AutoCAD on a Mac (with Boot Camp?)

[Broph]

Thinking of purchasing a new laptop; I've always been a Windows user... Might have a look at Macs though... Was looking at the 15" 2.2GHz version, but like anyone else, I'd want the cheapest one that did the job... I'd have it connected to my 24" monitor through (HDMI or DVI? - What are my options i.e. is there a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter?) so screen real estate isn't much of an issue... I'd be doing 2D & 3D AutoCAD, and would love to learn more on 3Ds Max etc... Bit of Photoshop (not very intense stuff), maybe some Dreamweaver...

I have a Windows 7 license, so I'd be looking at installing it on the Mac... I have a bluetooth keyboard & mouse (mouse is Mac compatible - I've tried it before on a Mac), and my bluetooth keyboard is the Microsoft 6000 one... Would I easily be able to use my mouse and keyboard on the Mac, and then switch to the Windows on the Mac (if I were so inclined)...

So few questions... How does AutoCAD for Windows (not 3Ds Max / Inventor etc) work on a Mac through Boot Camp? Run smoothly?

Would my keyboard & mouse work hassle free when switching between the operating systems?

Would a high-end 13 inch model handle CAD and Photoshop etc?

 

[stridemat]

I think I remember reading somewhere that you can alter your AutoCad license to 'convert' it to the Mac version.

Through Bootcamp AutoCad would work great though.

 

[iGobbleoff]

I run Plant3D 2011 and standard AutoCAD in VMWare Fusion on my 2011 MBP. You definitely won't have a problem running AutoCAD, but is it worth the hassle of dual booting, or using VMWare/Parallels?

 

[Broph]

I run Plant3D 2011 and standard AutoCAD in VMWare Fusion on my 2011 MBP. You definitely won't have a problem running AutoCAD, but is it worth the hassle of dual booting, or using VMWare/Parallels?

Yeah I thought though that it would be less resource hungry if it booted directly in to Windows than using Parallels.

 

[snaky69]

Yeah I thought though that it would be less resource hungry if it booted directly in to Windows than using Parallels.

AutoCAD is probably one of the least hungry CAD apps out there. I personally also think it's one of the crappiest(Mechanical Engineering student, I do 3D work, which is a pain in the rear to do on AutoCAD compared to a lot of other software), but that's just me. Still, even the base 13'' could do quite well with AutoCAD, it would only stumble on very large assemblies, but most computers do.