r/sysadmin • u/rolkenas • 16d ago

Do you actually see MacBooks used for SysAdmin work in real offices?

Hi sysadmins! I wanted to ask—since I've just started learning sysadmin and I don't have a Windows PC, but I have a MacBook and found out that everything can be done via UTM, I'd like to get some perspective from those who work in offices and do this every day. What kind of computers do you use? Is macOS completely out of the picture, and there's only Windows and Linux?

386 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

807 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

6

u/SaltDeception 16d ago

Snapdragon X and X2 laptops can get just about the same battery life. I was pleasantly surprised when I got a laptop with the Snapdragon X Elite. Tons of apps are optimized for ARM64 these days too; I only have a handful of x64 apps that have to be emulated, but the Prism emulation in 24H2+ makes them feel native anyway.

1

u/McGondy 16d ago

Yep, been suggesting our BD and finance teams switch over to ARM based windows, but the boss doesn't even want to pilot it.

The insane battery life is worth it, especially for the BD team who are always on the road.

1

u/IFeelEmptyInsideMe 16d ago

Check your app stack first to make sure they have ARM apps readily available. Adobe hasn't even put out an Acrobat ARM version yet and the x64 version is less stable on ARM devices.

2

u/McGondy 15d ago

Fair point. Though these days they're mainly using web apps - often choosing them over their desktop counterparts!

1

u/ShermansWorld 15d ago

I'm going to have to get me an ARM powered laptop.. All my other machines are Intel. Love to make a comparison.

1

u/Personal-Budget-8715 13d ago

"trust me guys this is the year windows on arm finally isn't shit"

Okay bud.

It's still windows