Mac mini M4 runs 3ds Max through Windows, with limits
A can run 3ds Max 2022 and Chaos Corona 15 through Parallels with . Autodesk does not officially support 3ds Max on Macs and advises against using it that way. To avoid the AVX2 error, Windows 11 must be build 26200.6725 or 26100.6725 or newer.
Viewport lag can be reduced by turning off HiDPI and using 1080p at 100% scaling. Rendering used the CPU only, with no GPU rendering. A heavy interior scene at 2800x2100 resolution and 100 passes took 1 hour and 21 minutes.
A Ryzen 7 5800H laptop finished the same frame faster, although the comparison was not perfectly equal. The setup used a 2024 Mac mini with Apple M4, 32 GB of memory, .1, Parallels Desktop 26.3.1, and a Windows 11 Pro ARM with 8 cores and 24 GB of memory assigned.
Key points
- 3ds Max 2022 ran on a through Parallels and .
- The AVX2 fix requires Windows 11 build 26200.6725 or 26100.6725 or newer.
- Turning off HiDPI and using 1080p at 100% scaling reduced viewport lag.
- Rendering was CPU-only, with no GPU rendering available.
- A heavy 2800x2100 interior render with 100 passes took 1 hour and 21 minutes.