I only mentioned that I have the maxed machine because maxed hardware is more power hungry. If you're running the lower grade GPU, that should be a positive for your battery life.
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13''or 15'' for engineering student？
- Thread starter beatitjean
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I only mentioned that I have the maxed machine because maxed hardware is more power hungry. If you're running the lower grade GPU, that should be a positive for your battery life.
I just think that the apex SSD in the 13'' MBP can make up for the lack of power of dual core processor.Because I seldom render 3D projects on CAD.But the 13'' MBP with TB has the worst battery life among current Macbook lineup.
It's possible, I don't really know what apex SSD means or anything, but I do know that a quad core and 16 GB's of RAM are decent specs for people who doing some fancy stuff like video editing. Not sure if it's good for engineers though.
I am an engineering student too. I decided to go for the nTB MBP with 16gb/512gb ram.
To be honest, for complex auto cad or ANSYS runs, you would be better off running the simulations on a desktop computer or the university's computer cluster.
The amount saved from going from a 15 to a 13 MBP can get you a windows PC that can serve your heavy computational needs better (and do some gaming
).
To be honest, for complex auto cad or ANSYS runs, you would be better off running the simulations on a desktop computer or the university's computer cluster.
The amount saved from going from a 15 to a 13 MBP can get you a windows PC that can serve your heavy computational needs better (and do some gaming
).Thanks for repplying!I am an engineering student too. I decided to go for the nTB MBP with 16gb/512gb ram.
To be honest, for complex auto cad or ANSYS runs, you would be better off running the simulations on a desktop computer or the university's computer cluster.
The amount saved from going from a 15 to a 13 MBP can get you a windows PC that can serve your heavy computational needs better (and do some gaming
I have a gaming laptop which I mentioned earlier in this thread.But I am going to Australia and I don't want to carry two laptops to another country.Besides,I almost quit on gaming except for playing NBA 2K17 sometimes.And my roommates just bought a PS4,so there's no piont for me to build another PC for gaming
As others have said, you'll almost certainly need to have a bootcamp install of Windows on the machine, so make sure you have enough SSD space (and budget) for that.
I'm one of the few at my school in engineering with a MacBook. It's about 80-90% Windows laptops, with a few Macs primarily in the software engineering stream.
Still, I boot to Windows most of the time since we're required to use software that's only available in Windows. Also, for some programs like MATLAB, it's available for Mac but sometimes can give funny behaviour when your TA goes to run it on Windows -- they warned us that we use Mac at our own risk and it's our responsibility to make sure our code runs on Windows.
Personally, I love the 16:10 screen ratio and the build quality of the MacBooks, but I'd probably just get the just-updated XPS 15 for much less.
I strongly recommend getting a second monitor with a mouse/keyboard and docking for when you need to get work done.
Between the 13" and 15", I'd say the 15" is the way to go. The extra screen real estate is invaluable, and you get the 16 GB RAM, quad-core CPU, and dGPU. The weight difference in your backpack is negligible, though the footprint is a bit larger.
Mind you, I use a 17" at 6 pounds... so they're both delightfully compact and light IMHO.
I'm one of the few at my school in engineering with a MacBook. It's about 80-90% Windows laptops, with a few Macs primarily in the software engineering stream.
Still, I boot to Windows most of the time since we're required to use software that's only available in Windows. Also, for some programs like MATLAB, it's available for Mac but sometimes can give funny behaviour when your TA goes to run it on Windows -- they warned us that we use Mac at our own risk and it's our responsibility to make sure our code runs on Windows.
Personally, I love the 16:10 screen ratio and the build quality of the MacBooks, but I'd probably just get the just-updated XPS 15 for much less.
I strongly recommend getting a second monitor with a mouse/keyboard and docking for when you need to get work done.
Between the 13" and 15", I'd say the 15" is the way to go. The extra screen real estate is invaluable, and you get the 16 GB RAM, quad-core CPU, and dGPU. The weight difference in your backpack is negligible, though the footprint is a bit larger.
Mind you, I use a 17" at 6 pounds... so they're both delightfully compact and light IMHO.
Someone said that the bootcamp will ruin the battery.Don't know if it's trueAs others have said, you'll almost certainly need to have a bootcamp install of Windows on the machine, so make sure you have enough SSD space (and budget) for that.
