BIM Coordinator Program (INT) April 22, 2024

Find the next step in your career as a Graphisoft Certified BIM Coordinator!

Installation & update
About program installation and update, hardware, operating systems, setup, etc.

Switching to Apple Macbook Pro???

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hello, I am looking at switching to a Mac from a PC! Looking to get the new Mac Book pro 17". Has anyone out there got any tips or advice?
Would like to learn more about Apple, pros and cons. if any???
Any comments appreciated...
17 REPLIES 17
Anonymous
Not applicable
I've all but made my mind up to make the switch from PC to a Macbook Pro 17".

But I'm very interested in what others may have to say about this topic and appologises for latching onto your post Stepan, but I was about to post a similar post and you have beaten me to it.

A question I would like answering is, I know that Mac's can now run windows etc. so which is the best way to run Archicad 10 on a Mac? either with my existing windows based version of 10 through Boot Camp or should I get hold of the Mac version of 10. In which case would this have any effect on my libraries etc. which will still be saved on a PC server.

Is there any performance difference if Archicad is run via Boot Camp?

The Macbook Pro 17" looks and performs great, but I must admit that my trusty Rock Quadra 64 (although it now needs a new battery and looks a bit long in the tooth) has been an excellent machine and anyone who is a little cautious about making the switch to a Mac, in my opinion would do well to check out thier latest machines.

Thanks,

Mark.
Dwight
Newcomer
Stepan wrote:
Would like to learn more about Apple, pros and cons. if any???
Any comments appreciated...
This might seem petty, but as a Mac owner forever, i resent being blamed when an occasional secretary chik or bozo clerk with outdated software can't open one of my files and says, in response to discovering i use a mac and they a PC attempts to blame the problem on the mac instead of their ineptitude.

ie: when they can't open the attachment or see the embedded image.

Puts me in a snit.
Dwight Atkinson
Ralph Wessel
Mentor
Mark wrote:
I know that Mac's can now run windows etc. so which is the best way to run Archicad 10 on a Mac? either with my existing windows based version of 10 through Boot Camp or should I get hold of the Mac version of 10. In which case would this have any effect on my libraries etc. which will still be saved on a PC server.
Is there any performance difference if Archicad is run via Boot Camp
Get the native Mac version - in particular, get the Mactel version for an Intel based Mac and don't use the PPC version The native Mactel version is very fast.

Plus, running Windows less (or not at all) eliminates a whole raft of security problems. While it is possible that a Mac-based virus/worm may appear "in the wild" in future, at present it simply isn't an issue.

Unfortunately I need to use Windows regularly, but I use Parallels rather than BootCamp so I can run both Mac and Win simultaneously. Parallels has been fantastic and ArchiCAD runs well under Windows too. The latest version of Parallels claims to utilise 3D hardware acceleration, but I've found this to be a bit unreliable at present (very quick when it does work).

Having Windows side-by-side with the Mac is also beneficial in the situation Dwight mentioned ("it isn't working because you didn't use Windows"). I simply switch to Windows and open the 'problem' file.
Ralph Wessel BArch
Rakela Raul
Participant
i just bought a small mac laptop to try it out and love speed, interface, etc......i would like to know the difference between bootcamp and parallel .....i read parallel doesnt handle 3d graphics ? or not as good as bootcamp ??
sad there is no piranesi for mac yet...i will be watching

edit: also, there were several ac10 issues for mac users? and not for wdws users?
MACBKPro /32GiG / 240SSD
AC V6 to V18 - RVT V11 to V16
Dwight
Newcomer
Mac version one step behind PC version:

http://www.informatix.co.uk/piranesi/downloads/mac/demo.shtml
Dwight Atkinson
Rakela Raul
Participant
thanku Dwight for the link,
and BTW, you were the one who precipitated my mac buy !! durn happy so far
MACBKPro /32GiG / 240SSD
AC V6 to V18 - RVT V11 to V16
Dwight
Newcomer
Swell.

It was a delight to finally meet you during the Miami area seminar.

Your white hat is in the mail.

Best wishes.
Dwight Atkinson
Anonymous
Not applicable
Mark wrote:
In which case would this have any effect on my libraries etc. which will still be saved on a PC server.
No, your libraries will be fine. The only thing that might change are the addition of some tiny (1kb max) mac files that PC users will see. But it's nothing to worry about.

The only problems you might encounter with adding a mac to a PC network is usually the IT department who either don't know, or don't want to know how to do it (not that it's hard.)
Anonymous
Not applicable
Rakela wrote:
i just bought a small mac laptop to try it out and love speed, interface, etc......i would like to know the difference between bootcamp and parallel .....i read parallel doesnt handle 3d graphics ? or not as good as bootcamp ??
sad there is no piranesi for mac yet...i will be watching

edit: also, there were several ac10 issues for mac users? and not for wdws users?
Bootcamp still wins for performance and compatibilty (for one thing it doesn't have to share the RAM with another OS.

Parallels is great for convenience (if you need to run both the reboot time is tedious).
Learn and get certified!