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Apple M3 Max chip

QuickUser14

I am considering moving from Intel X86 Windows desktop to MacBook Pro with Apple M3 Max chip.

Will the Mac version of Quicken Classic Premier run on an M3 Max chip ?

What are the feature/function differences between Windows and Mac versions of Quicken Classic Premier?

I have been using Quicken for Windows since 1991 and my data file is 150MB. :-)

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Comments

Dennis@1

The program "Parallels" will let you run Windows in a virtual machine on Mac. You could run Qmac and Qwin simultaneously and see for yourself the differences and go from there.

That being said, I would hold off buying a MacBook Pro M3 Max right now for a couple of reasons. 1. The new M4 Max MBP is rumored to be launched in the fall. It probably will be announced during the iPhone 16 event in Sept. If you want the latest greatest, it's not that far off. 2. The remaining M3 Max MBP inventory will be probably be discounted then if you want to save some $$.

jacobs

If you're going to run Quicken Windows in a VM on a Mac long-term, most of the reviews I've read consider Parallels the best VM option, and it's the one Microsoft officially supports. But it's paid software, sold either as an annual subscription (cost more than Quicken!) or one-time purchase with no future updates. However, if you're just going to do it short-term, VMWare Fusion is available for free for personal use; it lacks some functionality versus Parallels, but would likely be just fine for testing or side-by-side use for a month or two. (For either VM program, you'll need a Windows 11 for ARM processors license; if you don't have an unused Windows license, you'll need to buy one.)

Jon

While I agree that there will be new laptops this fall they won't be announced in September; Apple has been keeping the September event focused on iPhone, iPad, and wearables for many years now. Last year the M3 MBPs were announced at the end of October; I would expect a similar late fall announcement this year.

smayer97

If you're going to run Quicken Windows in a VM on a Mac long-term, most of the reviews I've read consider Parallels the best VM option, and it's the one Microsoft officially supports. But it's paid software, sold either as an annual subscription (cost more than Quicken!) or one-time purchase with no future updates. However, if you're just going to do it short-term, VMWare Fusion is available for free for personal use;

Fusion has been officially supported to run MS Windows since Feb 2023, as per VMWare. (The delay in VMWare's official support was in part due to the delay in official support by Microsoft of virtualization of Windows.) It is also backed by a powerhouse company in virtualization, with over $4.66BILLION vs Parallels $100MILLION. Note that VMWare was acquired by Broadcom in Nov 2023.

https://blogs.vmware.com/teamfusion/2023/02/microsoft-now-officially-supports-windows-on-mac-computers-with-apple-silicon.html

jacobs

Fusion has been officially supported to run MS Windows since Feb 2023, as per VMWare.

@smayer97 The VMWare page you link to has a link to Microsoft's page about Windows on Mac, and it mentions only Parallels as an "authorized solution". That doesn't mean Fusion doesn't work, which is why I said it could be a viable option.

(I'm not sure what the financial worth of these developers has to do with this discussion. Intuit has a market cap of close to $200 billion but they let Quicken wither with neglect until they sold it off 8 years ago! 😉)

Anyway, the best option would be to see if QuickUser14 finds the native Quicken Mac suitable for their needs. If so, there's no need to mess with virtualization and running and maintaining two operating systems instead of one.

smayer97

I did notice and granted that VMWare linked to a page that only mentions Parallels, but I think they would know more about what that means, or what is going on behind the scenes. Again, VMWare held back because they were waiting for an official commitment to virtualisation of Windows on Mx chips. Also, although there is no guarantee to the support of any product, your comparison to Intuit/Quicken is weak at best because VMWare's bread and butter IS virtualisation (it is right in the name of the company), on which Fusion is built (plus you are comparing market cap vs revenue… BIG difference). That is the point of the source of their billions of $ in revenue. At this point, Fusion is no less officially supported than Parallels.

QuickUser14

Many thanks all for the great insights!

I did download the QMac version and tested with my data file. The conversion of 60,000 entries took a bit but not bad.

I must say the QMac version is very different than the Windows version. In way I liked it, in way I am not sure about it. Certainly would take a while to get used to.

If I decide to say with the Windows version, I will probably just get a Windows laptop vs. attempting virtualization. I know it can be done, but if my core program is Windows based why buck the trend.

Again, many thanks for the insights.

jacobs

I must say the QMac version is very different than the Windows version. In way I liked it, in way I am not sure about it. Certainly would take a while to get used to.

@QuickUser14 I think that's a good assessment. There's a lot that Quicken Mac does that is functionally the same as Quicken Windows, but there are differences in the user interface or the exact way things are done. There is a learning curve. When you've used one program for many years (in my case, it was the legacy first-generation Quicken Mac), switching to a new program can be jarring. There are things you see at first that make you shake your head or clench your fist; why doesn't it just work the same?! But if you can give it a little time, and allow your eye-brain-hand muscle memory to be reprogrammed, you will likely find this different program isn't bad, just different. In some ways, it's better, because it isn't held back by 3+ decades of legacy code, and because the Quicken Mac developers have had the opportunity to re-think how things should work.

That said, there are certainly features which exist in Quicken Windows which don't yet exist in Quicken Mac. If you determine one or more of those features are critical to your needs, you may reach a decision Quicken Mac can't meet your needs, at least today. But the vast majority of Quicken Windows users who have explored switching to Quicken Mac have found they can at least make it work for their needs, and many have found they like it as much or better. Each of us uses Quicken somewhat differently, so each of us has to determine whether Quicken Mac meets our needs.

If you have the opportunity, try using both programs in parallel for a while. Or use Quicken Mac for a few weeks without discarding your Quicken Windows data file, so you can revert to it if that's what you decide. Getting past the knee-jerk reactions to things which look very different, and learning how to utilize the features in Quicken Mac which may not be immediately apparent, you can then better evaluate whether Quicken Mac will work for you or not.

Best wishes, whichever way you decide to go.