Opinion on MacBook Pro Apple Silicon & Intel (x64)

[claq]

Hi, I would like your opinion about getting a new Mac.

I already have a 2014 15" MacBook Pro (Core i7, 16GB, 512GB SSD). I also have a 2017 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (8GB, Core i5, 512GB SSD). Battery of both Macs are still good and 15" MacBook is still very responsive even with my virtualisation workload.

I use them to run Windows VM's (sometimes multiple VM's) on Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion, for Visual Studio, SQL Server and SQL Server Management Studio. 13" MacBook starts to get sluggish when running the VM with Visual Studio & SQL Server, Microsoft Office and Microsoft Visio.

I am thinking of getting a new MacBook (2014 MacBook is showing a thin line on the screen, and personally feel that it's time to upgrade to a newer machine), however, am in a dilemma of whether to get an Apple Silicon or an Intel x64 Mac, since I need to run Windows 10/11 with Visual Studio, SQL Server & SQL Server Management Studio and productivity software like Microsoft Office & Microsoft Visio.

Since, Intel Mac machines will not get support in the long future, I do not want to end up with an unsupported Mac (in terms of OS updates) after 2-3 years of getting it, but I also have the dependency of running Windows x64 on it.

I also have the option of getting a Windows machine, but I prefer a Mac due to the screen quality and the machine's reliability and performance, and prefer MacOS for general computing tasks (such as internet browsing, and media consumption).

I am also planning to get into video editing with Final Cut Pro (nothing demanding or major projects).

What's your opinion?

 

[skaertus]

Hi, I would like your opinion about getting a new Mac.

I already have a 2014 15" MacBook Pro (Core i7, 16GB, 512GB SSD). I also have a 2017 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (8GB, Core i5, 512GB SSD). Battery of both Macs are still good and 15" MacBook is still very responsive even with my virtualisation workload.

I use them to run Windows VM's (sometimes multiple VM's) on Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion, for Visual Studio, SQL Server and SQL Server Management Studio. 13" MacBook starts to get sluggish when running the VM with Visual Studio & SQL Server, Microsoft Office and Microsoft Visio.

I am thinking of getting a new MacBook (2014 MacBook is showing a thin line on the screen, and personally feel that it's time to upgrade to a newer machine), however, am in a dilemma of whether to get an Apple Silicon or an Intel x64 Mac, since I need to run Windows 10/11 with Visual Studio, SQL Server & SQL Server Management Studio and productivity software like Microsoft Office & Microsoft Visio.

Since, Intel Mac machines will not get support in the long future, I do not want to end up with an unsupported Mac (in terms of OS updates) after 2-3 years of getting it, but I also have the dependency of running Windows x64 on it.

I also have the option of getting a Windows machine, but I prefer a Mac due to the screen quality and the machine's reliability and performance, and prefer MacOS for general computing tasks (such as internet browsing, and media consumption).

I am also planning to get into video editing with Final Cut Pro (nothing demanding or major projects).

What's your opinion?

My opinion is that you should wait if you can. We are clearly in a moment of transition. And I say this for several reasons:

1. The MacBooks are expected to get a major redesign either this year or the next. They are expected to get 14 and 16-inch MiniLED screens, a better webcam, and a processor even better than the current M1, which will turn a year old in a few months.
2. Microsoft is releasing Windows 11 in a few months. It may get better support for Macs, as it was certainly made with both Intel and ARM architectures in mind.
3. Software for both macOS and Windows will be optimized to run on ARM devices. This may take more or less time, but it will eventually happen (before on Macs, as Apple is aggressively pushing towards ARM, but Windows will probably get there too).
4. Qualcomm and AMD are expected to launch decent ARM chips for PCs beginning in 2022. Other manufacturers may follow (just look at Google which unexpectedly announced a new ARM chip for its Pixel line of phones). Intel is also improving its own architecture to stay competitive. So, Windows PCs may look different in one or two years.
5. Windows laptops seem to be improving as well. Some of them already feature 16:10 screens, resolutions higher than Full HD, a better color spectrum, and OLED and MiniLED are becoming more popular, as well as higher refresh rates.

So, there are lots of things going on right now. I would wait a little bit to evaluate what course of action you may follow. You have a 2017 MacBook Pro which should have some time left. You should also bear in mind that virtualization takes a lot of resources. So, if running Windows is really important, you may consider getting a decent Windows machine.