Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AutoCAD and Matlab for Mac

J

jimmyhii

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 31, 2010
39
0
Hi Guys,

Would just like to know if there are any disadvantages of using AutoCAD and Matlab for OS X as compared to using their windows versions? I'm asking because I've found out from seniors that I will be using these software during my engineering course in university but I've also heard that the mac versions have certain limitations.

I would really like OS X for things other than engineering, and I know that I can bootcamp into Windows on a mac, but if i'm going to have to do that all the time in classes, I might be better off getting a PC notebook.
 
jimmyhii said:
Hi Guys,

Would just like to know if there are any disadvantages of using AutoCAD and Matlab for OS X as compared to using their windows versions? I'm asking because I've found out from seniors that I will be using these software during my engineering course in university but I've also heard that the mac versions have certain limitations.

I would really like OS X for things other than engineering, and I know that I can bootcamp into Windows on a mac, but if i'm going to have to do that all the time in classes, I might be better off getting a PC notebook.
Click to expand...

I've used both, on both platforms. I found MATLAB to run slightly slower on some more complex programs due to going through X11 to display properly on OS X. Other than that, no difference. Simulink(MATLAB library) seems to not like having functions dragged and dropped, they need to be inserted using other means.

AutoCAD I haven't used extensively under neither OS as I'm a mechanical engineering student who needs to be able to do 3D work efficiently, and autoCAD sucks at that. But from what I've seen, they are extremely similar to the point that it wouldn't make much of a difference.
 
thanks for the replies! I don't think I would be doing heavy coding since this is only a university course :) so am I right to say that it should be fine to use a mac?

if it helps, i'm doing Engineering Science (known as Engineering Physics in other schools).
 
jimmyhii said:
thanks for the replies! I don't think I would be doing heavy coding since this is only a university course :) so am I right to say that it should be fine to use a mac?

if it helps, i'm doing Engineering Science (known as Engineering Physics in other schools).
Click to expand...

You'll be fine. Enjoy your new computer!
 
I have used autocad on mac and in windows and will admit that i like the windows version better. I just recently installed a SSD in my MBP and took the time to run bootcamp, switching between OS X and Windows is not that big of a deal at all.
 
mark28 said:
What did you hear are the limitation of the Mac version of Matlab?
Click to expand...

I cant remember what exactly but the poster from another forum mentioned that he didnt like the OS X version because it was "way inferior" to the windows version.. i'm not sure myself and thought that it could be something like how excel in office for mac had less functions than its windows version in the past..
 
jimmyhii said:
I cant remember what exactly but the poster from another forum mentioned that he didnt like the OS X version because it was "way inferior" to the windows version.. i'm not sure myself and thought that it could be something like how excel in office for mac had less functions than its windows version in the past..
Click to expand...

I use Matlab almost every day and I havent run into any "limitations"
 
JR1993 said:
Is it any different to windows version??

(Also, do you go to University of California Berkeley?)
Click to expand...

There are some subtle differences, mostly with the UI, but you'll have no problems if you're familiar with the Windows version.

And yes, I am an engineering student at Cal.
 
jimmyhii said:
I cant remember what exactly but the poster from another forum mentioned that he didnt like the OS X version because it was "way inferior" to the windows version.. i'm not sure myself and thought that it could be something like how excel in office for mac had less functions than its windows version in the past..
Click to expand...

There are no differences. Matlab is the same on both OSes.
 
If I'm not wrong, I think the current release of MATLAB doesn't require X11 for OS X, right? I'm not sure, but I've never ran X11 when using the current version, while I did need to for previous versions.

Also, I have heard that the Windows version of MATLAB has better integration with Microsoft Office, but in reality, if you're using MATLAB, you're not really going to be importing data tables from Excel a whole lot.
 
Hansr said:
There are no differences. Matlab is the same on both OSes.
Click to expand...

This is great to hear! thank you guys so much for all the replies. What about AutoCAD? My senior did mention though that I could get by with Google Sketchup (has an OS X version) if I didn't want to use autoCAD.
 
AutoCAD doesn't offer all the same functionality in OSX as it does in Windows but the core is there and for a BSc Engineering it's enough except maybe if you want to do some detailed 3D drawing but you're better off using Solidworks or Vector Works for that anyway.
 
Hansr said:
AutoCAD doesn't offer all the same functionality in OSX as it does in Windows but the core is there and for a BSc Engineering it's enough except maybe if you want to do some detailed 3D drawing but you're better off using Solidworks or Vector Works for that anyway.
Click to expand...

Hi Hansr, I would like to know what exactly you mean by AutoCAD doesn't offer all the same functionality?

Also, since you seem to have some experience in the matter, I'd like to ask if the OS X version and Windows version of AutoCAD (maybe Matlab too, if you've used before?) have many UI differences or any differences which would make learning in a Windows environment more difficult (eg. where the way to do a certain operation could be different on the windows version)?

Thanks!
 
jimmyhii said:
Hi Hansr, I would like to know what exactly you mean by AutoCAD doesn't offer all the same functionality?

Also, since you seem to have some experience in the matter, I'd like to ask if the OS X version and Windows version of AutoCAD (maybe Matlab too, if you've used before?) have many UI differences or any differences which would make learning in a Windows environment more difficult (eg. where the way to do a certain operation could be different on the windows version)?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

As far as Matlab goes, there are no UI difference whatsoever, everything is exactly the same, same name, same spot, same everything. Don't even worry about it. As previously mentioned, the new release (2011a) of Matlab no longer needs x11 to run and with my brief experience with it, is generally much faster. If need be, I have access to both and can take screenshots for you.

Simulink (comes with Matlab, you'll probably get to use that as well) I have yet to try on the new release, but the interface was somewhat buggy in the 2010 version(dragging and dropping blocks from the block manager did not work on my computer, I had to right click and insert in my simulation, which was a pain).


AutoCAD has pretty much all the same functions, they are named the same, the help file in either the windows of Mac OS X version will tell you where each function is should you go looking for it on either OS'es. On software this expensive, the help file is actually well written and very useful, don't be afraid to use it.

Like a previous poster said though, AutoCAD sucks major balls for most 3D modelling, so if that is what you are aiming to do, I would look into another solution, depends on what kind of engineering you are into.
 
jimmyhii said:
Hi Guys,

Would just like to know if there are any disadvantages of using AutoCAD and Matlab for OS X as compared to using their windows versions?
Click to expand...

You know there is a free educational OSX version of Autocad? You need to register on AutoCad's site and they will give you a license. (It's also good for veterans and a few other groups as well.) You can try it and see if it meets your needs.
 
Keep in mind that .m code developed on a Windows machine might not run on an OSX machine.

For example, paths in Windows are seperated with a "\" while in OSX its "/". I also found some subtle differences in functions. The "find" function in OSX returns a column vector and in Windows a row vector (or vice versa, I don't recall it exactly).
 
Can't speak about the new version, but mine from 2009 is significantly slower than in Windows because it needs X11.
 
jlc1978 said:
You know there is a free educational OSX version of Autocad? You need to register on AutoCad's site and they will give you a license. (It's also good for veterans and a few other groups as well.) You can try it and see if it meets your needs.
Click to expand...

Wow I didn't know that! They give a 3-year licence:) but I can't try it out yet - i don't have a mac yet! :O I'll have to give this some more thought and talk to more seniors before i go get that 15" i've been wanting since it released! but from what i hear on mr forums, it's looking good for a mac :D

anyway, thanks a lot for the advice guys!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back