That link from 2023 doesn't necessarily solve the problem and might now be out of date.
I will expand. At the time of the original post, on an ARM computer you cannot run X86 versions of Windows - even in a virtual machine. Since Civil 3D (and some other autodesk software) only works reliably on X86 this is a problem. I have tried fusion (didn't work at all) and parallels, after wasting half a day I could not get Civil 3D to work as running x86 binaries relied on emulation that was "a bit flakey". I inadvertently bought a surface tablet that ran on ARM, but it didn't work on that either so I had to return it. This is all well outside my skillset, so if I can't figure it out in half a day then it probably is not worth bothering with from a business perspective. I read very recently that last month (Jan 2025) in V 20.2 parallels introduced x86 windows support. So maybe if I can find half a day to try it I might. From what I have heard, if Civil 3D works the performance via emulation is reportedly sooooo bad you are best buying an old windows machine instead. So Yes It is a very old belief that is still (mostly) correct - so far Autodesk has not developed their software for ARM architecture. 3rd parties seem to be filling the gap via virtualisation, but it seems that it is yet to be practical for everyday users and no company I have spoken to is willing to risk/spend on the required IT support and 3rd party virtualisation software subscriptions. Maybe last months V20.2 parallels (for business or pro subscriptions) will finally fix that - yet to be seen. Since it seems that PC manufacturers a have figured out that x86 is not very efficient and that ARM is a better solution Autodesk need to keep up so they offer a good user experience to justify that price of their software. There are more and more manufacturers or windows devices that no longer offer X86 CPU versions, or at least there are massive compromises with their X86 offerings - eg current generation Surface products and many laptops - certainly all the ones that offer decent real world battery life which is the biggest problem with running CAD software on windows laptops.
So the choices are:
For Mac - 1) use an old Mac with an intel processor and run Windows via bootcamp (note apple started the transition to ARM M series in 2020 and stopped making intel (X86) computers in 2023). Might be OK if you want to buy a cheap old intel desktop Mac and dedicate to CAD booting via bootcamp (which is not flawless), but if like me you need a laptop this is useless as apple moved their laptops to ARM nearly 5 years ago and I don't want an old intel laptop with 3 hour battery life while running CAD anymore. or 2) spend time trying to get the new Parallels v20.2 to work. If anyone has done so successfully I would love to hear about it - and see a support document for it so I can try it.
For Windows - ensure you buy a windows device with X86 processor. Not an issue if you have a desktop X86 windows machine (although I don't anymore as Autodesk software was the only thing that needed x86 and when my 13th Gen intel CPU died I gave up on x86 since it doesn't even seem to work reliably in a desktop machines these days). Noting that modern battery efficient Snapdragon laptops do not support X86 versions of windows so won't run a LOT of autodesk software natively and I am yet to see reliable evidence that emulation works - so far I have only received advice from users to avoid it as it is unreliable and not performant.
I live in hope that Autodesk develop their software to support ARM - that is in essence what is needed. .
