Laptop Graphics Cards

[Planner Dude]

I've been trying to figure out if Sketchup will run well with a Mac Book. I've heard conflicting stories on how well it will run.

After contacting Sketchup about this, they gave a mixed answer:

Thank you for your note. SketchUp will work with the video card and system
you list, however there have been reported issues in that environment.
SketchUp works best with a video card designed for 3D modeling, however
the Intel video card is primarily intended for 2D work. While we are
reluctant to make a hard distinction on what kind of computer will run
SketchUp, we do not recommend the MacBook for use with SketchUp. The
MacBook Pro does have a 3D accelerator and will handle 3D much better than
its "consumer" sibling.

Does anyone have a definitive answer on this? I don't need to play games (so I don't want to have to buy a MBP if I don't need to, but I'd really like to use this software.

 

[JKitterman]

There answers basically says the software uses 3d acceleration from the video card. If you are just going to use the software occasionally, you could squeak by with a MacBook but you really are better off with a MacBook Pro. Also, the the Pro doesn't eat into the RAM for video memory as they are low on memory expansion as it currently is. Current MacBook = 2Gb max and MacBook Pro = 3Gb max according to tech specs on Apple website.

 

[pianoman]

sounds like they did answer your question:

we do not recommend the MacBook for use with SketchUp.

 

[Planner Dude]

The MacBook Pro does have a 3D accelerator and will handle 3D much better than its "consumer" sibling.

But they imply that the macbook doesn't have 3d acceleration

Edit: Nevermind.