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New laptop suggestions


A. Smith

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I'm planning for a laptop replacement/upgrade. Because of my location, this will take some time to reach me (not to mention raise funds!), so I'm planning early. Also, my son needs a laptop and it makes sense to upgrade mine and pass my (still very useable) machine to him. 

 

I currently use a 2018 15" mbp (2.6 i7, 16gb ram, 512gb ssd). I'm a bit stuck between an m2 mba (16-24gb ram) and 14"mbp (16-32gb ram) with 1tb storage in either.

 

Aside from typical work and personal apps (mail, safari, Microsoft office, etc) I basically live on Accordance, Logos, and Parallels running windows 10 (though 11 is probably going to be installed soon) and Paratext).

 

Parallels is a bit of a hog. This is possibly a windows issue also; but combined they tend to crank the processor and fans up almost instantly. That's pushing me a bit toward the MBP. However, I don't know and maybe the M2 MBA can do this all day with no problems. The reviews and tests seem pretty spectacular. 

 

I live in rural Africa, travel very often on bush planes, etc. But the size/weight of my current hasn't been a problem and I don't foresee the 14" mbp being an issue either. However, for my configuration options/needs (already topping $2K) there is a $500+ difference between the two. 

 

My question is, is the mbp worth it? Do you think I need it for my use? I'll miss the screen size in any case. I've used a smaller laptop before (l began on a 12" powerbook G4!), so I'm not too worried about the size of either. I am concerned about heat in the MBA. But I also know that no fan means less dust, which is a VERY big deal here. I almost never use the built in speakers for anything other than notifications so quality there is not an issue. Camera resolution is not really an issue as our bandwidth is terrible enough here it's never a good resolution anyway. 

 

There are plenty of online reviews and comparisons on just this question. But I'm asking here because some of you will have experience with elements of my specific context. Thanks. 

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I'm a huge fan of the new Apple Silicon chips (they are blazingly fast and efficient) and have a Mac Studio and MBP 15" with M1 Ultra and Max chips respectively that are stunning — but if Parallels and running Windows apps is critical, this might be a problem.  While Parallels on Apple Silicon does work, it only runs the ARM variant of Windows — and not all Windows apps run on the ARM variant.  I would definitely do some research here to verify that what you need to run will work in that environment.

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@A. Smith

I had questions about Win 11 ARM on M1 and couldn’t find the answers. So I took a chance and bought the base M1 Mac mini with 8/256 GB.

 

 

It’s been a few months now, and I am astounded, very pleased, and so thankful. Keep in mind that I don’t do any video editing. I’m currently copy editing 40+ papers for a November missions forum, in Word in Win 11 ARM in Parallels with 3 GB assigned to it. Even though Win 11 in M1 isn’t officially supported (and I can’t even activate it with one of my retail licenses), here is my experience:

 

 

Word and Excel (Office 365 versions) work perfectly, with one exception: copying and pasting from Win to Ventura doesn’t always work with mouse and menus; I have to use keyboard shortcuts sometimes.

 

 

My other programs work perfectly, including BibleWorks, Classical Text Editor, ABBYY FineReader 15, SKY Index 8, and EditPad Lite.

 

 

Win 11 loads in about 10 seconds. It’s incredible.

 

 

I use Logos on the Mac side. The M1 version of Logos 10 is lightning fast, as fast as Accordance in my experience.

 

 

By the way, Accordance for Windows also works in Parallels, with the same bugs as a bare metal version plus one unique one. I pointed out in beta testing that Text Display was missing in the Preferences and it still is.

 

 

I check memory pressure all the time. It mostly stays in the green. Right now it is green and I have the following programs open:

 

 

In Win 11: Word.

 

 

In Ventura: Word (it is very useful to have another version open), Scrivener, Logos, Accordance, Kindle, Firefox (1 tab), and Activity Monitor.

 

 

I know that if I opened a few more tabs in Firefox, Memory Pressure will go swamp yellow, or whatever color that is.

 

 

In my opinion, a MacBook Air with 16 GB RAM would do just fine in the dust. If a MBP can stand the dust, it would be even better.

 

 

Grace and peace to you on the field.

 

 

Michel

Edited by Michel Gilbert
typos
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Watching this thread myself. Leaning toward M2 MBA since I’ll have a more powerful desktop at home. Like you, the 12” PowerBook G4 was my first Mac. It still boots!

