DipTrace on Apple MacOS M1 / M2 Silicon

[dostr63]

Not strictly a bug report - I'm trying to understand - will DipTrace run on Apple MacOS M1 / M2 silicon?

(before I go out and buy a Black-Friday MacBook!)

1. Will DipTrace run simply by downloading and installing?

(the last discussion of this issue on DipTrace Forum seems to be 1 year old)

2. Is some extra software needed - such as Crossover / Wine - or a virtual machine such as Parallels or VirtualBox?
(presumably this then runs DipTrace 64-bit windows?)
Does DipTrace run well this way?

3. Or is it the case that none of the above solutions are very satisfactory?

[KevinA]

If you're in a production environment buy an Intel based i9 13th gen with 64GB, 1TB M2, Nvidia RTX-3080, 46" 4K display + Diptrace Full
otherwise #3
They have 'refurb' DELL computers on Amazon that can run DT without issues for under $200, PC or MAC with OS sims (hyper-v, wine)are prone to issues.

[dostr63]

That's quite a strong "no" then.

I'm looking for an all-in-one solution for mobility as a contractor (which inevitably means PCB fix-ups with whatever machine I have with me) - and for in-my-own-office work.
A MacBook M2 would be a very convenient solution!

Currently I'm using a middle-aged (Gen 2) ThinkPad X1 Carbon, running Ubuntu.
Wine has mostly been pretty good (and before that VirtualBox) - apart from a recent now-fixed wine bug*.
Mainly I'm using Segger Embedded Studio, and the native Linux version is rock-solid.

So I can accept some compromise on DipTrace, as I spend less time with it. Just ***not too much*** of a compromise!

* viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14841

[dostr63]

It's actually usable if you follow the advice here and turn off everything but the copper layers and board outline in the PCB view. Other tools pattern/component/schematic are fine.

https://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopi ... =10#p32969

There's also an issue with menus disappearing behind the main view - but this isn't just a DipTrace problem.

[Misa9x]

Apple Silicon Macs can run applications designed for Intel-based Macs using Rosetta 2 translation. You may try installing DipTrace for Windows using Rosetta 2. However, compatibility and performance may vary, and it's recommended to check with DipTrace support or user forums for specific reports from users who have tried running DipTrace on Apple Silicon using Rosetta 2.Slope

[dostr63]

I'm now running Parallels on my Mac M2 (bought to run another Windows-only application).

And I can report that DipTrace runs well under Parallels (some slight slowness on a 328-pin/4-layer board - but still very useable).
Parallels has worked impressively well - I keep all my DipTrace design libraries and projects on DropBox (running natively on MacOS), and they're transparently available to DipTrace running on ARM Windows 11, on top of Parallels.

VirtualBox does not as yet have a useable Apple Silicon version - I believe it's still at a fairly early development stage.

[andreen]

I'm now running Parallels on my Mac M2 (bought to run another Windows-only application).

And I can report that DipTrace runs well under Parallels (some slight slowness on a 328-pin/4-layer board subway surfers but still very useable).
Parallels has worked impressively well - I keep all my DipTrace design libraries and projects on DropBox (running natively on MacOS), and they're transparently available to DipTrace running on ARM Windows 11, on top of Parallels.

VirtualBox does not as yet have a useable Apple Silicon version - I believe it's still at a fairly early development stage.

Having your DipTrace design libraries and projects on Dropbox and being able to access them seamlessly from both macOS and Windows 11 on Parallels is a convenient setup. It enables you to work efficiently on your DipTrace projects without any data synchronization issues.