Which Mac model is suitable for civil engineering ?

[Spudlicious]

Realistically, anyone for whom money is an issue should not be in the Apple orchard. It's a Windows world, like it or not, the BSOD has been banished, and I don't doubt a £500 (UK price) Windows laptop will do all the OP needs.

 

[TechZeke]

there's no connection between them but i've to declare that i'm still a student so wha't i'm doing for the civil or architecture rendering is for educational purpose

1 USD = 8.8 EGP add to it customs so we will get 36666 EGP = 4200 USD -_- my family won't spend al that amount for money while i'm still studying . can the rMBP 13 do the needed work for the educational purpose ?


can the rMBP 13 handle it for educational purpose . by the time of the graduation i'll buy high-end workstation but now i'm only need portable can handle the work

Look, from what I can tell, unless you are doing fancy scene walkthroughs to present to clients as a consultant, you don't need a fancy dGPU. I have yet to see a Civil CAD workstation with a high end(or even mid range) GPU.

All the computers at my university are using i7-2600Ks with 4GB of RAM and BS GPU like a GT 120.

Also, of course not every student can afford a $2000 rMBP so the school provides a means so students can do course work. The vast majority of students are using 13" rMBPs, MBAs, $500-$1000 Windows laptops, and Surface Pro 3s and 4s.

EDIT: I just looked my the specs of the current Workstation I'm on now here at work:
Xeon E5-2630 v2 @ 2.6GHz(6-Core)
16GB RAM
Nvidia NVS 510

I think my Iris Pro 15" rMBP is faster than that GPU.

 

[Ahmed ELGohary]

Interesting thread with many comments already but as a Civil Engineer myself, I'll leave my thoughts.

If you want a machine that you can take to university and render all of your projects using Autodesk products then even a retina macbook could suffice for you. Yes it would take longer to render your projects but it can do it. I utilize a base model macbook pro 15" (2015) and I can do all of my various surface modeling and volume calculations easily. Adobe runs smoothly as well since I see you mentioned the use of that.

Most all of Autodesk's software is windows only. So bootcamp is going to be required with a copy of Windows. I use Parallels as a Virtual Machine and it works for me. Unless your models are super super complex, you don't necessarily need a dedicated GPU. the integrated GPU is capable enough to render models but again, the time is a little longer than compared to a dedicated GPU.

Also, if using AutoCAD which most Civil Engineers that I know use most often, then remember AutoCAD utilizes only one CPU core. So the 13" MBP with its dual core CPU wouldn't be a bad choice. You can still multitask and run AutoCAD smoothly.

So if I were you, I would focus on making sure you get a Mac that has enough storage space for windows and your Autodesk programs (which are large). From there, any Mac will work well for you. I wouldn't be scared into a big system if it is above your budget. No need for big debt as a student... trust me, I know!

ok i'll go with the rMBP 13''
[doublepost=1472490159][/doublepost]

Realistically, anyone for whom money is an issue should not be in the Apple orchard. It's a Windows world, like it or not, the BSOD has been banished, and I don't doubt a £500 (UK price) Windows laptop will do all the OP needs.

Listen to me 1 USD = 8.88 EGP add to them the shipping and Customs so it's very expensive so the most affordable one for me it's the rMBP 13
[doublepost=1472490201][/doublepost]

Look, from what I can tell, unless you are doing fancy scene walkthroughs to present to clients as a consultant, you don't need a fancy dGPU. I have yet to see a Civil CAD workstation with a high end(or even mid range) GPU.

All the computers at my university are using i7-2600Ks with 4GB of RAM and BS GPU like a GT 120.

Also, of course not every student can afford a $2000 rMBP so the school provides a means so students can do course work. The vast majority of students are using 13" rMBPs, MBAs, $500-$1000 Windows laptops, and Surface Pro 3s and 4s.

EDIT: I just looked my the specs of the current Workstation I'm on now here at work:
Xeon E5-2630 v2 @ 2.6GHz(6-Core)
16GB RAM
Nvidia NVS 510

I think my Iris Pro 15" rMBP is faster than that GPU.

ok i'll get the 13 inch rMBP

 

[jickey]

My daily machine is an early 2015 13" rMBP w/16GB RAM, 2.9 GHz processor, and a 500gb SSD. I use Civil 3D, InfraWorks 360, various Adobe Creative Cloud applications (depending on my project,) and Camtasia Studio. I have a Boot Camp partition running Windows 10 for the Autodesk and Techsmith software and Parallels 12 running the Boot Camp partition as a VM. I boot into Win10 for my Civil 3D design work and for anything related to InfraWorks 360. It will run in Parallels (especially with the performance updates in the Parallels 12 release) but AIW360 is just a little too slow for what it's intended for. The Intel Iris Graphics provides pretty decent performance, but I'm not sure about rendering in Max. One thing to be cautious of - the rMBP runs significantly hotter when running Windows than OS X. I know video rendering will kick the temps up to levels that I'm uncomfortable with, so I have a program (I can't remember which one) that controls the fan speed in Windows. I keep it on when rendering. It still runs pretty warm, but it's not at a scary hot number. Make sure your rMBP has plenty of ventilation and space for air to move around it - the entire chassis is designed as a heat sink to draw heat away from the machine, you don't want anything negatively affecting airflow.