I'm one of the few at my school in engineering with a MacBook. It's about 80-90% Windows laptops, with a few Macs primarily in the software engineering stream.
Still, I boot to Windows most of the time since we're required to use software that's only available in Windows. Also, for some programs like MATLAB, it's available for Mac but sometimes can give funny behaviour when your TA goes to run it on Windows -- they warned us that we use Mac at our own risk and it's our responsibility to make sure our code runs on Windows.
Personally, I love the 16:10 screen ratio and the build quality of the MacBooks, but I'd probably just get the just-updated XPS 15 for much less.
I strongly recommend getting a second monitor with a mouse/keyboard and docking for when you need to get work done.
Between the 13" and 15", I'd say the 15" is the way to go. The extra screen real estate is invaluable, and you get the 16 GB RAM, quad-core CPU, and dGPU. The weight difference in your backpack is negligible, though the footprint is a bit larger.
Mind you, I use a 17" at 6 pounds... so they're both delightfully compact and light IMHO.
It doesn't "ruin" the battery... but typically a MBP won't last as long while running Windows as it does running MacOS. I get around 4-6 on Windows vs 6-8 on Mac, largely because Windows uses the dGPU all the time while Mac tries to stick with the iGPU.
I'd be awfully tempted to just get a Windows laptop like the new XPS 15. Gets longer life under Windows, costs less, has all the ports you need (and people will expect you to connect to on occasion), etc. Spend the extra money on a second monitor for getting work done efficiently.
It's funny though.. most of the laptops I see in engineering are generic mid-tier laptops/convertibles (Acer, Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo). Some gaming laptops, and a few Macs. In the social sciences, it's more like 50% MacBooks.
Just something to consider. As much as MacBooks are really nice while running MacOS, they're not much better at running Windows.
Never had a Mac before,been using Windows since day 1.But I really like the Mac design and its decent performance under relatively lower specs.Moreover，I want to learn some video editing and the FCP seems easier for amateur.
The "decent performance under relatively lower specs" is specific to when it's running MacOS and tailored software like FCP.
I'm just pointing out that much of the time in engineering, you'll be running Windows and lose that edge... so you'll end up with a machine that costs a lot but doesn't perform any better.
FCP is nice but it isn't the only suite. If you're just doing that on the side as a hobby but you want this computer for school, I wouldn't let it be the deciding factor, personally.
If money is no object, though, then do as you wish.
Of course the money matters.I was inclined to buy the 13'' base model before I posted this topic.But most of the replies suggest that going for the 15'' is a necessity.Now I'm considering the HP spectre X360,which has the same specs as XPS13 and better design.The C-side design of the Dell XPS13 is just horribleThe "decent performance under relatively lower specs" is specific to when it's running MacOS and tailored software like FCP.
I'm just pointing out that much of the time in engineering, you'll be running Windows and lose that edge... so you'll end up with a machine that costs a lot but doesn't perform any better.
FCP is nice but it isn't the only suite. If you're just doing that on the side as a hobby but you want this computer for school, I wouldn't let it be the deciding factor, personally.
If money is no object, though, then do as you wish.
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Of course the money matters.I was inclined to buy the 13'' base model before I posted this topic.But most of the replies suggest that going for the 15'' is a necessity.Now I'm considering the HP spectre X360,which has the same specs as XPS13 and better design.The C-side design of the Dell XPS13 is just horrible
The 'majority' you mentioned are mostly of knowledged people. Not to sound harsh, they know what they are doing. They know if they have the brightness way up OR Chrome over Safari ORFinalCutX over a word processor it's not gonna yield the estimated battery life. So I guess it's safe to say that there is at least a minor presence of some logical element to in their claims. A typical Apple user is someone who doesn't bother any of the things about the battery, usefulness of touchbar, GPU glitch and thinking they are safe by Apple. They just care about the asthetical aspects like lighting Apple and bigger trackpad(BTW which is of no improvement for a 2015 MBP user since he/she already is with force touch feature and little adjustment in trackpad speed will do the trick).
PS: 2016 15" user here
[doublepost=1486699090][/doublepost]
For 2016 or 2015? Please mention
I have a 2016 15" MBP.
