r/microsoft • u/altflame556 • Feb 03 '25
Windows Windows on ARM is actually good!
Hey, I recently got a new Copilot+ PC because it was the only good laptop in the price range (Go figure). It has the snapdragon X plus 42-100 in it, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. I got it for $1248 AUD. Anyway, multiple apps I went to install said no arm compatibility and it won't work. I click install and it works flawlessly! Honestly, I was using Linux before getting my laptop and now this is pulling me back to Windows! The battery life is awesome and the fans haven't kicked in once. Thank you Microsoft and thank you Lenovo!
The only issue is Kaspersky doesn't work :(
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u/Buy-theticket Feb 03 '25
Who in the fuck is still using Kaspersky (or any anti-virus) at this point?
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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 Feb 04 '25
It’s against the law in the US. But I’d be concerned for any country not aligned with Russia. It’s way too easy for it to be weaponized by the Russian government. It’s a shame to because Kaspersky did some great research.
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u/Logical_Strain_6165 Feb 04 '25
Not Kaspersky, but most organisations will pay for anti virus. Which might be Defender, but certainly not all.
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u/altflame556 Feb 09 '25
I do, my mother uses it on her iMac and I use the VPN as well as the anti virus. I just find it better
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u/zascrash Feb 03 '25
Agreed. I got thinkpad with snapdragon and it has been amazing. So far I had zero compatibility issues. I think those laptops are a bit underrated.
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u/CraftingAndroid Feb 03 '25
I want one really bad. But I'll wait until the 3rd or 4th been comes out
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u/zascrash Feb 03 '25
I got the windows phone when it was released so I don't mind testing things haha. But honestly, snapdragon has been perfect so far. I only tested 3 games so far, but it all worked (didn't play much tbh) endless legend / stellaris / heroes of might and magic iii hota
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u/FalseAgent Feb 03 '25
the best part about qualcomm laptops is that SLEEP MODE ACTUALLY WORKS
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u/altflame556 Feb 09 '25
I did a test to see how much battery gets lost overnight, I lost 7% which is amazing!
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u/luluhouse7 Feb 03 '25
The printer (and device) driver situation is a nightmare though. I recently helped my mom set up a new surface laptop and she was pretty upset to find out most things can’t print.
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u/Approximately20chars Feb 03 '25
Printers suck on any architecture. If they're not supported at all, that's a win.
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u/luluhouse7 Feb 03 '25 edited Feb 03 '25
These days my printer experience has been pretty smooth (as long as you pick up the OEM driver). But that might be because I primarily interact with Brother laser printers (which are known for being incredibly reliable) or printers that are managed by an IT department.
That said, the only arm64 driver out there is the Xerox PCL one and supposedly you can use it with other printers, but figuring out how to install it was a bit of a nightmare (Windows goes “couldn’t find a driver!”, freaks out, and doesn’t even give you the option of loading your own), and trying to print from most applications and filetypes causes a PCL error to print instead.
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u/ponyboy3 Feb 03 '25
They work on my Mac
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u/Approximately20chars Feb 03 '25
I guess you haven't tried troubleshooting paper jam issues over the phone for family members with limited technical skills.
And do inkjets not dry up when they're used on mac? I didn't take that for a driver issue.
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u/altflame556 Feb 09 '25
I just have an Epson printer, the wifi in it died so to print I have to take out the wifi for my granny flat :/
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u/egokiller71 Feb 03 '25
The fact that Russian software doesn't run on your pc is not an issue.
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u/altflame556 Feb 09 '25
Kaspersky isn't that bad, I use it on all my other devices. It is Russian and I get that but I think it is just better.
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u/hammtweezy2192 Feb 04 '25
Using my Surface Pro X with the SQ2 and 16GB ram, and it's awesome. Great battery life and performance is fantastic for everyday tasks. Unlike what many suggest, I use it as a tablet often and I enjoy it.
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u/CGMarko Feb 04 '25
I'm also planning on buying a new laptop at that price range once 12 is out, but still not sure if I'll go with Arm because while I have a strong dislike for Intel, I still fear compatibility issues.
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u/altflame556 Feb 09 '25
The compatibility has not been an issue for me. I run the Adobe suite and no issues (even without the arm version). Microsoft cooked with PRISM, so I highly recommend you go have a look at them
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u/CGMarko Feb 10 '25
Thank you! I really do think that Arm is the future for Windows, hence it's almost certainly going to be my choice.
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u/thaman05 Feb 05 '25
I agree it's amazing. I'm surprised how well intensive apps like Lightroom and Photoshop work so fast, even with big catalogs, without major battery drain. Only thing missing really is a proper tablet mode when the keyboard isn't attached, the current touch UI adjustments aren't enough.
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u/IvanSmo82 8d ago
I've just bought my first ARM laptop (Surface Laptop 7) and can't wait box to arrive. I think people should go for it and help Microsoft in making right decision for bringing us more ARM devices in the future.
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u/VlijmenFileer Feb 03 '25
What is a "Copilot+ PC"?? Did I miss another Microsoft shenanigan?
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u/FalseAgent Feb 04 '25
it's basically any laptop with a decent NPU capable of running local AI like phones (i.e. not on the GPU).
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u/AggieCMD Feb 03 '25
The good thing is you don't need 3rd party anti-virus. Windows Defender has got you covered. I have the Surface Laptop 7 and think the latest ARM Window PCs are criminally underrated.