Installation & update
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New laptop for using AC20

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hey everyone! Newbie here.

So anyways, I graduated some time ago and now I was thinking to start my own business using Archicad 20 for designing. The license was free back in school so I'm quite experienced using the program.

Anyways, I had no idea how much the program would require from the computer, although I always cursed how bad the school PC's were.

I've narrowed down to 2 different options, and these options are based on reviews I've seen here! I need a laptop since I travel quite a lot and don't spend that much time at my apartment.

Option 1:
Asus Zenbook Pro UX501VW 15,6"
Intel i7-6700HQ (Skylake, dual-core) 2,6 GHz
RAM: 16 Gt DDR4 SODIMM
Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 960M 2 Gt
Sound: Bang & Olufsen ICEpower
Hard drive: 512 Gt SSD
Cost: 2000€

Option 2:
Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina
2,2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
RAM: 16 Gt
Hard drive: 256 Gt SSD flash-muisti
Video card: Intel Iris Pro
Cost: 2200€
*There's also the 2700€-model with the 2,5 GHz, 16 RAM and 512 GT SSD hard drive and Intel Iris Pro & AMD Radeon R9 M370X 2 Gt -video cards.

Now, I'm not an expert at all but the Zenbook looks better with the specs, and a bit cheaper. However, I've heard Apple products last for a looong time compared to other brands. However 2, both computers come with a free 3-year warranty.

In addition, I am planning to get a desktop in the future (possibly an iMac) but I read somewhere it's not possible to transit the Archicad from a Windows laptop to a iMac desktop, any truth to this?

So anyways, which would you guys recommend getting? Or not either of them? Basically I want the new Archicad 20 to run smoothly. Oh and if you accidentally see a word you don't understand, don't worry, it's possibly a Finnish word I forgot to translate when I copy pasted the laptop specs!
3 REPLIES 3
Gerald Hoffman
Booster
They both look like they would be fine for ArchiCad but I would favour the Mac. If you can wait a month or so there will be new MacBook Pros coming out which will also probably have the Skylake processors. I have been working just fine on my MacBook Pro since late in 2011 and have only upgraded the HD to an SSD. It is still working very well but I will be looking at the new ones for the better video cards.

If you had to buy now I would chose the upgraded Mac with the better video card and larger SSD.

Cheers,
Gerald
"The simplification of anything is always sensational" GKC
AC 25-4013 USA, CadImage Tools
2019 MacBook Pro 16" w/ AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU
OS X 11.6
2.4 Ghz 8 core i9, 64 GB RAM
27" LG 5K Monitor
Laszlo Nagy
Community Admin
Community Admin
GRAPHISOFT does not recommend laptops with only integrated graphics processing units (like the Iris Pro). They never offer the same performance as a dedicated graphics card does.
Otherwise the specs look good, your RAM shouldn't go below 16 GB, the 512 SSD is also a good choice, just as the i7-6700 CPU. You might want to consider a HDD as well for storage, that 512 GB will not be enough for all your data I think.

By the way, I think there may be this Young Architect Offer from GRAPHISOFT resellers where you can get a discount on your ARCHICAD purchase if you graduated in the last 3 years or so? You reseller can tell you whether this is available in your country or not.
Loving Archicad since 1995 - Find Archicad Tips at x.com/laszlonagy
AMD Ryzen9 5900X CPU, 64 GB RAM 3600 MHz, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 500 GB NVMe SSD
2x28" (2560x1440), Windows 10 PRO ENG, Ac20-Ac27
shtarkel
Participant
The Asus Zenbook Pro for sure