24 vs 32GB and MBA vs MBP for VM usage

[MathewBR]

Hi everyone,

After nearly a decade with Dell XPS, I decided to switch back to Mac. I recently left finance to start a company, so my Excel usage will significantly decrease. Additionally, Dell now charges Apple-level prices without matching Apple's quality.

I'll still need Windows Excel, so running Windows in a VM is essential. My other tasks include web browsing, presentations, web-based industry software, and occasional data crunching/coding.

I have two main questions: (1) Is 24GB RAM enough, or 32GB should be considered essential? (2) Will a MacBook Air suffice, or should I choose the Pro for active cooling, given my workload?

I'm from Brazil and plan to purchase on my next trip to the US or Europe. I mention this because (1) a lot of brands don't offer support here - that's why I'm not getting another windows machine; (2) custom configurations (32GB RAM, instead of 24GB) bought directly from Apple can't be tax-free for foreigners, and discounts (e.g., Amazon) typically aren't available through Apple's website.

I'm planning to use this machine for about 5 years, but if it costs twice as much, I'd rather choose a cheaper option and upgrade in 3–4 years.

Thanks!

 

[Fishrrman]

MacBook Pro w/32gb.

I'm thinking that within 4-5 years, the basic "needs" of the OS regarding RAM are going to jump upwards.

And if you're going to be using a VM too... well, you just need "more" RAM...

 

[kschendel]

Will Windows Excel in a VM be a large percentage of your usage? Because if not, I lean the other way, 24GB and the MBA should do everything you need.

 

[MathewBR]

Will Windows Excel in a VM be a large percentage of your usage? Because if not, I lean the other way, 24GB and the MBA should do everything you need.

No, 20-30% tops. Btw, I just found out that MS updated the Excel for Mac with alt key shortcuts (at least on Beta), for now. If this really holds up, then my VM usage will probably be less than 10% of my time.

Additionally, when using excel for something large(r) I will probably only have some Safari tabs open and maybe spotify. Will hardly use a VM alongside other heavy stuff.

 

[MathewBR]

MacBook Pro w/32gb.

I'm thinking that within 4-5 years, the basic "needs" of the OS regarding RAM are going to jump upwards.

And if you're going to be using a VM too... well, you just need "more" RAM...

I'm just not sure if the price difference is worth it. A MBA w/ 24GB is $1350 at Amazon, while the 32GB MBP is $1999. The difference is already substantial, but gets worse once I have to pay 50% taxes on whatever amount exceeds $1k, so the difference on the after tax price for me is something like $1525 vs $2499.

What do you think?

 

[genexx]

I have the MBA M2 16GB/1TB running UTM VM Windows 11 Pro for ARM running Office 2021 on it with not feeling any difference to the Mac Version (but my Sheets are relatively small-and Excel starts much faster than the Mac Version).

I also use old VB6 Proggy with XAMPP Local MariaDB Database connection to generate Excel Sheets and it is always faster than the previous Company provided Dell Lattitude 5520 i5 Gen.11 Laptop. That thing was a moron and when used in clamshell had no really working WiFi.

The old VB6 Proggy is X86 emulated Code but Excel is now ARM as all of the Office Programs so they run fast as well as Google Chrome.
This is also a good Test to see how far the ARM Conversion for Software is for the new Snapdragon CPU.

For the New M4 i will also choose the 24GB Version because of the KI Features eating up Ram.

My VM has 8GB Ram and 4 Cores configured but i am able to start additional Linux for ARM VM´s without any problem while having 3 Browser Multiple Tabs open and Outlook / Mail / + some other APPS and never had the need to close any.

I had also sometimes forgotten to shutdown the VM for Days and working a heavy Load of tasks without noticing any Problem when the VM was parked from the OS...

 

[kschendel]

I think the MBA will have enough processing power, and since you are a fairly disciplined used (no hundreds of chrome tabs open!), 24 GB should be more than enough for quite some time.