Even when I'm not running some heavy battery killing programs, I'm still running a lot more stuff than most people so the claims of about 10 hours of battery life for normal use sounds pretty much right.
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I am an engineering student too. I decided to go for the nTB MBP with 16gb/512gb ram.
To be honest, for complex auto cad or ANSYS runs, you would be better off running the simulations on a desktop computer or the university's computer cluster.
The amount saved from going from a 15 to a 13 MBP can get you a windows PC that can serve your heavy computational needs better (and do some gaming
As others have said, you'll almost certainly need to have a bootcamp install of Windows on the machine, so make sure you have enough SSD space (and budget) for that.
I'm one of the few at my school in engineering with a MacBook. It's about 80-90% Windows laptops, with a few Macs primarily in the software engineering stream.
Still, I boot to Windows most of the time since we're required to use software that's only available in Windows. Also, for some programs like MATLAB, it's available for Mac but sometimes can give funny behaviour when your TA goes to run it on Windows -- they warned us that we use Mac at our own risk and it's our responsibility to make sure our code runs on Windows.
Personally, I love the 16:10 screen ratio and the build quality of the MacBooks, but I'd probably just get the just-updated XPS 15 for much less.
I strongly recommend getting a second monitor with a mouse/keyboard and docking for when you need to get work done.
Between the 13" and 15", I'd say the 15" is the way to go. The extra screen real estate is invaluable, and you get the 16 GB RAM, quad-core CPU, and dGPU. The weight difference in your backpack is negligible, though the footprint is a bit larger.
Mind you, I use a 17" at 6 pounds... so they're both delightfully compact and light IMHO.
I'm an architect. Whether you accept it or not, finding the Mac alternates for any softwares you use in Windows/linux is a costly job. You'll end up running Windows more than you think you would and the dGPU in 2016 15" will be the worst option and an overkill by specs for you anyway.
Therefore you have these choices,
1. 2016 13" touch bar MBP with 256GB SSD, 16GB RAM(optional).
2. 2015 15" MBP 512GB SSD.
3. 2016 13" non-touchbar MBP with 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM.
- All of the above(available in Apple Store) have only iGPU which benchmarks comparably.
- Option-2 CPU is way more powerful than option 1 and comparable with the 2016 15" base model.
- All are priced comparably.
- If you care about portability much. Just go with Option-1 or Option-3 and buy an used Full HD external monitor for your dorm.
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I am an engineer as well. I graduated with my masters as a design engineer (kind of a mix between mechanical engineering and some industrial design) this past August. In the last 3 years getting my degrees i used a late 2013 2.6 GHz i5, 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM for a wide range of programs, including Matlab, Maple, Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign and various programs in a Windows VM including Creo (ProE) and it worked just fine. I was very happy I got the 13" instead of the 15" due to the portability. I also biked more than 20km every day with it, so portability was very important to me.
I actually got a 2016 15" to replace both the 13" + a 2009 27" iMac that I have but I ended up selling the 15". I simply don't work with the 15" version, even though I would love to. I much prefer the 13".
As a side-note, by GF has a 2014 13" MBP and she is an architect. She is also quite happy with it. She used to have a 2011 15" but also prefers the portability over the power.
Just my $0.02
Thank you for this feedback.
I am using a 13' (late 2011) , 16Gb RAM, 512 SSD, 2.4GHz i5. I am a (relatively) new MBP user and am running Windows 10 thru VirtualBox.
I am glad to read that you have used such intensive programs (Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign,Creo (ProE)). I was curious if you think my 2.4 GHz would be able to handle AutoCad smoothly? (thru VM)
I am not a poweruser, but I used to tinker on AutoCAD before on my windows laptop ( HP Pavilion core i7). I am worried about current MBP since its only i5.
I am running Andy (Android emulator) and Windows 10 thru VirtualBox and they both work smoothly.
Thanks in advance.
