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Questions regarding Matlab and Solidworks

T

Tomasz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 30, 2001
102
0
Berkeley, California
I am going to be in need of a few programs (for college), and was wondering how Matlab and Solidworks perform on a mac. They are not available for mac, but how much performance can I get while running it in VPC? Would it be better to get a PC system so that these programs run better?

Or are there alternative programs that are compatible to these that are for mac? Or does anyone know if they will be ported to the mac any time soon?

So if you have any experience with these programs, let me know. Also, anybody that is majoring in mech eng, if you have any tips on what programs are the best, let me know.

Thanks,
Tomasz

P.S. I am planning on running the programs on either the Tibook 800 or the next revision of it.
 
Mr. Anderson

Mr. Anderson

Moderator emeritus
Nov 1, 2001
22,568
6
VA
Ooh, that's a tough one. Mathmatica is an alternative to Matlab, but I'm not sure about SolidWorks. Those are pretty steep in price too, why would you want to run them on VPC when it might just be better to get a pc. We have a couple Dell Laptops with the 1600x1200 screens that handle it pretty well. You might see a serious hit in performance, especially with the 3D aspect.

So what are you going to be doing that needs them?

And I don't want to hear from anyone about PCs suck, and such. There are some times when you might not have much of a choice.
 
T

Tomasz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 30, 2001
102
0
Berkeley, California
That's what I figured...

I guess I will be getting a PC..... but the powerbooks are so tempting. I usually don't like getting anything but the best I can reasonably justify. And when I do, I milk it until I can't no more. That is why I am having a problem. I will be getting a new computer, and an apple powerbook is my top choice. But if I don't get it, then it will be a PC... but I really don't like most of their laptops (although the SPARC ones seem interesting).

Ohh the choices....

And yes, mathematica is a pretty good program (i will be getting it as well.) But all these programs are expensive... whether programming or CAD.... the prices can be very steep. I will use the education discounts to my advantage (i think its like a 90% discount off of mathematica... but don't get it from the apple store.... they charge like 900 dollars for it at the education store).

But I still don't want to pay more than I have to.

I will be majoring in mech eng, that is why I have these questions. I will be using these programs next year, and would like to get a head start.

Tomasz

P.S. PCs have there place in the world. They are very useful (and often the only way to do certain things) when they aren't crashing..... I use them along with my macs so am speaking from experience. But a mac brings a different feeling to the user, one that I can never really discribe.
 
buffsldr

buffsldr

macrumors 6502a
May 7, 2001
621
0
Tomasz,
I do not follow your point. Matlab rocks for what it does, it really does not compete with Mathematica as much as it may seem to the outsider (I am an engineer and used matlab and maple extensively through college, and I now use ProE, a http://www.ptc.com product). Matlab is great for creating ".m" files for programming, simulation and analysis.

Matlab is/will be available, see http://www.mathworks.com/company/pressroom/index.shtml/article/318 for more info.

Regarding solidworks, why do you need it? who told you that? What is your major? I recall during my CAD class we had a computer lab to use ProE. I assume you are in college for engineering. YOu really wont use CAD much except for a few projects here and there, and then you and your team will use the CAD lab on campus.

If you must (and I mean must) use these at home, get a pc. CAD programs are a bear and will need all the power you can give them, and VPC just wont cut it for CAD I would imagine.
 
T

Tomasz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 30, 2001
102
0
Berkeley, California
Buffsldr, I did not imply that mathematica and matlab are the same... but dukestreet noted mathematica, and I just acknoledged that I am/will be using it.

And as far as I know, solidworks is the program that I will be starting off with. It is in one of my beginning engineering courses.

Ohh, and Buffsldr, I'm about to be studying mech eng, cause you wanted to know. What specific engineering did you study? I assume you know what programs are good, so any tips are welcome.
 
buffsldr

buffsldr

macrumors 6502a
May 7, 2001
621
0
I did mechanical engineering and I am finishing my masters in mechanical engineering while working full time

The reason I ask about solid works is, why do you think you need to have your own copy of it? You wont use it much. If you like the mac, get Matlab and Mathematica for os x. If you are going to be a freshman, you will probabaly have an intro to cad class where a lab will be provided to you with cad software installed.

Mechanical engineering is a blast. You will have a ton of work, but it is cool, if you have an interest in that kind of stuff (physics, mechantronics, math, etc.) I also like the job security.

As far as what programs to get, buy them as you need 'em. Start with mathematica. Buy matlab when your prof tells you to. It has a steep learning curve, and not as useful for general math stuff as mathematica or maple. There is a little program called TKSolver that rocks. It would run like a champ on VPC. It is a word problem type solver.

Best to you.
 
T

Tomasz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 30, 2001
102
0
Berkeley, California
Thanks for the info. I'm going to try TKsolver over the weekend, cause it sounds like a great tool.

And I see your point about not getting all the programs until necessary. Although some, like mathematica, I will be getting shortly.

Once again, thanks for the help.

Tomasz
 
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