Source: former Autodesk employee currently working as an AEC consultant with a rMBP

 

[Queen6]

what about refurbished or 2nd hand rMBP 15 ? the storage is not a problem for me i can use external HDD

Nothing wrong with Apple refurbished units, used your better to know the usage and some models are best avoided.

what make of the PC do you recommend ?

Difficult as I don't know your local market, for smaller portables personally I like Samsung as the build quality equals and can exceed Apple (not the low price models) Dell XPS is another option and they are expandable RAM & storage. Others are Dell Precision, HP Elite Books & ThinkPad`s, however price escalates accordingly, Desktops Lenovo or HP, better to build one and taylor it to your needs.

As others using the applications that you plan to have made recommendations and the 13" works follow them, just be mindful on storage, 256 is a minimum, needing to use an external drive constantly will get tedious very quickly.

In your case I would set a budget and stick to it, purchasing the best hardware for the money, also consider extended warranty preferably with accidental damage as an issue a couple of years down the line you want to be covered, or you will be another $3K out of pocket, and no I don't recommend Apple Care as it`s a very limited product, skewed far more to Apple`s benefit than the customers.

Truthfully there is little benefit in getting a Mac for your needs apart from just wanting one which is perfectly OK, equally you want the best package for your money that will serve your needs, which includes service and support etc.Apple is generally good in this aspect, equally with no official outlets in the country it can be difficult in the event of a hardware issue to resolve.

Q-6

 

[Ahmed ELGohary]

My daily machine is an early 2015 13" rMBP w/16GB RAM, 2.9 GHz processor, and a 500gb SSD. I use Civil 3D, InfraWorks 360, various Adobe Creative Cloud applications (depending on my project,) and Camtasia Studio. I have a Boot Camp partition running Windows 10 for the Autodesk and Techsmith software and Parallels 12 running the Boot Camp partition as a VM. I boot into Win10 for my Civil 3D design work and for anything related to InfraWorks 360. It will run in Parallels (especially with the performance updates in the Parallels 12 release) but AIW360 is just a little too slow for what it's intended for. The Intel Iris Graphics provides pretty decent performance, but I'm not sure about rendering in Max. One thing to be cautious of - the rMBP runs significantly hotter when running Windows than OS X. I know video rendering will kick the temps up to levels that I'm uncomfortable with, so I have a program (I can't remember which one) that controls the fan speed in Windows. I keep it on when rendering. It still runs pretty warm, but it's not at a scary hot number. Make sure your rMBP has plenty of ventilation and space for air to move around it - the entire chassis is designed as a heat sink to draw heat away from the machine, you don't want anything negatively affecting airflow.

Source: former Autodesk employee currently working as an AEC consultant with a rMBP

Nothing wrong with Apple refurbished units, used your better to know the usage and some models are best avoided.



Difficult as I don't know your local market, for smaller portables personally I like Samsung as the build quality equals and can exceed Apple (not the low price models) Dell XPS is another option and they are expandable RAM & storage. Others are Dell Precision, HP Elite Books & ThinkPad`s, however price escalates accordingly, Desktops Lenovo or HP, better to build one and taylor it to your needs.

As others using the applications that you plan to have made recommendations and the 13" works follow them, just be mindful on storage, 256 is a minimum, needing to use an external drive constantly will get tedious very quickly.

In your case I would set a budget and stick to it, purchasing the best hardware for the money, also consider extended warranty preferably with accidental damage as an issue a couple of years down the line you want to be covered, or you will be another $3K out of pocket, and no I don't recommend Apple Care as it`s a very limited product, skewed far more to Apple`s benefit than the customers.

Truthfully there is little benefit in getting a Mac for your needs apart from just wanting one which is perfectly OK, equally you want the best package for your money that will serve your needs, which includes service and support etc.Apple is generally good in this aspect, equally with no official outlets in the country it can be difficult in the event of a hardware issue to resolve.

Q-6

guys the rMBP 13 will get the work done i appreciate your help