Background: We've run an architecture firm for 10+ years and used both Macs and PCs (typically Dell, HP, and BOXX) effectively. This is not a response as to which system is better and we won't enter what is essentially a pointless debate. There are advantages (and disadvantages) to both system types, but it is (or should be) largely a matter of user preference.
If, however, you are looking at a Mac for architectural use, (1) Autocad on Mac works very well. We've found that users with a choice in our office have preferred the Autocad Mac version for daily use. It is not perfect and there are some things (audit and LISPS, for example) that work better on the PC version. (2) If you're using a hardware/graphics-intensive software, such as Revit, then you'll need Parallels (more stable of the available VM options and Autodesk seems to support it better) and a MacBook Pro. As you would do with a PC purchase, up the chip, RAM, and graphics as much as your budget allows. When budgeting, we take the chip up to the max available, the RAM us to 32 GB minimum, and, if necessary, gone to the next highest graphics card. In our office, there are two software that require Windows: Bluebeam and Revit. All other options we use have a Mac version. I apologize, we can't speak to Solidworks since we don't use it.
Hope this helps.
