Autocad on Mac?

[home]

Thinking of upgrading to a Macbook Pro, but as an architecture student / autocad user, I'm not sure how well these two worlds will mix.

Obviously running apps like photoshop and illustrator wont be a problem, but how about autocad? sketchup? microstation? etc.

In general, what problems will i encounter transfering files between my mac and my school's PCs?

mac photoshop > windows photoshop?

mac autocad > windows autocad?

In the case of autocad, is the only option to run windows on the mac?

I know an apple for an architecture student may not seem logical (maybe it does?), but i'm really enjoying the interface / ease of use that macs offer.

kthnx.

[home]

just did some research and have figured autocad on mac isnt such a great idea..

seems archicad may be a better options on the mac platform (i used archicad a few years ago and wasnt overly impressed). however, as autocad will in all likelihood remain the industry standard in drafting software, it might be a little unwise on my behalf to look into other programs..

[Arcane]

You might be able to run AutoCad through Bootcamp but that involes you actually installing Windows on you computer (as a second OS). I don't know whether there's a Microstation version for Mac but if not, the same goes for that one. SketchUp works fine with Mac, although I don't understand why you wanna use it as it's real shitty. But I'll leave that decision up to you.

My impression of ArchiCad is that it's great in some ways and not so good in others. The smart thing is that it's fast as you get your plan, facades, sections and 3D view in one. Although I feel it's pretty unsmooth if you don't want to use the predefined components. I haven't used it that much though, so I might be wrong here but I still prefer AutoCad.

In europe there's a lot of architects using ArchiCad so the AutoCad advantage isn't that big nowadays as it used to be. Hope this can help you in some way.

[home]

You might be able to run AutoCad through Bootcamp but that involes you actually installing Windows on you computer (as a second OS).

Yeah, a friend of mine does this, but tells me it isn't fun. Unreliable, slow, etc. Not the path I'd like to take..

My impression on ArchiCad is that it's great in some ways and not so good in others. The smart thing is that it's fast as you get your plan, facades, sections and 3D view in one. Although I feel it's pretty unsmooth if you don't want to use the predefined components.

The dominance AutoCad has in Australia over all other drafting packages is quite significant, AFAIK. The problem I think I will have with a program like ArchiCad (or Revit, for that matter), is, as you've mentioned, the difficulty presented when drafting components that are not predefined.

Perhaps I'm better off just investing in a good 17" PC Laptop ($3000+ should get me a pretty nice one I'd think), and getting on with Autocad/Viz/etc...

[Arcane]

I've been using mac all of my life and got me a PC 1,5 year ago to run Autocad (and some other stuff) and I'm not enjoying it, at all. This summer I'll probably buy me a mac and keep the PC to run Autocad and some other PC apps I tend to use. If you're used to PC you should probably go for a good one instead of a mac, at least when it comes to taking care of the architectual business. Sad but true.

[home]

If you're used to PC you should probably go for a good one

And so, the quest begins.

[Lightman]

My question is why can't Autocad just make a Mac version?

[Tiranis]

Yeah, a friend of mine does this, but tells me it isn't fun. Unreliable, slow, etc. Not the path I'd like to take..

Uhh???? MacBook or MacBook Pro are almost exactly the same as any other PC laptop that you will install WIndows Vista or XP on. Sounds like bullshit to me.

[Appleseed]

2D ACAD through Parallels or Bootcamp runs just as fine (or shitty) as on a regular desktop PC.

[home]

Uhh???? MacBook or MacBook Pro are almost exactly the same as any other PC laptop that you will install WIndows Vista or XP on. Sounds like bullshit to me.

2D ACAD through Parallels or Bootcamp runs just as fine (or shitty) as on a regular desktop PC.

How about ACAD 2007/08 with 3D capabilities?

Maybe this can be done.

[polishmike]

How about ACAD 2007/08 with 3D capabilities?

Maybe this can be done.

Yes it can be done, just google it. I know people running it on Macs.

[Appleseed]

If you're doing anything in 3D other than extrusions, use a real modeler.

[home]

If you're doing anything in 3D other than extrusions, use a real modeler.

Good point.

Anyone else had any first hand experience running AutoCad (Windows) on Mac?

Another n00b question, but can one transfer, for example, Photoshop files from a Mac to a PC (Windows) without problem? Same goes for other files such as Adobe PDFs, Autocad files (this might not matter, due to the work being done in Windows on the Mac, right?), etc.

[polishmike]

I know people running Autocad on macs without any problems. When you install Windows you can run whatever you want.

As for the second question, you can transfer those files without any problems.

[VuONG]

dang how many tiems have this been asked. I HAVE A MACBOOK PRO and yes autocad runs fine on it even better, more stable and macbook pro is the one of the fastest windows machine. do the switch!

[VuONG]

file transfer is no problem also

[Roflcopterpwnsyou]

I've seen a lot of problems with installing bootcamp and windows with people running leopard, so I'd suggest attempting it before putting any personal data on it.

[VuONG]

yea tats true.

[home]

I've seen a lot of problems with installing bootcamp and windows with people running leopard, so I'd suggest attempting it before putting any personal data on it.

n00b question - leopard is the current mac operating system, equivilant to PC's windows, yes?

[home]

I've seen a lot of problems with installing bootcamp and windows with people running leopard, so I'd suggest attempting it before putting any personal data on it.

n00b question - leopard is the current mac operating system, equivilant to PC's windows, yes?

[Sea]

which ever platform you decide to use, make sure that you have plenty of RAM in order to run CAD smoothly. i just bought my mother an HP for christmas and I had them upgrade from 1g to 2gigs of ram just because she is going to be using mainly AutoCAD on her system.

[Sea]

which ever platform you decide to use, make sure that you have plenty of RAM in order to run CAD smoothly. i just bought my mother an HP for christmas and I had them upgrade from 1g to 2gigs of ram just because she is going to be using mainly AutoCAD on her system.

[home]

which ever platform you decide to use, make sure that you have plenty of RAM in order to run CAD smoothly. i just bought my mother an HP for christmas and I had them upgrade from 1g to 2gigs of ram just because she is going to be using mainly AutoCAD on her system.

Yeah, if I end up going with the MacBook Pro, I'll up the RAM to at least 4gb. Whats the most RAM a Mac-pro can handle?

On that note, is it best to just order the Mac with the standard 2gb of RAM, then upgrade at a local dealer? The apple site wants $1000 AUD to up from 2 to 4gb - seems a little steep..

[keagan]

apple ram is WAYYYYYYY overpriced.

I would buy from apple if only you didn't know what you where doing.

[sidneylo]

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