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12 hours ago, Rich said:

I'm a huge fan of the new Apple Silicon chips (they are blazingly fast and efficient) and have a Mac Studio and MBP 15" with M1 Ultra and Max chips respectively that are stunning — but if Parallels and running Windows apps is critical, this might be a problem.  While Parallels on Apple Silicon does work, it only runs the ARM variant of Windows — and not all Windows apps run on the ARM variant.  I would definitely do some research here to verify that what you need to run will work in that environment.


I appreciate this. These things are not familiar to me. In fact, it’s part of why I use Mac. I don’t like to think about hardware and software integration. I just want it to work! 
 

But this Apple silicon/ARM thing is apparently quite a big deal. Good news is it seems parallels 18 with windows 11 emulates the proper architecture for paratext (and other SIL software). Again, I appreciate you pointing this out because I never would have even considered the possibility! 

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It’s good info for sure! I’m at the point where my current workflow either runs natively on a Mac, or the handful of Windows-only apps can run in CrossOver well enough where I haven’t needed to re-subject myself to managing a Windows VM or dual boot. So far, it feels great!

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58 minutes ago, Nathan Parker said:

It’s good info for sure! I’m at the point where my current workflow either runs natively on a Mac, or the handful of Windows-only apps can run in CrossOver well enough where I haven’t needed to re-subject myself to managing a Windows VM or dual boot. So far, it feels great!


parallels is really pretty fantastic. Just runs windows like an app alongside everything else in the Mac. And continuity basically removes windows and lets your PC app look and act like any Mac app. 

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I may need to try it again. Been years since I last used it. Tried Fusion a while back but wasn’t impressed.

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  • 7 months later...

So, it’s been some time and the new 15” mba is out. I’m leaning heavily that way. Anyone else have experiences to share? I’m headed stateside next year and will upgrade then. So I’m eager to collect reviews

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On 1/7/2023 at 6:18 PM, Rich said:

I'm a huge fan of the new Apple Silicon chips (they are blazingly fast and efficient) and have a Mac Studio and MBP 15" with M1 Ultra and Max chips respectively that are stunning — but if Parallels and running Windows apps is critical, this might be a problem.  While Parallels on Apple Silicon does work, it only runs the ARM variant of Windows — and not all Windows apps run on the ARM variant.  I would definitely do some research here to verify that what you need to run will work in that environment.

Has your impression of this changed? I don't keep up with the specifics but I think there is now strong support, even official support. At least I don't know anyone running parallels on an apple silicon chip that is concerned anymore. 

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I think Rich's point is that not all Windows apps are able to run on Arm. The concern is not about parallels or windows itself. Did i misread that? I've been thinking about putting parallels on my machine and would like to know the answer to this too.

 

I have an m2 13" MacBook air and i love it. I don't do anything computationally demanding, but it handles everything I've asked it to and doesn't even get warm. One deciding factor between the air and the pro is if you connect external monitors. The Air can only drive one external monitor due to the way the graphics part of the chip was made (although you CAN connect one monitor via cable and add an iPad as a third display via airplay Sidecar.) The pros can drive 2+ monitors.

Edited by JonathanHuber
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I've not had any issues with any Windows applications under Parallels running Windows/Arm on my M1 MBP.

 

On another note, I just ordered a maxed-out 16" M2 MBP and UPS lost it! Apple is sending another one.

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I run a maxed out 16" MacBook Pro M2 Max (Mac14,6) and my wife's machine is a 15" MacBook Air. Running Parallels and Windows 11 along with lots of software on both the Mac and PC side, I've not run into any problems and (living in central Arizona) have only had the MBP fans even come on when I force them to. Neither machine gets uncomfortably warm sitting on your lap. Either one should be perfect for use just about anywhere in the world!

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I have the least expensive M1 you can buy— a first-gen 13" M1 with 8GB of ram and 256GB SSD. And it's the fastest (and best) computer I've ever owned. Because almost everything is stored in the cloud, I still have more than 1/2 the space free on my SSD. 

Edited by Mark Allison
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I bought a 13" M2 MacBook Air. Went for 13" instead of 15" since I need something ultra-portable.

 

It's super zippy. I find myself using it more than my iMac Pro unless I absolutely need the extra screen real estate. I can't wait to get an Apple Silicon Desktop Mac so I can drop Intel Macs entirely.

