MBP for an Architecture Student?

[yogurt623]

I'll be in undergraduate architecture this fall, and I'm contemplating getting a Macbook Pro to use for the next few years. Is this a good idea? I've heard that it might not be strong enough to handle some of the more intense rendering projects, and that it'd make more sense for me to get a PC (like the Thinkpad W500) with a nicer graphics card and better specs for the price. I'm a huge Mac fan, but I really need a laptop that'll get me through my program without any headaches. Can anyone with experience using AutoCAD, Rhino, etc. on a MBP give me some advice?

 

[chrono1081]

I'll be in undergraduate architecture this fall, and I'm contemplating getting a Macbook Pro to use for the next few years. Is this a good idea? I've heard that it might not be strong enough to handle some of the more intense rendering projects, and that it'd make more sense for me to get a PC (like the Thinkpad W500) with a nicer graphics card and better specs for the price. I'm a huge Mac fan, but I really need a laptop that'll get me through my program without any headaches. Can anyone with experience using AutoCAD, Rhino, etc. on a MBP give me some advice?

Macbook pro will most likely do much more then a thinkpad. Its not possible to compare hardware specs across different operating systems especially mac os. It runs much more efficient then windows and can do much more with much less hardware.

If you like mac, get a mac. You can always run windows on a mac if you change your mind.

 

[Detektiv-Pinky]

I'll be in undergraduate architecture this fall, and I'm contemplating getting a Macbook Pro to use for the next few years. Is this a good idea? I've heard that it might not be strong enough to handle some of the more intense rendering projects, and that it'd make more sense for me to get a PC (like the Thinkpad W500) with a nicer graphics card and better specs for the price. I'm a huge Mac fan, but I really need a laptop that'll get me through my program without any headaches. Can anyone with experience using AutoCAD, Rhino, etc. on a MBP give me some advice?

AutoCAD does not run under OSX. So you have to use Windows, either through Bootcamp or some kind of virtualisation software such as VMWare, Parallels or VirtualBox (free).

It might make more sense to go with the W500, especially as it seems to support up to 1920x1200 Pixel (great for graphics intensive stuff such as AutoCAD) on 15' and this is something the Macbook does not have in this form-factor.

 

[yogurt623]

Okay, thanks for the input guys!

 

[pelicanflip]

as a fellow architecture student, i've seen my classmates use both apple computers as well as other laptops for AutoCAD.

however, from my own personal experience, you will have a lot less trouble if you don't use a macbook pro or an apple computer in general. most colleges utilize their computer labs and printing labs through dell pc's, so it'll be a bit of a hassle for you since you're using apple, albeit you can install windows.


another important thing you should consider is Revit Architecture. considering how it is slated to be the next big thing, i would extremely recommend you to by a laptop or a computer that has a high performance CPU (pentium 4 3.4 GHz processors), at LEAST 1 GB of RAM, but preferable 4 GB of RAM, and Direct X9 or later video card support.

i'm currently at my office here in nyc working on Revit at the moment, and trust me, it runs extremely smoothly considering the amount of RAM they crammed into the pc.

 

[Detektiv-Pinky]

as a fellow architecture student, i've seen my classmates use both apple computers as well as other laptops for AutoCAD.

however, from my own personal experience, you will have a lot less trouble if you don't use a macbook pro or an apple computer in general. most colleges utilize their computer labs and printing labs through dell pc's, so it'll be a bit of a hassle for you since you're using apple, albeit you can install windows.


another important thing you should consider is Revit Architecture. considering how it is slated to be the next big thing, i would extremely recommend you to by a laptop or a computer that has a high performance CPU (pentium 4 3.4 GHz processors), at LEAST 1 GB of RAM, but preferable 4 GB of RAM, and Direct X9 or later video card support.

i'm currently at my office here in nyc working on Revit at the moment, and trust me, it runs extremely smoothly considering the amount of RAM they crammed into the pc.

From what age of computing have you entered the universe just now?

- Pentium 4 ?
- 1 GB RAM ?
- DirectX 9 ?

That was ok 4 years ago!

 

[aiterum]

don't get an apple. Look for something that has a videocard that is optimized for these sorts of applications, eg: nothing in the GeForce series. (Quadro, and whatever ATI's equivalent is). These graphics cards are optimized for these sorts of applications whereas the others are more optimized for games and you wont' get the performance you need in these applications from a consumer video card.

 

[Maccleduff]

From what age of computing have you entered the universe just now?

- Pentium 4 ?
- 1 GB RAM ?
- DirectX 9 ?

That was ok 4 years ago!

Lol, sooo true.

It should be minimum for a laptop, 2.6Ghz Dual core, 4gb ram, dedicated graphics (eg 9600GT).

 

[Tomorrow]

I'll be in undergraduate architecture this fall,

Sound advice is this: if you haven't actually started classes yet, wait until you do. Speak with your professors and/or department head to see what types of software you will be running. You should also check to see whether you need a portable computer (most likely). A Mac may or may not be the right machine for your needs, and if it is, you might be just fine with a MacBook.

It's not going to cost any more than it does now, and you can avoid buying the wrong thing.

 

[pelicanflip]

From what age of computing have you entered the universe just now?

- Pentium 4 ?
- 1 GB RAM ?
- DirectX 9 ?

That was ok 4 years ago!

hey, i'm just reading it straight from the Revit Architecture 2010 Model Performance Technical Note from Autodesk, released in March 2009.

Tell Autodesk to upgrade it's specs, not me

 

[aiterum]

Lol, sooo true.

It should be minimum for a laptop, 2.6Ghz Dual core, 4gb ram, dedicated graphics (eg 9600GT).

You don't want a GeForce video card like that if you're going to be using applications such as AutoCAD and such because the videocard drivers that you'll find for that GPU aren't going to optimized for application usage like a workstation class video card would be. Apple doesn't offer anything with that sort of videocard

that isn't to say that you wouldn't be able to get away with it most of the time, but I'm guessing that you're planning to make a career or out this right? You should probably start right from the get-go

 

[5DollaFootlong]

I'll be in undergraduate architecture this fall, and I'm contemplating getting a Macbook Pro to use for the next few years. Is this a good idea? I've heard that it might not be strong enough to handle some of the more intense rendering projects, and that it'd make more sense for me to get a PC (like the Thinkpad W500) with a nicer graphics card and better specs for the price. I'm a huge Mac fan, but I really need a laptop that'll get me through my program without any headaches. Can anyone with experience using AutoCAD, Rhino, etc. on a MBP give me some advice?

my dad has a dell computer which he uses for autocad. i've wanted him to switch to mac for a long time, but the only thing stopping him was a lack of autocad on mac. however, vectorworks is just as good if not superior to autocad and it is available on both platforms.

 

[rgarjr]

I run ACAD 2010 64-bit on bootcamp and works so nice.