3D cad renders

[Samtb]

Is the 2015 MacBook Pro 13 inch suitable for 3D cad rendering? Is it powerful enough?

 

[snaky69]

Any computer'll be able to do it really. The real question is: how long are you willing to wait for your render?

A 15"'s quad core CPU will nearly double the rendering speed compared to the dual found in the 13".

If you intend on doing any kind of CAD work though, why are you getting a Mac at all? You'll find machines that are better suited for CAD work with Quadro graphics or the like.

 

[yjchua95]

Is the 2015 MacBook Pro 13 inch suitable for 3D cad rendering? Is it powerful enough?

No. You'll need a minimum of a quad core system with a dGPU if you want decent performance out of it. Which means the 15" with the AMD GPU is about your only option.

 

[Samtb]

So what are good uses for the MacBook Pro 13 inch if the quad core with dgpu is required for anything intensive and the air and new MacBook are capable of handling most everyday tasks?

 

[snaky69]

So what are good uses for the MacBook Pro 13 inch if the quad core with dgpu is required for anything intensive and the air and new MacBook are capable of handling most everyday tasks?

I think you misunderstood us. It's not "required" by any stretch of the imagination. It'll just take twice as long to render stuff as a 15 incher.

If your work is not time sensitive, it's a non-issue.

 

[Samtb]

I have a desktop I use for very intensive things as well, that's quad core with dgpu.

 

[yjchua95]

So what are good uses for the MacBook Pro 13 inch if the quad core with dgpu is required for anything intensive and the air and new MacBook are capable of handling most everyday tasks?

It's for nothing more than everyday tasks, one VM, a medium Photoshop rig and some medium 1080p editing with clips of a few minutes, nothing more.

 

[Samtb]

Then what about the air and new MacBook? Surely if the rmbp 13 is only for everyday tasks then it's redundant.

 

[yjchua95]

Then what about the air and new MacBook? Surely if the rmbp 13 is only for everyday tasks then it's redundant.

Those two are even worse.

The rMB is like an iPad on steroids - you can forget about running a VM on it. Don't expect it to do anything more than light video editing. It's meant for people who do iPad tasks but want OS X.

The MacBook Air is slightly better - it can handle a decent amount of photo editing (light Photoshop) and light 1080p editing, but that's about it. As a comparison, the 13" rMBP can do heavier (medium Photoshop and medium 1080p).

PS - I never said the 13" rMBP was only for everyday tasks, I said that it was also for running a single VM, medium Photoshop and medium 1080p editing of a few minutes alongside everyday tasks. Read properly.

 

[wheelhot]

Hmm, slightly not related but in some ways it is, Autodesk Fusion 360 has a cloud render option (but you have to pay for it; all basic users are given a starting 300CC (cloud credits) which is around USD$300), what you do is to set the scene the way you like it (lightings, angles) and such and then test the scene by doing a quick render on your MBP and once you're happy with it, send it to Autodesk cloud render for it to render and receive your result in minutes.

Depending on the size of the image, the price differs as well. IMHO, I find this as a great option as you don't have to commit your machine to hours long rendering jobs.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Then what about the air and new MacBook? Surely if the rmbp 13 is only for everyday tasks then it's redundant.

You are asking the wrong people in the wrong place. This is a site filled with tech geeks that think that you need the best of everything to do things the fastest they can be done. Of course if this is your business then this is true, the time savings are worth the investment if your livelihood relies on your computer productivity.

However if you are just a business user using office, doing presentations, remotely accessing your companies servers etc the 13 inch is perfect. Likewise if you are a developer travelling around or a photographer / blogger etc doing editing on the fly. An engineer that needs a slew of apps for the machines they are servicing, would be very happy with a 13 inch.

And most home users who want something great for all their needs are very well served by the 13 inch, edit those go pro videos, run almost any app available, basic gaming etc they are brilliant little laptops.

However if you are doing 3D CAD rendering for your job then the 15 inch is the way to go. Not that the 13 inch can't do the job, and do it well, a quick look at the AUTODESKwebsite shows that just about any computer made since 2010 will run it, it's just how fast it will do it and how much it will bog down you computer running it, when you need to do other things.

As for the rMB and the air they are very much like the 13 inch rMBP but only able to perform as such in smaller bursts before they throttle back. The Air is redundant (although still a remarkably capable little laptop) and the rMB will supercede it as the processing power in the core M line grows.

As with all computer purchases you need to know your software well enough and your workload well enough in order to buy the computer appropriate for your needs. If you don't know this information then google is your friend and a couple of hours invested in learning this information is time well spent in the furtherance of your carreer.