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Apple Toying with the idea of a MBP

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Guest-23315, 15 Jun 2010.

  1. Zurechial

    Zurechial Elitist

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    Wow Unicorn. Care to chill the hell out and actually read my post again instead of defending that little Cupertino startup that needs all the help it can get from dangerous forum posters like me?
    Firstly, you're being needlessly aggressive and confrontational. Acting like that doesn't suit you.
    Secondly, I stressed in multiple places that the real advantage of a Mac begins and ends with preference and choice.
    Yes, my post leans towards Windows and against Mac, because that's my honest viewpoint on the matter but I did stress that it's a matter of choice and that there are factors involved in making that decision personally.

    So by the same token Linux has no compatibility issues because I can reboot into Windows? That's a ridiculous argument.
    Like it or not, OSX does have a disadvantage in compatibility in that you can't simply download any program from the wider collection of Windows software online and run it natively on your Mac. You either have to reboot into Windows via Boot Camp or find an OSX version of the program.
    Sure, the reverse also applies in that there are OSX programs that aren't available on Windows but incompatibility is incompatibility regardless of the availability of workarounds.

    My opinion yes, backed up by personal experience. You say that as if you're desperate to defend Apple from some sort of scathing attack, when in truth my comments were nothing more than my opinion that Apple are very good at marketing and a warning that consumers approach the matter critically instead of falling for that smart marketing.

    This is where I'm struggling to give you the time of day for the simple reason that you're being rude, aggressive and making broad, generalised assumptions about me without knowing a thing about me.
    I clearly prefer Windows to OSX, but am I a Windows fanboy? No.
    I have plenty of experience of using and developing programs for OSX, Windows and Linux in industry-grade environments as a professional of the music industry and an academic researcher of Music Technology.
    I regularly use Macs for university work, I dual-boot with Linux on every system I personally own and I owned an MBP for a while myself.
    Care to make any more assumptions about my experiences?

    And I'm fairly sure plenty of people who give realistic, rational advice on the matter are sick and tired of fanboys (See? I can make assumptions too) jumping to the defence of the little company that could instead of accepting that maybe, just maybe someone is giving their own experiential advice on the topic.
    Your swearing, flaming and impassioned abusiveness in defending something you probably have no personal stake in just make you look like an awful hypocrit given the content of your attacks against me.
    Given your other outbursts elsewhere on the forums you're really close to becoming the first person on my ignore list here.

    I answered precisely the question asked by the OP, using my own experiences to provide what I feel is a helpful response that will help the OP make up his mind one way or the other.
    I'm not going to derail the thread any further, PM it to me if you have anything further to say, Unicorn.
     
    Last edited: 16 Jun 2010
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  2. Burnout21

    Burnout21 Mmmm biscuits

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    I wouldn't go the Mac route, not because i am a mac hater but i know the software.

    Civils tend to live with in autoCad, but expect Catia or Pro/E similar to solidworks but the math engine is far stronger for complex problems like bridges, etc.


    Of course there is no reason not to dual boot on a MBP, W7 i've heard is happy to run on a mac.
     
  3. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead It's big, and it's clever.

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    I wrote something else, but decided to edit it.

    It ain't worth it.

    LOL

    /thread before someone gets hurt :)
     
    Last edited: 16 Jun 2010
  4. Guinevere

    Guinevere Mega Mom

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    I have a 13" MBP and it's a great machine. When using an app that is available in the same version on both platforms (Adobe suite etc) then it'll just run equally well on both machines.

    Any idea how often you'll want to do full CAD work on the screen? If a fair proportion then the extra res of the 15" will pay off, but either way you'll benefit from the better CPU.

    I love the way my mac "Just works", but I also love my i7 rig - Win7 on decent hardware is great.

    As to the whole PC laptop vs MBP, you'll save a bit of money going with a PC, but you'll have a lesser machine & OS combination in the long run, plus you'll likely get bloatwared out of existence.

    Macs also hold their value a lot better than a PC ever will.
     
    Bakes likes this.
  5. Bakes

    Bakes What's a Dremel?

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    Agree, unless it's games. Nevertheless, they'll still play fine on Macs

    Agree

    Agree, provided hardware is equal. Just having the option of a Mac OS is an advantage, and Macbooks haven't really evolved in speed since 2006.

    Definitely.
     
  6. Guest-23315

    Guest-23315 Guest

    Without seeming too snotty, the 'you'd get the same hardware for less with a pc' debate isn't an issue here, I could fairly realistically afford any of them, just thought that the 15" I spec'd in the OP was about the right price/performance point.

    I'd be doing CAD work a lot, or so I've been told by the head of my desired course..
     
  7. ChriX

    ChriX ^

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    Just because nobody has mentioned it - you can spec the 15" MBP to have a 1680x1050 display for an extra £80.
     
  8. Pete J

    Pete J Employed scum

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    I'll admit that the last time I used AutoCAD was probably about three years ago (SolidWorks Cheesecake) but it certainly wasn't a demanding piece of software - that is, if you're only drawing 2D, anyway.

    As for Cobalt, I haven't used it but it looks similar to SolidWorks, which runs fine on a Windows system.

    One thing I'd recommend is to see if you can somehow get an SSD into the system as a primary drive with a secondary storage HDD. CAD programmes seem to take ages to start and an SSD will really speed things up.
     
    Last edited: 16 Jun 2010
  9. stonedsurd

    stonedsurd Is a cackling Yuletide Belgian

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    I'd get the 15" Mac.

