Hey everyone! I'm in a bit of a pickle right now. I had my heart set on getting a gaming PC with a powerful 5070 GPU and an i7-14700K, budgeting around $1500. But now, due to a sudden requirement from my school, I have to either buy an iPad or a MacBook Air for similar money to run specific software that's only compatible with macOS.
I'm considering the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16, which has a 4070 and an i9, since I still want to game and have a high-performance machine. The catch is the school expects me to hand over the laptop for about three days so their IT team can install the mandatory software, which involves factory resetting my machine and monitoring my activity while I'm at school. Here are my questions:
1. Can I run macOS on the Zephyrus G16 (like a Hackintosh) and have the school install their software?
2. If so, how's gaming performance on macOS looking in 2025? Is it even worth it?
3. Alternatively, can I set up a macOS virtual machine? Would they figure it out if they tried to monitor it?
I really want to keep my gaming performance intact and avoid spending on hardware I'm not excited about. Any guidance would be amazing!
6 Answers
Seriously, don’t go down this road. If the school is mandating a specific device, they should be the ones providing it for you to use.
Honestly, just get the MacBook they want you to get. It’s not like you have many options here, sadly.
You should definitely consider appealing to the school. Forcing students to buy a MacBook is ridiculous and unfair.
Honestly, I would never recommend handing your personal device over to school IT. They might end up enrolling it in their mobile device management system, which basically gives them control and makes it hard for you to use your laptop the way you want. If the school needs macOS for their software, they should provide you with an Apple device instead.
You’re right! It’s insane they expect students to buy expensive laptops for this. I mean, textbooks alone cost so much.
Just buy a cheap iPad for the school software and get your gaming laptop separately. That way, you don’t compromise your gaming performance.
If your school uses platforms like MS Teams or anything cross-platform, just stick with the gaming laptop and avoid the hassle.
I’ve got mixed feelings on this. I don’t love gaming laptops or Apple products. Apple devices are pretty overhyped, and gaming laptops can be really unreliable. That being said, needing to submit a personal machine to the school for monitoring is just wrong.
You could get a Hackintosh up and running, but it’s not stable and managing it could be a headache. Gaming performance on Mac is subpar at best—many popular titles don’t even run on it. Plus, if they check, it’s easy to tell if you’re using a virtual machine. It’s just not a great setup overall.
You know, MacBooks can actually be pretty decent value if you’re not opting for upgrades. But I get your point.
Totally agree! I get that schools have policies, but this is kind of over the top.