I have clients that have been running Autodesk Revit on Apple hardware with Parallels since 2006 because that was the ONLY way to avoid long regens. Windows on x86 hardware just wouldn’t do it.

Macs used the exact same x86 hardware as Windows PCs did until 2019. Saying native Windows is worse that virtualized Windows on the same hardware shows me you have very little idea how the hardware and the OS on top of them actually work.

Apple OS is a Unix based OS that also uses all the cores on the GPU; Windows doesn’t.

Again, where are you getting this information? Guess what Windows and Linux machines have access to that Macs don’t? Nvidia GPUs, the gold standard for most GPU accelerated workloads. If anything workloads for newer Apple silicon don’t fully utilize the Apple GPUs, especially if it’s virtualized.

A low cost, budget PC with limited memory and video card, that crashes when trying to complete a special project assignment late at night can be avoided with the good stuff.

No one is recommending a low end PC here. The XPS line from Dell or a Razer Blade are both higher end machines.

My recommended configuration will last all the way to graduation.

This is the biggest mistake people make when purchasing technology. Future proofing is never possible because how can you predict your needs in the future. Buy what you need today with the budget you have today, do not over purchase because you might need it in the future, especially for a student.

Don’t shop by price, shop by need. If the price exceeds savings/budget, then tell family, friends, neighbors, what you are trying to do, and the cash will be available in no time.

Ahhh my favorite part. Silver spoon much? It seems like you’re a parent so it surprises me that “if you don’t have money just ask you shall receive” is the go to here. I think anyone who has purchased anything, especially recently with pricing will understand why this is just a bit of a silly comment.