Architecture student on a budget won´t buy a Mac Book, she says it won´t run ...

[igmolinav]

Hi,

My sister doesn´t have the money to buy a MB Pro at the moment.

She is at the end of the fourth year of her architecture studies. She
must do one more year of her studies. She is skeptical of two things:
that she could do the work she does with a Mac Book, and
also that the Mac Book could handle fast and correctly programs like
Autocad and 3DMax on the PC side. So she is skeptical of the PC
capabilities and performance of the Mac Book when using those
programs.

She was using an HP laptop but after three years the monitor is
dead and the computer is not running as smooth as before. She
spends a great deal of time designing on her computer.

Even though she has no money for a Macbook Pro, would the Mac
Book still do a good job running Autocad and 3DMax ??

In advance thank you very much,

igmolinav

 

[dukebound85]

maybe im not too sure. i know my macbook can run proe well

does she even want a mac? why not let her use something she is familiar with if thats how she is leaning?

plus you can get a laptop with a graphics card for the macbooks price as well.

 

[Slip]

maybe im not too sure. i know my macbook can run proe well

does she even want a mac? why not let her use something she is familiar with if thats how she is leaning?

Exactly, and at the end of the day, if the software she needs is Windows then she could save a ton by just getting a decent PC.

 

[CanadaRAM]

But here's the thing -- if she doesn't think a MacBook will work as a Windows machine, then she must get a PC with a Core2Duo processor and a discrete video card. If she gets an integrated video card, or even worse, a celeron or Pentium based machine, then the argument about the (lack of) power of the MacBook is invalid.

 

[synth3tik]

I have not used 3D SM since college, but I would be skeptical about the video performance. What she is doing may be very graphics intensive and if she was to get a Mac she would most likely need the Pro. I would just let her decide.

 

[dukebound85]

But here's the thing -- if she doesn't think a MacBook will work as a Windows machine, then she must get a PC with a Core2Duo processor and a discrete video card. If she gets an integrated video card, or even worse, a celeron or Pentium based machine, then the argument about the (lack of) power of the MacBook is invalid.

yea but an integrated video card laptop machine will cost less than a macbook. and if budget is a concern as he has stated then i dont think i could reccomend a mac for her purposes

a machine with a dedicated card will perform her programs better without a doubt. i would reccomend getting a pc laptop with a dedicated card. there are many that fit this that ARE cheaper than a mbp and may be even some in the mb price range

 

[jb60606]

MacBook is NOT a good choice for this. In all honesty I'd tell her to stick to HP for this line of work.

My brother's firm switched from MacBook Pros to the HP 8710w & 8510, and couldn't be happier. It's a little cheaper than a MBP, and comes with a superior video card, Blu-Ray Burner, faster/larger HD, HDMI, a pristine high resolution 17" LCD, standard 3yr warranty and it also runs quite cool (I don't know about everyone else, but my MBP gets hot as hell and struggles with graphic intensive apps).

You can get one without the Blu-Ray drive for hundreds cheaper.

If she waits a bit and saves some money, a student discount could bring it within her reach.

 

[MezicanGangxtah]

i havent ever tried 3Dmax but ive easily been able to run autoCAD and archiCAD on my cousins core duo macbook on windows, just as a heads up the model i tried it on is core duo not core 2 duo like current ones and had an inferior gfx card so if she buys a new one it will run even better. I say go for it but it your decision so good luck!

 

[igmolinav]

Thank you for all your help and opinions !!!

 

[gkarris]

I've had great experience/value with HP/Compaq laptops.

I recommend a 17" if she is doing CAD with discreet graphics, dv9700t.

Around $1,000 you'll get the 17" screen and discreet graphics.

You can always go down to the 15" if you are on more a budget. Definitely go with discreet graphics with the type of programs she runs.

 

[RHD]

I would say No. The graphics cards aren't up to it on the Macbooks.
I'm waiting for a new MacBook Pro, hopefully with a better graphics card, although I think the current MB Pro's can run 3DS OK.
I should leave your sister to get a PC she's happy with.
Running AutoCAD and 3DS on a Mac isn't straightforward because of licencing and support issues. Autodesk do not support their software if you run it on a Mac which is a pain seeing how much they charge for it, and aside from the licence problems which are fixable, there is no reason you can't.