I want to buy a laptop this Jan as my computer networking course is starting.

[Rigid]

I need help as I am just starting my computer networking journey, I am a bit familiar with computers and I can work around things but as m1 macbooks are based on arm arch, Is it going to create troubles for me like using ethernet adapters?

I heard that the these macs can't run windows in vm, some says it will start working in a while but what if the windows running in vm is arm based windows? I can buy a 11th gen intel or 4000 series ryzen but the m1 performance seems promising and value for money.

[Enzo1001]

3 minutes ago, Rigid said:

I need help as I am just starting my computer networking journey, I am a bit familiar with computers and I can work around things but as m1 macbooks are based on arm arch, Is it going to create troubles for me like using ethernet adapters?

I heard that the these macs can't run windows in vm, some says it will start working in a while but what if the windows running in vm is arm based windows? I can buy a 11th gen intel or 4000 series ryzen but the m1 performance seems promising and value for money.

Macs are never value for money

[Rigid]

1 hour ago, Enzo1001 said:

Macs are never value for money

Can you explain? because never bought a mac

[Donut417]

5 hours ago, Rigid said:

Can you explain? because never bought a mac

Macs generally cost way more than their PC counter parts and generally you get less powerful hardware at the same price compared to a PC. This is coming from someone who owns a Mac. I do love my Mac but the value just isn't there. Mostly I own a Mac because I dont like the direction Microsoft is taking Windows. 

 

6 hours ago, Rigid said:

I heard that the these macs can't run windows in vm,

The new ARM Mac's cant run Windows as boot camp is no longer supported. Microsoft might make a version of Windows 10 that runs on the M1 chip at some point, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I know that Rosseta 2 can do a good job of running x86 Apps but Im not sure you could run Windows in a VM. 

 

Personally for any type of computer science course I would go with a PC. If you dont like Windows as a main OS, there is always Linux. On top of the fact the M1 chip is new, even though its doing well (with the exception of reinstalling Mac OS on these machines bricking the firmware on the main board), I would wait for the M1 to mature a bit more. Id be more in to buying one when Gen 2 chips get released and we really find out what Apple can really do. 

[charlie_root]

Most networking courses assume students are running Windows in my experience. The best thing to do is find out from the instructors what tools they will be using, and plan based on that. Cisco's Packet Tracer, for example, is popular in Cisco related courses. GNS3 is somewhat similar but more flexible and open source. My guess is you'll be running one of those, or both.

 

I would strongly suggest setting up a home lab and playing with this stuff on your own. The courses are an introduction, but practice and mistakes will get you much farther. For that,  I would recommend a laptop with USB A ports and built in ethernet. Connecting to networking equipment in your lab will mean using either DB9 serial ports, Cisco style RJ45 serial ports, or ethernet cables. Doing that through Apple's ridiculous dongle mess is going to be a painful experience. 

 

As far as brands go, I like ThinkPad T series laptops, but the Dell Latitude line is popular too. Get something with at least 16 GB RAM and 4 cores if you will be running GNS3. More is better.

[Rigid]

On 11/26/2020 at 9:05 PM, charlie_root said:

Most networking courses assume students are running Windows in my experience. The best thing to do is find out from the instructors what tools they will be using, and plan based on that. Cisco's Packet Tracer, for example, is popular in Cisco related courses. GNS3 is somewhat similar but more flexible and open source. My guess is you'll be running one of those, or both.

 

I would strongly suggest setting up a home lab and playing with this stuff on your own. The courses are an introduction, but practice and mistakes will get you much farther. For that,  I would recommend a laptop with USB A ports and built in ethernet. Connecting to networking equipment in your lab will mean using either DB9 serial ports, Cisco style RJ45 serial ports, or ethernet cables. Doing that through Apple's ridiculous dongle mess is going to be a painful experience. 

 

As far as brands go, I like ThinkPad T series laptops, but the Dell Latitude line is popular too. Get something with at least 16 GB RAM and 4 cores if you will be running GNS3. More is better.

Thanks for the answer, I looked at thinkpads or thinkbooks they are great. I had used one few years ago and I think it's great and has a good resell value too