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13" versus 15" macbook pro for archtirecture student

I

int.des

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 19, 2014
1
0
hi everyone, i am student of interior design/architecture, now i am using imac 27" at home but i have to buy a macbook pro for my architectural jobs at school and etc... soo i have a unstable thought to choose the best screen size on macbook pro. i am thinking about 13" because its portable, lighter, easy to carry it. However some of friends say that 13" screen size does not good enough to drawing ang designing

i mostly use sketchup, archicad also vray, occasionally acad and 3dmax.

actually the cost is not object for me, to choose the best mbp which is important. 13" or 15"?

i configurated selections in each screen size category

macbook pro 13"
2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage

macbook pro 15"
2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
 
Arms19

Arms19

macrumors newbie
Apr 15, 2010
20
0
New York
int.des said:
hi everyone, i am student of interior design/architecture, now i am using imac 27" at home but i have to buy a macbook pro for my architectural jobs at school and etc... soo i have a unstable thought to choose the best screen size on macbook pro. i am thinking about 13" because its portable, lighter, easy to carry it. However some of friends say that 13" screen size does not good enough to drawing ang designing

i mostly use sketchup, archicad also vray, occasionally acad and 3dmax.

actually the cost is not object for me, to choose the best mbp which is important. 13" or 15"?

i configurated selections in each screen size category

macbook pro 13"
2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage

macbook pro 15"
2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
Click to expand...
If money is truly no object as you say, then go for the 15" rMBP. It's portable, light weight, and has retina which may come in handy for any CAD/programs you'll have to run.
 
bbeagle

bbeagle

macrumors 68040
Oct 19, 2010
3,542
2,982
Buffalo, NY
I would always opt for a 13" laptop on the go, and an external monitor at home for when I need a larger screen.

Then again - I do all my serious work at home, and lug around the laptop basically for portability and access to the files on the go. I never have been able to get any serious work done at a Starbucks, or in a library - I need to be in the quiet surroundings of my home, so the 15" is never something I need.

It all depends on what your workflow is.
 
K

kelon111

macrumors 6502
Mar 16, 2013
303
4
Arms19 said:
If money is truly no object as you say, then go for the 15" rMBP. It's portable, light weight, and has retina which may come in handy for any CAD/programs you'll have to run.
Click to expand...

Geforce GPUs aren't good for CAD. Fire Pro and Quadro GPUs are much better.

The Dell Precision M3800 is better than the 15" rMBP when it comes to CAD.
 
X

Xerotech

macrumors 6502
Jul 22, 2011
418
5
I have the 15" model with a dedicated GPU. It runs CAD very well. People don't realize that CAD doesn't take much resources, unless it's an extremely complex structure. School won't go into that sort of depth, internships as well as jobs will have Workstations with licensed software to work with. The RMBP is definitely sufficient.
 
K

kelon111

macrumors 6502
Mar 16, 2013
303
4
Xerotech said:
I have the 15" model with a dedicated GPU. It runs CAD very well. People don't realize that CAD doesn't take much resources, unless it's an extremely complex structure. School won't go into that sort of depth, internships as well as jobs will have Workstations with licensed software to work with. The RMBP is definitely sufficient.
Click to expand...

The CAD I did in high school was pretty basic but in college I did a lot more complex work.

Rendering at 40 FPS vs 10 FPS is a big difference to me , I don't know about you.
 
Z

zI INFINITY Iz

macrumors regular
Sep 25, 2013
174
5
kelon111 said:
The CAD I did in high school was pretty basic but in college I did a lot more complex work.

Rendering at 40 FPS vs 10 FPS is a big difference to me , I don't know about you.
Click to expand...

40 fps is definitely much better then 10, I agree. And yes Fire Pro and Quadro GPUs are the best for CAD.

But for light-medium use, I think Iris Pro is really fine. Geforce GPU's aren't good for CAD, but are you sure you know enough about Iris Pro? I've seen some benchmarks showing Iris Pro perform better (fps-wise) then even the NVIDIA GTX 780, showing that Geforce GPU's aren't great for CAD, but also showing how powerful Iris Pro can be.

bbeagle said:
I would always opt for a 13" laptop on the go, and an external monitor at home for when I need a larger screen.

Then again - I do all my serious work at home, and lug around the laptop basically for portability and access to the files on the go. I never have been able to get any serious work done at a Starbucks, or in a library - I need to be in the quiet surroundings of my home, so the 15" is never something I need.

It all depends on what your workflow is.
Click to expand...

@OP: this post is great.

One thing though, if you really want power, the 15" will be better.
 
X

Xerotech

macrumors 6502
Jul 22, 2011
418
5
kelon111 said:
The CAD I did in high school was pretty basic but in college I did a lot more complex work.

Rendering at 40 FPS vs 10 FPS is a big difference to me , I don't know about you.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it is a big difference, but we are talking about what he wants. As a student, I'm sure he is bright enough to do his own research on what each program's requirements are. He's in the market for a mac, specifically a choice between the 13" and 15" rMBP, not a PC workstation. Although your suggestions are very helpful, it seems like he's not in the market for an over-kill computer, yet. Many businesses and schools offer workstations for use on campus/work. The price of software is substantial, so a computer without the necessary software is essentially useless.
 
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