I am thinking about purchasing a laptop for college studying architecture, and I would really like to invest in a laptop. I like the looks of the Macbook a lot, but my family is telling me its "obsolete" and everyone uses PC. I would only really be using it to surf the web and chat, until I get into college where i would be using probably autocad and programs like that. I was trying to compare a Apple Macbook 13.3" and the Sony Vaio VGN-N130 and...just looking for any sort of input, because i never have tried apple/ or a macintosh before. Thanks in advance.
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First Laptop Apple Macbook(mac) or PC?
- Thread starter mebeuro
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well its not obsolete by any means.
of course everyone here is pro apple and will say windows is inferior to os x and is for the most part having to use both alot.
all macs can run windows as well these days natively which is awesome when you have to
i personally have a macbook and am a senior in mechanical engineering and it works great
of course everyone here is pro apple and will say windows is inferior to os x and is for the most part having to use both alot.
all macs can run windows as well these days natively which is awesome when you have to
i personally have a macbook and am a senior in mechanical engineering and it works great
Obsolete?!? 
Someone's either winding you up or they're working from grossly outdated information.
Whatever your final selection, do some objective research, it's good practice for uni. Start your research by calling practising architects, designers, and builders, ask what they use now AND ask what they would use if it was their decision to make from the ground up and not because of "this is the way we've always done it" or "this is what the Managing Director mandated".
Best luck to you in the days and years ahead
Someone's either winding you up or they're working from grossly outdated information.
Whatever your final selection, do some objective research, it's good practice for uni. Start your research by calling practising architects, designers, and builders, ask what they use now AND ask what they would use if it was their decision to make from the ground up and not because of "this is the way we've always done it" or "this is what the Managing Director mandated".
Best luck to you in the days and years ahead
This is usually what you hear from people who've never used anything but a PC.
If you talk to someone with experience outside of just Windows, you'll find Macs are gaining a lot of mindshare in the technical crowd. I work at a university, and both PCs and Macs are all over the place.
I was a PC user for over a decade, switched to Linux for two or three years, and then got a Mac - and I love it. If you've only used Windows in the past, it might take you a while to get used to OS X - but I really think you'll prefer it over time. If you don't... then remember: you can still run Windows on it. You really can't say that about any other PC.
To me, information like that says a lot more about the people giving it than about the product they're allegedly informing you about.
A macbook is a great machine, and should last you several years. With a core 2 duo processor and lots of ram, there's little you won't be able to do, given your apparently low needs.
Put it another way, no major PC laptop out there is equipped with anything greater than a core 2 duo.
"obsolete" my rear.
A macbook is a great machine, and should last you several years. With a core 2 duo processor and lots of ram, there's little you won't be able to do, given your apparently low needs.
Put it another way, no major PC laptop out there is equipped with anything greater than a core 2 duo.
"obsolete" my rear.
some considerations
mebeuro, both pcs and macs can be fine machines for architecture-related software. i used to be an architect, so might be able to give a little insight on what to get. i have used both for architecture and what i do now - web design/development.
cad and 3d software are available for both. i would recommend looking into what software your school uses. that way you will be able to work on your laptop with the same software, and not have to worry about importing/exporting different formats or learning a different interface. this should not be your only consideration, but should be important.
i would say that with the current iteration of mac/osx, you will be able to run both mac and pc software so it will give you flexibility - but if you do use pc sofware on mac, before you buy mac, would do some research to make sure that doing windows virtualization via something like Parallels or using Boot Camp will be acceptable performance-wise with whatever pc software you use. i would think that specifically with the 3d modeling software, Boot Camp would be more viable since i think graphics drivers with virtualization are limited. but do the research and make sure. and you will be able to use mac software as well - so you can check out the various packages on both platforms if you want.
i would say, like in most industries, that most architects do use pc's, but there are still a good number of architects that rely on mac's. and there is some really good software on the mac too.
for me, i was mac in college, pc out of college, and went back to the mac recently specifically because mac can do both mac and pc - so have the means to work with both.
good luck in finding the right laptop - and your future as an architect.
mebeuro, both pcs and macs can be fine machines for architecture-related software. i used to be an architect, so might be able to give a little insight on what to get. i have used both for architecture and what i do now - web design/development.
cad and 3d software are available for both. i would recommend looking into what software your school uses. that way you will be able to work on your laptop with the same software, and not have to worry about importing/exporting different formats or learning a different interface. this should not be your only consideration, but should be important.
i would say that with the current iteration of mac/osx, you will be able to run both mac and pc software so it will give you flexibility - but if you do use pc sofware on mac, before you buy mac, would do some research to make sure that doing windows virtualization via something like Parallels or using Boot Camp will be acceptable performance-wise with whatever pc software you use. i would think that specifically with the 3d modeling software, Boot Camp would be more viable since i think graphics drivers with virtualization are limited. but do the research and make sure. and you will be able to use mac software as well - so you can check out the various packages on both platforms if you want.
i would say, like in most industries, that most architects do use pc's, but there are still a good number of architects that rely on mac's. and there is some really good software on the mac too.
for me, i was mac in college, pc out of college, and went back to the mac recently specifically because mac can do both mac and pc - so have the means to work with both.
good luck in finding the right laptop - and your future as an architect.