iBook G4 and Virtual PC question

[leekohler]

I have a friend who wants to get out of the PC world and into the Mac world. He wants an iBook mainly due to the fact that's all he can afford in the Mac laptop world, but he also needs to run AutoCAD occasionally. He'll need Virual PC to run it an we'll be getting him a 1 Gb RAM upgrade immediately. Do you guys think Virtual PC will run well on an iBook? I already suggested he get a CAD program for Mac, but he doesn't want to go there.

Thanks in advance.

 

[yoda13]

Virtual PC doesn't really run that well on anything, but it will run on that set up. One simply needs some patience. I wouldn't think it would be a problem, unless that program he wants to run is real graphic intensive. Just remember to have some patience

 

[carlos700]

You might want to get the Mac CAD Program. VirtualPC 7 will be slow on a 1.2 GHz PowerPC G4 Processor -even with 1GB of memory. I've never worked with CAD programs so I do not know if they are processor intensive. If they are it will be even slower.

Wait for a faster PowerBook if you want to run VirtualPC 7 with good performance.

 

[mms]

Waiting for a faster PB is not as option, as he clearly stated in the first post that it was not within the budget.

What I would do is get the iBook and run the CAD on a PC (he does have one doesn't he?). As long as he doesn't have to have the program mobile (as in, if he can do it at home with an existing PC laptop) that would be a good solution. Otherwise, if there is a Mac version of the program, get it. I'm sure it's less than the cost of buying VPC.

 

[dsharits]

VPC 7 with 2000 Pro runs fairly well on my iBook 1.2 GHz. I can actually play some games like Roller Coaster Tycoon and SimCity on it.

Daniel

 

[Arcus]

Im looking to get a new Mac and rid myself of the rest of my PCs. I do some development work in VB, CVI and Codewarrior so I'm watching this thread also if anyone has any more input. Thanks!!

 

[leekohler]

Thanks for all the input guys. He does have a PC that I've advised him to keep. There is no version of AutoCAD for Mac at the moment so that might be the only option. Otherwise it looks like he will just have to run VPC and be patient with it's performance.

 

[mduser63]

I have a friend who just bought a Mac (after seeing and loving my new Powerbook) last week. Anyway, he also was wondering about AutoCAD under VPC7, and while I told him it would probably be better to just use a cheap desktop PC, he seems pretty set on going the VPC route. Anyway, glad to know that it's at least somewhat feasible. From the sound of it, he won't need it all that much, so hopefully VPC will work out for him. The thing that I'm gathering from these threads is that Autodesk really needs to start making AutoCAD for the Mac again as there is a market for it.

 

[bubbamac]

AutoCAD under VPC is going to be slow, no matter what the processor speed/RAM configuration is.

Your friend would be better off using a PC to run it if he can't find a Mac replacement.