topic Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15" in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

sambirchenough — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 17:30:15 GMT

I'm hoping a software architect or someone running Fusion 360 on the new MacBook Pro can weigh in here.

I'm ordering one this afternoon (time constraint), either will be maxed out so its essentially dual core with iris 550 vs quad core with radeon pro 460.

I realize rendering will basically be twice as fast on the 15", but for everything else in Fusion, how would the 13" fair? I work with decently large assemblies and will be driving a 4k external display when in the office. For what it's worth, my 2015 quad core i5 iMac with 4gb video card performs great with Fusion (MacBook Pro will be replacing this).

I much prefer the form factor of the 13" but if I need to get the 15", I will. Thanks for input here!

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

michael.k.jansen — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 03:36:06 GMT

Hey there. My answer is a bit empirical, but Ill give it a go. I run a 2015 Macbook Pro 15". it has 16bg on board, and the basic graphics card. In hindsight i would shell out for the upgraded graphics card as the processor goes into overdrive when running a complex local render with Fusion360. it can handle it OK, but it could be quicker.

I have also noticed that fusion360 gets a little laggy when I use an external monitor. Again I don't this this is a fusion360 issue, but a mac screen and graphics driver thing.

I would recommend the 15" and spend as much as you can - if you are running renders for clients and doing live demos it will make all the difference.

cheers

Mike

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

sambirchenough — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 03:50:54 GMT

Thanks for your input @michael.k.jansen, I appreciate it.

Well, that's what I did. I bought a maxed out 15", and to be honest, I'm still apprehensive about going to the bigger form factor. The 13s just feel right to me. If only they made a 13" quad core..

For the first time in a long time, the Apple value proposition was really tough for me this round. Its not even the money, its the amount of things they're missing on. I would happily pay the price for a product that was 95% ideal for my needs.

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

michael.k.jansen — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 03:57:38 GMT

I hear you on the value proposition. I do like the way the mac is instant on when you open it, and it is really well built compared to a standard window laptop. We have an apple environment at home, so it works well for me in that regard.

The 15" concerned me at first in terms of size, but really it has not been an issue (especially compared to the clunky Dell I use at my day job...)

The only other machine I would consider would be a Surface pro 4. I confess to having a Surface pro 3, and it runs Fusion360 really well, and is a nicely put together piece of kit.

cheers

Mike

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

sambirchenough — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 04:45:07 GMT

Agreed. The OS and build quality is what keeps me coming back.

Glad to hear the size hasn't been an issue for you. I'm coming from an Air (which is slow with Fusion & useless with rendering apps), so replacing that and my iMac with the Macbook Pro.

I'm going to look into hackintoshing a dedicated rendering desktop build but I'm guessing I'll need to run windows on that. Even in 2013, the Mac Pro would have been far too tough a sell for a high-core rendering machine.

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

sambirchenough — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 00:37:29 GMT

Still looking for real world feedback here, particularly if anyone is using Fusion 360 on a new 13" MacBook Pro.

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

cekuhnen — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 01:35:02 GMT

@sambirchenough

13" is pretty small but with an external display it will be fine to use.

i am a little concerned about the build-in intel iris.

the gpu is fine to use - till recently i even employed a 2008 iMac.

for most models this is fine to be honest.

a had a MacBook in my hands recently and the zebra view did not work on the model because of the gpu.

otherwise I think it should really work.

maybe go to an Apple Store and ask to install a web version of fusion. They let me do some of those things. Don't use the Mac App Store version.

go test it.

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

sambirchenough — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 01:39:54 GMT

Thanks @cekuhnen, appreciate it. I tried to do that and they said no. Half thinking about ordering a 13" as well and just returning one.

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

neljoshua — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 14:56:34 GMT

@sambirchenough,

As someone who came from a 13" Macbook Air to a 15" Macbook Pro, I can say I am glad that I chose the 15" model. For me the choice was mostly based on the separate graphics card. Also, as most of the work I do is at a desk, I do not at all mind the extra girth of the 15" model. I run an external display as well. Fusion sometimes hangs up, but it seems this is due to software bugs and/or cloud interaction rather than hardware. My Macbook Pro is last year's model, so this may not be 100% applicable, but at least it is another data point for you.

Maxing out the specs is definitely the way to go.

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

sambirchenough — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 18:40:09 GMT

Thanks @neljoshua, I appreciate it!

Re: New MacBook Pro 13" vs 15"

sambirchenough — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 03:40:33 GMT

Just thought I'd update incase anyone else had the same dilemma.

I bought a maxed out 13" and maxed out 15" to compare & I'm keeping the 15". The 13" wasn't cutting it with Fusion 360 large assemblies, especially when using an external 4k monitor. The 15" is good enough. I plan on using it as my main machine along with a 12 core 3.46 ghz workstation I have for rendering. Time to get used to the larger form factor I guess..