common guys, help me out! Lets talk!
CAD - WIN/MAC/LINUX - Performance VS Miths
hello all,
Right, that's a big discussion but i will make my best to keep it the shortest!
Firstly i would like to say that i am willing to hear from everyone who works with cad, solid works, sketch-up, rendering and related.
My sister is studying architecture and she has been asking me what do i think in regards of buying a mac. I tried suggesting everything else, even setting her a killer WC desktop for the budget she would spend in a Mac. However, she says it has to be a notebook, so she can be mobile with her projects, fair enough.
The point is, atm she has a notebook (dell) which is almost the same hardware setup then a macbook pro, very feel hardware are different. Therefore i told her that atm it would be rather silly to sell her laptop for ~420GBP/ 690USD when a very very similar macbookpro cost around 1000GBP. She doesn't understand much about pcs, but i think she is quite fascinated from a friend´s mac, mostly for the video/image editing softwares.
...Now its time to discuss!
From what i know about, she wouldn't benefit much from buying a mac, when what she really needs its a laptop which is able to process faster for the application she will need the most, like the ones mentioned on the beginning. Therefore i believe she could rather save up a little and actually focus on something else then a mac.
Again, i think that she should focus on a laptop that could have an i7 processor alongside a nvidia gtx260 1gb graphic processor, or perhaps on another quad-core that has a Nvidia Quadro gpu, and not a macbook, because her laptop has the same nvidia 9400M gpu, so i dont think it would be a smart move to go for a mac. What do you guys think?
Another very important point is a SSD. Regardless gpu power capability, a good 120/128 SSD will definitely impact on any graphical application, and i say that because i do use Sketch-up a lot, and i had the opportunity of using it on the same setup but with a SSD, and the difference was incredibly huge, it was much faster!
In regards to OS, i am sure Linux is the best, i use linux a lot and its not just for the fact that it is a Open-source, but the computer seems to perform way better then on windows. I have never had a mac pc, i have once made a so called "hackintosh" and i indeed liked the OS as much as the apps and features, but thats different from having a real mac.
Well...i hope you can follow my thoughts and hopefully help me out with this dilemma, so we can all come to a conclusion or at least clarify this thoughts better!
Thanks for time,
![]()
Right, that's a big discussion but i will make my best to keep it the shortest!
Firstly i would like to say that i am willing to hear from everyone who works with cad, solid works, sketch-up, rendering and related.
My sister is studying architecture and she has been asking me what do i think in regards of buying a mac. I tried suggesting everything else, even setting her a killer WC desktop for the budget she would spend in a Mac. However, she says it has to be a notebook, so she can be mobile with her projects, fair enough.
The point is, atm she has a notebook (dell) which is almost the same hardware setup then a macbook pro, very feel hardware are different. Therefore i told her that atm it would be rather silly to sell her laptop for ~420GBP/ 690USD when a very very similar macbookpro cost around 1000GBP. She doesn't understand much about pcs, but i think she is quite fascinated from a friend´s mac, mostly for the video/image editing softwares.
...Now its time to discuss!
From what i know about, she wouldn't benefit much from buying a mac, when what she really needs its a laptop which is able to process faster for the application she will need the most, like the ones mentioned on the beginning. Therefore i believe she could rather save up a little and actually focus on something else then a mac.
Again, i think that she should focus on a laptop that could have an i7 processor alongside a nvidia gtx260 1gb graphic processor, or perhaps on another quad-core that has a Nvidia Quadro gpu, and not a macbook, because her laptop has the same nvidia 9400M gpu, so i dont think it would be a smart move to go for a mac. What do you guys think?
Another very important point is a SSD. Regardless gpu power capability, a good 120/128 SSD will definitely impact on any graphical application, and i say that because i do use Sketch-up a lot, and i had the opportunity of using it on the same setup but with a SSD, and the difference was incredibly huge, it was much faster!
In regards to OS, i am sure Linux is the best, i use linux a lot and its not just for the fact that it is a Open-source, but the computer seems to perform way better then on windows. I have never had a mac pc, i have once made a so called "hackintosh" and i indeed liked the OS as much as the apps and features, but thats different from having a real mac.