I have no experience using AutoCAD, but at work I am using an HP ProBook with a dual-core 15W Skylake processor (forgot which one exactly) and integrated graphics with 16GB RAM and a blade SSD. I use it mainly for running SolidWorks all day with 2 external monitors hooked up to it, and most of the time it is running quite smoothly, although it does get quite sluggish sometimes
However, based on my experiences with all of this I would assume that yes, you should be able to run it relatively smoothly, even in a VM. Unless of course you have huge assembly files with a lot of complex geometries. But just for playing around with some more simple stuff I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. A lot of my student buddies used and still uses a 2011 13" MBP for a lot of intensive stuff. So give it a go and see how it works out for you
Are you using the HP spectre X360?Which has 15W i7 7500U CPUI have no experience using AutoCAD, but at work I am using an HP ProBook with a dual-core 15W Skylake processor (forgot which one exactly) and integrated graphics with 16GB RAM and a blade SSD. I use it mainly for running SolidWorks all day with 2 external monitors hooked up to it, and most of the time it is running quite smoothly, although it does get quite sluggish sometimes
However, based on my experiences with all of this I would assume that yes, you should be able to run it relatively smoothly, even in a VM. Unless of course you have huge assembly files with a lot of complex geometries. But just for playing around with some more simple stuff I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. A lot of my student buddies used and still uses a 2011 13" MBP for a lot of intensive stuff. So give it a go and see how it works out for you
I just looked it up. I am using the HP EliteBook 850 G3 with the 17-6500U and Intel HD Graphics 520. It is not exactly a massive powerhouse but it is fast enough for professional use in SolidWorks.
I really think you may be over estimating the computational requirements or usage you will require
My eldest now with a Phd and a lecturer in a prestigious engineering biased Uni and my middle son with a Bsc in engineering now working in worlds 4 largest construction company both used 11" or 13" MBA for Uni. My eldest now uses a rMB for personal use and W10 for work where my middle son has ditched Apple as it's not suitable in his real world and uses a SP4.
I also work in heavy engineering and there are 100's of engineers and designers around me who's daily job is running complex analysis on some of the worlds biggest structures (how did they do that type) and designers building huge complex 3D models for construction/clash detection/BOM's etc in addition to 2d AutoCAD that our civil and structural department use. This is all run on very modest 4 or 5 year old off the shelf dell or hp desktops that are worth 1 or 2 $100 at most and far less capable than the latest laptops.
Unless you are doing an occasional bit of 3D rendering of more Architectural discipline, generally you cannot spend that amount of man-hours building something that complex like a full time professional, you will have too much other course work
If you like or need the real estate is the only reason to get a large laptop, but again this is only for 100's of hours of work
In truth portability, ssd size, then CPU should be your priority within your budget. Bootcamp will better for you in the long run IMO and swapping between is not as troublesome as you may think
If you really only want to play with MacOS (FCP etc) then you could, as you have noted get a good portable Win10 laptop and pick up a 2nd hand MBA or rMB to play with and still have change, probably, than opting for a 15" MBP 2016, ie your may be paying an awful lot of Apple premium maybe for nothing
Additionally with a new Win10 laptop I expect it will also have additional benefits if it has some 2 in 1 features, touch or pen input just simply gives you more options for your Uni work and pleasure and the savings in £/$ will help your social life too
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Thanks for the advice!I had internship in a couple of companies.The desktop they use is quite outdated,which mostly run windows XP and AutoCAD 2004/2007.I don't believe Autocad 2D is much of a power-demanding software.I really think you at be over estimating the computational requirements or usage you will require
My eldest now with a Phd and a lecturer in a prestigious engineering biased Uni and my middle son with a Bsc in engineering now working in worlds 4 largest construction company both used 11" or 13" MBA for Uni. My eldest now uses a rMB for personal use and W10 for work where my middle son has ditched Apple as it's not suitable in his real world and uses a SP4.
I also work in heavy engineering and there are 100's of engineers and designers around me who's daily job is running complex analysis on some of the worlds biggest structures (how did they do that type) and designers building huge complex 3D models for construction/clash detection/BOM's etc in addition to 2d AutoCAD that our civil and structural department use. This is all run on very modest 4 or 5 year old off the shelf dell or hp desktops that are worth 1 or 2 $100 at most and far less capable than the latest laptops.
