Compability with Mac

[MariannGrundvall]

Hi there,

I am an architect student who wants to buy a MacBook Pro retina i7 2.3. I want to be able to use Autocad and revit flawlessly. Do I need to install windows on the Mac and use Boot camp to make this possible? Will that run as good as on a PC? This Mac will have a large RAM and hard drive space but could running two operating systems slow the computer down severly? What could the disadvantages be? Slower rendering?

Thankful for response! 

[pendean]

If you want AutoCAD for Windows then buy a Wundows PC.
If you want to use a MAC? Get AutoCAD for MAC.
Mixing and matching is silly IMHO.

[MariannGrundvall]

Well I thought that I read some place that the mac version of autocad aren't as funcional? And revit istn't even made for mac yet, am I right?

[pendean]

There are several thousands of MAC users that would disagree, but ultimately that's your choice. As an Architect myself most of us use AutoCAD for Architecture (not plain AutoCAD) and REVIT, if you want a job after you graduate you might consider learning on the proper software now. Plain AutoCAD has little room left in our business unless you want to work for a home builder and draw "dumb" lines all day long with no grasp on how things are put together.

IMHO, if you want my opinion of course, if you need to use Windows software then you ought to buy a Windows-specific PC/laptop. And get an iPad: mobile CAD is coming and should be closer to reality once you graduate and get into the workforce. Then you can ditch both WIndows and MacOS and be truly mobile.

[MariannGrundvall]

Thank you for your opinion and input. Is Autocad for architecture any good as a Mac version? Why I want a Mac is mostly for its graphics, suitability with adobe creative suit, and good overall quality. 

Don't know about mobile CAD, more for presenting drawings than working in I guess? What I need right now is a good and powerful workstation that works well with both adobe and autocad programs. 

Revit is not available for Mac yet, right?

[pendean]

AutoCAD for Architecture, like REVIT, is only for Windows so far.
http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-autocad-architecture/overview
http://www.autodesk.com/products/revit-family/overview

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/...
http://download.autodesk.com/us/support/files/revit_mac_2015_faq/Autodesk%20Revit%20Mac%20FAQ%202015...

Look up AutoCADWS.com, the paid versions is for mobile-based 'working" on files: it is maturing every year and will be viable soon enough.

BTW: push your college to endorse this NCARB proposal, otherwise you face quite a commitment in time and money to get to where you need to be in our industry http://www.ncarb.org/News-and-Events/News/2014/05-BODendorsesLTF.aspx

[AllenJessup]

I'm pretty much in line with Dean's thinking. If you're going to run Window based software but a Windows based PC. This site

Mac compatible Products says that Revit will run on a MAC under Windows. So that answers that part of the question. I think Win 7 & 8 manage RAM as well as a MAX OS. So I don't see any deterioration in operation. But that's just an opinion and not based on experience.

I guess it's all what you're used to. The few times I've had to use a MAC I've found it very frustrating - I also find Win 8 a bit frustrating. I started back in the DOS/Basic days and think I should be deciding on how a computer should be operating. Not the computer deciding how I should be using it.

Allen

[MariannGrundvall]

Thank you again for your input! As I understand it from the link about requirements for Revit it seems that you need much more RAM for the same size documents when using dubble operating systems/windows on a Mac, or was that just when using parallell operating systems, do you know? 

I haven't worked in Autocad for architecture yet but it seems to be a lot like Archicad, am I right?

[dgorsman]

Buy the product, not the hype.  🙂

Its been a long time since the Mac outshone the PC in terms of graphics performance, general performance, and "overall quality", about just as long since BSOD has ceased to be a problem with Windows.  Given that when you ask which is better you will get mostly opinion that should be a good indicator of how close they are.

Also keep in mind the difference between a laptop and a conventional box.  The former is more portable (duh) but the tradeoff for that is capability.  For learning design software its not so bad but isn't very suitable for more "power oriented" tasks like rendering.  So your wants of powerful and portable are at odds with each other.

[AllenJessup]

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@dgorsman wrote:

So your wants of powerful and portable are at odds with each other.

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Well... Unless you're willing to spend big bucks and compromise the portability a little. I've had both a Sagar and a Dell portable workstation that both worked better than the desktop workstations I had at that time. There're bigger that most people think of as a laptop, the Sager had a 20" screen and the Dell has a 17.5". But they're still portable and work well.

Allen

[MariannGrundvall]

Thank you for you answers! So Gdorsman, I wouldn't buy a Mac because of a hype, it's because I've heard that they last longer and have fewer problems because it's created with a closed system (whatever that means) for instance. No virus problems and better suitability with design programms like adobe creative suit whicj I also use a lot. But regarding the graphics and overall performance; I've had several people told me that when you buy a more expensive computer for proffessional use you get about as much performance for the same price with mac and pc. Got the impression that mac's graphics on their most expensive laptop model was truly outstanding (and this was not a bias person trying to sell me something). There are a lot of opinions about this as you say, is your statement more of an opinion as well? How experienced are you with mac vs pc?

Your note about rendering is good. Probably I wont do those real heavy tasks on my laptop but rather do them on a school computer; heavy rendering and heavy revit files..Then I guess it's a bit more important that the laptop doesn't weigh to much and be more portable... why a Mac could be a better option in that regard.

Got a tip about Lenovo think pad being a good pc option in the same class but I think that the sailsman told me that pc's are usually heavier when they're usually integrated with a cd-disk for instance. A plus side of the pc option is that you get a bigger screen. Still very undecisive...gaaaahhh...hard choice! 

[JDMather]

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@MariannGrundvall wrote:

... A plus side of the pc option is that you get a bigger screen. ...

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I can't imagine doing CAD work on a screen smaller than 17".

[Hammer.john.j]

I've been running bootcamp on macosx since tiger... all the way through mavericks and now i'm running windows 7 x64 and the infrastructure design suite. my 2009 17" macbook pro running bootcamp outperformed most of the dells we purchased at the office until about 2012.... then i put an osw SSD in the MBP and doubled the ram and it's equal to whats in my signature below.

[brvigne]

Really interested in your choice. I can completely relate to you in your recent dilemma. The MacBook so crispy clean, light weight, and they last forever. What was your choice? And are you happy with it?