Well...i hope you can follow my thoughts and hopefully help me out with this dilemma, so we can all come to a conclusion or at least clarify this thoughts better!
Thanks for time,
1 - 20 of 20 Posts
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That´s exactly what she already have!
Code:
Originally Posted by Sheehanigans If she is not a techie (obviously since we have to have this discussion), she wont want to be wasting her time finding loopholes to make things work. Linux is out of the question because she needs compatibility more than anything. Windows is safe because any major drafting software is produced on it. AutoCAD included. i7? 260? As long as she is making stationary (non-animated) drawings, she wont need more than a dual core and plenty of RAM. A decent video card (9400ish) will provide enough offloading for the CPU to really do its thing. Cliffs: Something with good resolution, 2.2Ghz C2D, 4GB RAM, 9400M. Done. |
That´s exactly what she already have!
Code:
Code:
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Vostro1510
BIOS: Ver 1.00
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5870 @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 3072MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3070MB RAM
Page File: 1685MB used, 4453MB available
Windows Dir: C:\\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode
------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)
---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8400M GS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\\PCI\\VEN_10DE&DEV_0427&SUBSYS_02731028&REV_A1
Display Memory: 1523 MB
Dedicated Memory: 243 MB
Shared Memory: 1279 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 800 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: unknown
Monitor Id: SEC5441
Native Mode: 1280 x 800(p) (59.995Hz)
Output Type: Internal
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver File Version: 8.16.0011.8681 (English)
Driver Version: 8.16.11.8681
DDI Version: 10
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 8/19/2009 13:35:00, 9544192 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
bla bla bla!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Quote:
The issue is that it doesn't run the software she needs (not easily enough for a dumb end-user).
Originally Posted by timw4mail As long as she wants the computer, and is willing to pay for it, and it runs the software she needs, I really don't see what the issue is. |
Quote:
I'm talking about OS X, not Linux.
Originally Posted by Sheehanigans The issue is that it doesn't run the software she needs (not easily enough for a dumb end-user). |
Quote:
As am I. AutoCAD and many other drafting programs don't run natively on either.
Originally Posted by timw4mail I'm talking about OS X, not Linux. |
Quote:
win7 ultimate x64
Guys, point in the discussion is not what laptop she should buy, sorry if that wasnt clear til now. I thought in opening this thread in order she can see with her own eyes, that is not only me who thinks that it is not a clever move to seel her laptop to buy mac for now.
So we could have opinions also from other member who use mac or are also involved in the same work/study area!
Originally Posted by rocketman331 So what's the problem with the Dell laptop? Those specifications are more than enough to properly run CAD applications. What operating system is she using? |
Guys, point in the discussion is not what laptop she should buy, sorry if that wasnt clear til now. I thought in opening this thread in order she can see with her own eyes, that is not only me who thinks that it is not a clever move to seel her laptop to buy mac for now.
So we could have opinions also from other member who use mac or are also involved in the same work/study area!
Quote:
There's a Mac version of Photoshop. I think a Mac has some advantages with interface navigation, but I'm not sure that warrants a MacBook Pro either. With that said, creative types seem to be the major market of Macs.
If she still really wants the Mac, let her get it.
As far as the actual hardware, IMO, the Mac's generally have higher quality construction than other laptops. As a general rule, anything you can get for Windows, you can probably find for Mac. As long as the software you are using in Windows isn't really specialist, there's generally an alternative.
Originally Posted by denis6902 Besides studying architecture my sister loves photography, and i think that is why she is interested in the mac. Nevertheless, i still dont see a need for a mac when u have photoshop! HERE you can see some of her photography work! |
If she still really wants the Mac, let her get it.
As far as the actual hardware, IMO, the Mac's generally have higher quality construction than other laptops. As a general rule, anything you can get for Windows, you can probably find for Mac. As long as the software you are using in Windows isn't really specialist, there's generally an alternative.
hahaha if she can afford it, i would! but selling her laptop wont make money enough so she an buy one! lol
I am just trying to make things clearer for her and for me too, perhaps even to other members in the forum who could fit into the same situation in the near future!
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I am just trying to make things clearer for her and for me too, perhaps even to other members in the forum who could fit into the same situation in the near future!
1 - 20 of 20 Posts