Unless you are doing an occasional bit of 3D rendering of more Architectural discipline, generally you cannot spend that amount of man-hours building something that complex like a full time professional, you will have too much other course work
If you like or need the real estate is the only reason to get a large laptop, but again this is only for 100's of hours of work
In truth portability, ssd size, then CPU should be your priority within your budget. Bootcamp will better for you in the long run IMO and swapping between is not as troublesome as you may think
If you really only want to play with MacOS (FCP etc) then you could, as you have noted get a good portable Win10 laptop and pick up a 2nd hand MBA or rMB to play with and still have change, probably, than opting for a 15" MBP 2016, ie your may be paying an awful lot of Apple premium maybe for nothing
Additionally with a new Win10 laptop I expect it will also have additional benefits if it has some 2 in 1 features, touch or pen input just simply gives you more options for your Uni work and pleasure and the savings in £/$ will help your social life too
You really shouldn't give people who say things like this as most people who do just don't like macs and try to scare people away from them. If your matlab code doesn't run correctly on someone else's machine it either doesn't run correctly on your machine either or then they they've screwed up somehow. The quality of TA's can vary absolutely enormously from TA to TA and they should be reasonable enough that if your code for some reason doesn't work right on their machines they'll give you a pass if you can demonstrate it running correctly on your machine. If they try to cause you problems because they've screwed up and can't run your matlab code correctly then just complain to their bosses and they should sort it out.
I've also done matlab coursework on my own machine, except I've done one step worse and used Octave, a compatible free and open source alternative, without ever having any issues caused by Matlab on Windows not being able to run my code correctly. Only problem I ever had has been that the Matlab signals processing toolkit hasn't been implemented 100% in Octave, but that was eventually resolved when they implemented the remaining parts that I needed.
There is a huge difference between someone who knows how to USE a computer and someone who knows computers. As someone with a heavy IT background, I'm sure you can appreciate that telling me a bunch of people who know how to use Logic Pro X know more about computers than I do makes me feel. . . negative emotions. I'm not saying NONE of those people know anything about computers, but to insinuate that *I* don't..... I'm sure you don't know them any better than you know me.
and for the record, the correct grammar would be "the 'majority' you mentioned are mostly knowledgeable people"
Petty? Maybe... but you earned it by taking me for a luddite.
BTW, on another topic relevant to the thread, there's a great Youtube video by Lon.tv on how to install Windows 10 on an external SSD as a "windows to go" solution. I actually did this with a 512 Gig Samsung T3 USB-C drive, and it works BEAUTIFULLY. I DO suggest, however, that if you're going to go this route... make sure you go to Amazon and pick up an active TB3 cable [40Gb throughput]. The T3 itself comes with a Type C to type A connector, which can limit speeds.
And at +/-$200 it's a HECK of a lot cheaper than Apple's drive upgrade fees.
I'm giving a precise real-world case of when it's best to use the Windows version, and you think it's just because I hate Macs (even though I use one).
MATLAB code can include console commands which are different for Windows and Mac.
TAs aren't going to sit around trying to make your code work. Also, all the lab tests are done on Windows and the code you write in tests/exams must be for Windows.
They made it absolutely clear to us: they provide us with lab computers, as well as a full copy of Windows and MATLAB for our own computers... if you choose to use another platform, it's at your own peril.
Your welcome also AutoCAD cannot really address multi core CPU's other than
- 2D regeneration
- MentalRay rendering
A CPU-intensive operation that uses 100% of the resources of a single-core processor only uses a maximum of 50% of the CPU for that same operation on a dual-core computer, and only 6% of each CPU on a 16-core computer
(From Autodesk help)
A multicore processor will be faster however generally gains will be very marginal
Although I would happily part with $4k for the latest and greatest (The 2016 MBP do not interest/tempt me) you will be amazed what even the current M3 processors can achieve and there is a bit too much hype re spinning beach balls/lag IMO let alone having 40 tabs open in a browser
The few that are 5 days a week doing 3d animation or FE analysis or VM etc may need top performance outside of games but most of us are spending more time in far less demanding apps as part of our normal workflow.
It's always nice to have bragging rights but reality is most are paying $1-2K for saving of a few seconds per day
Keep your cash and enjoy your time at Uni rather lugging around at a high spec laptop that your spending most of your time in word/email/youtube etc that your scared to loose or damage
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