 

I did get a "Memory Limit" error once, but I was overly pushing the machine more than I ever would on a daily basis.

 

I love being able to run some iOS apps on my MacBook Air. I've had to reach for my iPhone less when doing so.

 

Even apps running in Rosetta run faster and more reliably than they do on my iMac Pro.

 

All in all, Apple Silicon is fantastic. I feel like Macs are more "magical" with it.

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4 hours ago, R. Mansfield said:

On another note, I just ordered a maxed-out 16" M2 MBP and UPS lost it! Apple is sending another one.

 

That happened with a prank card I had Apple make one time celebrating Daffy Duck's birthday (back when Apple made greeting cards). I had to file a claim with UPS in DFW. They finally found it. I said if UPS decides to open the package, this is going to make national or world news.

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21 hours ago, JonathanHuber said:

I think Rich's point is that not all Windows apps are able to run on Arm. The concern is not about parallels or windows itself. Did i misread that? I've been thinking about putting parallels on my machine and would like to know the answer to this too.

 

I have an m2 13" MacBook air and i love it. I don't do anything computationally demanding, but it handles everything I've asked it to and doesn't even get warm. One deciding factor between the air and the pro is if you connect external monitors. The Air can only drive one external monitor due to the way the graphics part of the chip was made (although you CAN connect one monitor via cable and add an iPad as a third display via airplay Sidecar.) The pros can drive 2+ monitors.

please give parallels a try and report back!

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21 hours ago, R. Mansfield said:

I've not had any issues with any Windows applications under Parallels running Windows/Arm on my M1 MBP.

 

On another note, I just ordered a maxed-out 16" M2 MBP and UPS lost it! Apple is sending another one.

woah. That is quite the hit! Glad apple is replacing it.

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18 hours ago, Mark Allison said:

I have the least expensive M1 you can buy— a first-gen 13" M1 with 8GB of ram and 256GB SSD. And it's the fastest (and best) computer I've ever owned. Because almost everything is stored in the cloud, I still have more than 1/2 the space free on my SSD. 

Cloud storage is less of an option for me but I'm already prepared to opt for a 1-2TB ssd; it's just what is required around here if you need to store a bunch of stuff

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16 hours ago, Nathan Parker said:

I bought a 13" M2 MacBook Air. Went for 13" instead of 15" since I need something ultra-portable.

 

It's super zippy. I find myself using it more than my iMac Pro unless I absolutely need the extra screen real estate. I can't wait to get an Apple Silicon Desktop Mac so I can drop Intel Macs entirely.

 

I did get a "Memory Limit" error once, but I was overly pushing the machine more than I ever would on a daily basis.

 

I love being able to run some iOS apps on my MacBook Air. I've had to reach for my iPhone less when doing so.

 

Even apps running in Rosetta run faster and more reliably than they do on my iMac Pro.

 

All in all, Apple Silicon is fantastic. I feel like Macs are more "magical" with it.

 

How much memory did you go with? 8, 16, or 24gb?

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1 hour ago, A. Smith said:

woah. That is quite the hit! Glad apple is replacing it.

 

Well, it has made it from China, cleared customs in Alaska, and is now at the Louisville hub where the previous one went missing. Hopefully, there won't be a repeat disappearance.

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5 hours ago, R. Mansfield said:

Well, it has made it from China, cleared customs in Alaska, and is now at the Louisville hub where the previous one went missing. Hopefully, there won't be a repeat disappearance.

 

Sometimes Apple uses FedEx for the second shipment if UPS has the item go missing. Surprised they didn't do that this time.

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6 hours ago, A. Smith said:

How much memory did you go with? 8, 16, or 24gb?

 

16GB. I'll get 32GB on my desktop. I don't need to do a lot of intense work on the go, so 16GB is generally plenty. On my desktop, I'll do 32GB since I'll need to stress the system more.

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32 minutes ago, Nathan Parker said:

 

Sometimes Apple uses FedEx for the second shipment if UPS has the item go missing. Surprised they didn't do that this time.

 

Not when it’s coming out of China. Mine was a custom build, so it had to come via UPS from China. If it had been off the shelf, it would have come from a US warehouse via FedEx.

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4 hours ago, R. Mansfield said:

Not when it’s coming out of China. Mine was a custom build, so it had to come via UPS from China. If it had been off the shelf, it would have come from a US warehouse via FedEx.

 

I forgot that custom builds require UPS. True on that. 

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