAM consumption and just would need more than 16 GB. I have considered buying two M1 Minis with 16 GB each to drive the three displays but it's kind of a pain for moving files from one to the other.
As I've been having that gaming itch I've picked up something to cure it. Normally by now I'd be debating whether I should have got a PC so I can play games, but this time I'm really enjoying being on Mac. So I've now got a Series X.
The M1 MBA + Series X is a great combo for all round computing and gaming.
The M1 MBA + Series X is a great combo for all round computing and gaming.
I've been gunning for the PS5, but then I wonder if xbox might be a better fit - With MS buying up some game studios like Bethesda, and their game sub, I wonder.
The PS5 is impossible to find, though I'm content waiting until after xmas.
I did think about getting the PS5 but tbh I'm more comfortable on the Xbox controller. Also game pass is a very nice option.
My latest setup: I have the i7-10700 Windows Desktop with 3x4k at my desk and a Late 2009 iMac 27, upgraded from 4 GB of RAM to 16 GB used to watch videos (YouTube or off the NAS), and a 25 inch Dell QHD display next to it being run off a 2015 MacBook Pro 15 (2.5 Ghz with AMD Graphics) and connected together via Synergy. This system runs Firefox, email, Notes, Reminders, and Calendar. So I get the great iMac Monitor for watching videos and the 2015 MacBook Pro for performance and don't run into any RAM issues on either system.
I had a look at 27 inch 2020 iMacs and I might have bought one of those instead of doing the Windows build. The 27 inch iMacs solve one of my major problems with Apple's hardware in that you can put in your own RAM. We do not have any Macs with over 16 GB of RAM and I'd want my next one with at least 32 GB of RAM and, preferably 64. One nice thing about the iMac is that I would be able to run a Windows Virtual Machine which is something that I need daily.
If I had an M1X system, then I would run a Windows box and VNC into it to use Windows 10.
Edit: I added a Windows desktop to this setup so it's three displays, Windows and 2xmacOS. Plenty of RAM, CPU and monitor space now.
I had a look at 27 inch 2020 iMacs and I might have bought one of those instead of doing the Windows build. The 27 inch iMacs solve one of my major problems with Apple's hardware in that you can put in your own RAM. We do not have any Macs with over 16 GB of RAM and I'd want my next one with at least 32 GB of RAM and, preferably 64. One nice thing about the iMac is that I would be able to run a Windows Virtual Machine which is something that I need daily.
If I had an M1X system, then I would run a Windows box and VNC into it to use Windows 10.
Edit: I added a Windows desktop to this setup so it's three displays, Windows and 2xmacOS. Plenty of RAM, CPU and monitor space now.
Last edited:
Strong flop incoming...
I tried to enjoy the Xbox, but damn, gaming just isn't what it used to be. I was playing games, but I just wasn't getting any actual enjoyment from it. So I swiftly sold that for what I paid.
Next up, the M1 MBA. Great machine but 2 big issues for me. First it needs 16GB, 8GB just isn't enough for what I do. The other is the screen isn't big enough. I was planning to keep it until the new iMacs are out, but I've decided to just suck it up and return it rather than have to sell it at some point. I'm now back on my Thinkpad 13 which is surprisingly performant.
Now to sit tight and wait for the machine I really wanted, the Apple Silicon iMac.
I tried to enjoy the Xbox, but damn, gaming just isn't what it used to be. I was playing games, but I just wasn't getting any actual enjoyment from it. So I swiftly sold that for what I paid.
Next up, the M1 MBA. Great machine but 2 big issues for me. First it needs 16GB, 8GB just isn't enough for what I do. The other is the screen isn't big enough. I was planning to keep it until the new iMacs are out, but I've decided to just suck it up and return it rather than have to sell it at some point. I'm now back on my Thinkpad 13 which is surprisingly performant.
Now to sit tight and wait for the machine I really wanted, the Apple Silicon iMac.
Got one for my daughter (she asked for a small laptop): 16/1. It arrived yesterday and she loves it. I asked her to install one of my trading programs (she uses it for trading too) and it wouldn't install. I will send a note to Fidelity to ask when they plan on supporting Apple Silicon or if they have a workaround.
So an M1 system wouldn't be useful unless clustered with an Intel Mac or an Intel Windows system.
That's okay; I expect a fair amount of growing pains. The M1s are fantastic but it's Apple's low-end and that doesn't work for a lot of use cases.
