Paratext on ARM-processor machines

Question

I'm thinking of buying a Windows 11 laptop with the new Snapdragon X processor. I understand that it doesn't do well with certain apps because it's an ARM processor.  Is that advisable for someone who'll use Paratext a lot?  Or should I just stick to an Intel processor?

Answer 1

Yes, buy the laptop with an ARM processor! I've been using Windows for ARM on a MacBook M2 for about a year and Paratext works fine. Here are a few limitations I've encountered:

• Adobe CC -- Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom already run natively on Windows for ARM, but it is not possible to "install" recent versions of most other Adobe apps on Windows for ARM. I have been able to "run" Adobe Indesign on Windows for ARM, but I had to copy the files myself since the installer wouldn't run. Reports say that Adobe will release "compatible" versions of some apps this year.
• SIL Converters is not available in an ARM version. So, it needs Python x64 and not Python ARM to run a Python script. But will this x64 version of SIL Converters work with an ARM version of Microsoft Office?
• There was an antivirus program I wanted to test which wouldn't install on Windows ARM. (In general, I'd advise just sticking with Windows Defender and not using 3rd party antivirus, but I wanted to test something specific.)
• Keyman -- I don't use Keyman, but I recently saw a post somewhere indicating that Keyman could have some issues with Windows ARM which should be fixed this year. Keyboards created with MSKLC seem to work fine for me.
• PTXprint -- PTXprint works fine on Windows ARM ever since the installer was updated to allow it to be installed on ARM64 processors.

I think new Snapdragon X laptops are coming with Windows 11 24H2 already installed, but if yours has an older version of Windows 11, be sure to update right away, as 24H2 has some significant speed improvements on ARM. (press ⊞ + R, then type "winver" to see your current version.)

Comments

Thank you for the thorough answer.  Much appreciated.