User profile for user: Atalanta
Atalanta Author
User level: Level 1
59 points

Need advice for a new MacBook for Cloud PC

My office is doing away with providing laptops and we need to provide our own now that they're having us move to virtual PCs. I'd rather go with a Mac than a windows laptop, since I have the choice. Problem is, the last MacBook I bought ran OS9 (yeah, a few summers ago). Since then, my employers have provided a laptop for me.


Yeah, a little out of the loop.


The CPU requirements state:

At least 2vCPU with Minimum 1.6 GHz or faster processor. For higher video/screen share resolution and frame rate, a four-core processor or better is recommended.


I'm looking at a MacBook Pro or would that be overkill? I'm also interested in a newer model so it will be futureproof, if I'm paying this much I want to get some time out of it.


Posted on Mar 31, 2025 12:46 PM

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User profile for user: MrHoffman
MrHoffman
Community+ 2025
User level: Level 10
132,613 points

Mar 31, 2025 1:05 PM in response to Atalanta

I’d pursue this discussion directly with your IT organization. They’ll know more than we will about the requirements.


If you want to continue the discussion here, ask IT if they expect or need the Intel x86-64 processor architecture.


Because if they expect the Intel x86-64 processor architecture, a modern Mac is a non-starter.*


Then ask which virtual machine is expected. Parallels and VMware options are available for macOS, among others.


Most any Mac has more physical Arm cores and more GHz than what was listed for virtual cores.



*Yes, I am here ignoring the possibility of hardware emulation, given the overhead and complexity involved.

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User profile for user: Atalanta
Atalanta Author
User level: Level 1
59 points

Apr 1, 2025 7:21 AM in response to MrHoffman

The specs say that an M1 Mac is OK, so I'm guessing that a modern Mac is fine. I wasn't sure about the CPU requirements I mentioned, again as I haven't used a modern Mac. But thanks, you did answer my question about compatibility with your last sentence.

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Need advice for a new MacBook for Cloud PC

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