I meant the iMac when you eventually get it.I've already returned it
Portfolio Management and Online Trading: Active Trader Pro - Fidelity
No matter how often you trade, Fidelity has the trading tools and features you need to help uncover and act on new opportunities.
www.fidelity.com
Oh I know, I was trying to be funny
Gaming is certainly not what it used to be. I got into PC gaming around the year 1998-99 at the advice of co-workers and got hooked. By the mid 2000s I was a heavy gamer, had all consoles and maintained a gaming PC, loved every minute of it. Camped out for the DS launch and the 360 launch.
In mid 2006 I quit my job as a software developer and moved north, lost a lot of time and gaming slowed, grinding to a halt in 2008 when the recession happened. I have tried repeatedly since 2017 to reenter gaming but it just feels so shallow and hollow compared to what it once was. Good graphics cannot replace the substance that was once present, and I even feel it in the hardware itself.
It's evident from old franchises to new IPs, for example going from Gran Turismo 4 to Sport I see an unbelievable decline in polish and content quality. Shooter games they just got so repetitive after a while, I haven't seen a solid non-Indie shooter on the level of Raven Shield since its time. New games get hype and come out completely broken or lacking as we've seen in the last months.
Maybe it's just my age catching up with me, but technology and entertainment as a whole are nowhere near the level they were 15 years ago in terms of interesting and exciting releases that can hold my attention.
In mid 2006 I quit my job as a software developer and moved north, lost a lot of time and gaming slowed, grinding to a halt in 2008 when the recession happened. I have tried repeatedly since 2017 to reenter gaming but it just feels so shallow and hollow compared to what it once was. Good graphics cannot replace the substance that was once present, and I even feel it in the hardware itself.
It's evident from old franchises to new IPs, for example going from Gran Turismo 4 to Sport I see an unbelievable decline in polish and content quality. Shooter games they just got so repetitive after a while, I haven't seen a solid non-Indie shooter on the level of Raven Shield since its time. New games get hype and come out completely broken or lacking as we've seen in the last months.
Maybe it's just my age catching up with me, but technology and entertainment as a whole are nowhere near the level they were 15 years ago in terms of interesting and exciting releases that can hold my attention.
I was sort of just curious about it not running, so I was able to:
- Download it
- Install it
- Run it and get the initial app window/login dialog (I don't have an account so that's about as far as I could go).
I noticed it did a .NET runtime install as part of the main install, looks like (plus the U-G-L-Y UI ) it's a Xamarin based app.
At any rate, where did it fail for you? If you got to the same place, and you can't login, etc., I'd guess some janky networking code.
If you weren't able to launch it at all: have you done any installs yet that required Rosetta 2 to be installed? This machine has, which would be required (since that's an Intel app).
If the above is the case, you can always do a manual install of R2, like so: softwareupdate --install-rosetta
Hope that helps!
This program is a piece of crap and it hangs, crashes and uses a lot of CPU. But it is usable for me.
I solved this problem for myself when I bought the 32" MAC desktop and installed Parallels with win10 and Linux versions I also like. As a bonus, Parallels provides a subscription for their "Toolbox" which to me is certainly worth the price. There are lots of tools like downloading youtube videos by dragging the link into the tool, finding duplicate photos, taking screen-shots of complete web pages... etc When I need Windows, it's a click away. Things I don't trust on the web, I do in the Windows10 image. If it gets compramised, all you need do is reload the image. Nothing is perfect, but I get warm fuzzies when I go back to the MAC.
Right, I was responding to this:
So our M1 (MBA 8+7/256) completed the install, app ran, but I have a hunch there's something wrapped up in the installer that's failing due to needing Rosetta 2, thus my recommendation of doing a manual install of R2 first, then trying to run the install again on your daughter's machine.
I asked her to install Rosetta 2 and she said that she installed it for something else.
I'll wait for a response from Fidelity customer support.
My ideal reply would be that they're beta testing something that actually works.
Ahh, gotcha, maybe we just lucked out / didn't have some other conflicting apps/services. Sorry that didn't help!
This is the debate I’ve been tossing around. Either a gaming laptop for an all around one or the m1 air and series x. Never had Mac OS before
I'm a fan of macOS, you can always try it within the 14 day cooling off period.
As I've resigned to working on my work laptop I still needed to sort out the limited screen space issue. I've taken delivery just now of a Dell P2421D, which is a 24" 1440p monitor. So far I'm impressed with it as an office screen. This will most definitely tie me over until iMacs are out.