    Been in Univ, buggered up a fair few laptops, I know what I want (I use Inventor) and it's a Mac.

    Also, someone said MS Word on the Mac is bad? Wut?
     
  10. Unicorn

    Unicorn Uniform November India

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    I just wanted to comment on what Pete J said about CAD packages not being too demanding. That may have been the case a few years ago, but as soon as you step into 3D, and even working in 2D with current software like the '10 versions of both Autodesk ACAD and SolidWorks, the CPU and memory usage takes a tral big hit, and you'll need the extra power. Again, I'm speaking from experience here. I tried both AutoCad 2010 and Solidworks 10 on an old C2D system I have in the workshop and it was really sluggish, to the point where I just gave up and went to do the work on my more powerful rendering rig.

    +1 on the SSD idea. I'd go for that option if you are going to be using large programs like CAD packages and the Adobe Creative Suite. Adding an SSD as the primary system disk in my rendering machine really sped up the loading and rendering times for CAD.
     
  11. kenco_uk

    kenco_uk I unsuccessfully then tried again

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    I'd imagine it would be lovely to use.. the price is a barrier though.. thinking what you could get for less money and it looking as good. I'm quite surprised about the lust some people have over Vaios tbh.
     
  12. frojoe

    frojoe What's a Dremel?

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    I suggest going for the mac specifically because you are a college student(like me). The battery life is epic on both of them, and bringing a laptop to class all day you will be happy not to have to compete for an outlet. I think you can do anything you want with either os, and I switch back and forth regularly, so I don't think that's an issue. The screens are very high quality(and being able to get the matte display on the 15 would be nice). Its a quality laptop with quality components, but admittedly you could get the same for less with a pc. The real advantage of the mac is the battery life(I have not seen a single pc at 13' or bigger that gets near 10 hours with real light use) and lack of viruses. (osx may not be more secure then windows, but it doesn't matter, because right now there is hardly anything in the wild going after macs. The reason they don't get viruses doesn't matter, but after a year of file sharing and porn at school, most slightly less savy computer users with pcs have some crap slowing down there system, and even the dumbest mac user is usually fine).

    Between the macs I would actually get the 13", but both are nice. You have an external monitor so screen size isn't as important, and both have the same gpu. The 13' does have a slower cpu, but is easier to carry, has a longer battery life in tests, and is cheaper. Enjoy whatever new laptop you get.
     
  13. EdwardTeach

    EdwardTeach What's a Dremel?

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    I have both a MacBook pro and an i7 930 desktop running windows 7.

    In my opinion I would seriously question whether it is worth spending more money for lower spec hardware + os x these days. Windows 7 has really caught up.

    With regards to weight - I wouldn't be surprised if you dont end up carrying it around with you.
     
  14. sb1991

    sb1991 What's a Dremel?

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    I'd suggest waiting until you've been at uni for a bit before getting a laptop at all. If you're planning on taking a 24 inch monitor then transporting the computer to university clearly isn't the issue, and the vast majority of people leave their laptops on their desks all the time. There are always computers in labs too. It's pretty much impossible to take notes in lectures if you do something requiring maths and diagrams, and as an engineering student you probably won't be spending much time typing up essays in the library either. Some people do indeed carry their laptops around a lot (and I suppose if you get a mac then taking it to cafés is pretty much mandatory) but for most people a desktop is a much better choice.
     
  15. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead It's big, and it's clever.

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    Yeah, me. I hate the way the format pallet is a separate window that just gets in the way on a small screen, and you're constantly having to move it around. I know it can be docked, but it opens up like that by default, and it's a pain. Very irritating. It's was also quite slow on my Mac Book, and often hung. I also experienced quite a lot of issues opening .docx files made in PC Word on my Mac Book.
     
  16. Burnout21

    Burnout21 Mmmm biscuits

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    C2D is perfectly fine for these applications, my workstation loves Solidworks 2010 Office Prem, AutoCad 2010, and 3D studio Max 2010

    My Workstation is based around a E6600 overclocked to 3.15GHz, only because i can, not because i need to. The Quadro helps accelerate view ports but performance wise its no different.

    CAD applications are still developed to keep in line with industries computer hardware level. Companies hate replacing machines hence the whole problem with getting companies to except vista. An SSD would be a fine choice, but once the application is loaded it's fine, solidworks on my machine with my primary drive being an old maxtor 160GB diamond max 9 boots in 30 seconds flat. With adobe app's in under 10 seconds.

    I would love either a AMD 6 core or a i7 930 for a rendering box, but my Q6600 handles all that rather well still.
     
  17. Pete J

    Pete J Employed scum

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    I'm running SolidWorks 2009 on my crappy work laptop! WinXP, 2GB RAM, AMD Turion (dual core) and ATI Radeon Xpress 1270. It's fine for general purpose stuff but for advanced modelling (I'm talking weird stuff you'd normally never do) I prefer my home computer.

    And as you know, once the programme is loaded it's fine! It just takes a minute or two :sigh:
     
  18. Unicorn

    Unicorn Uniform November India

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    All I can say is I've had much different results guys. I wasn't running on as high clocked a C2D as your E6600, but honestly, it was butt slow to create drawings and render materials. That was a 2.16 GHz (stock) E6400 with 4GB RAM and a GTS 250 card as far as I can remember.

    All that aside though, since he's said that the extra money on the faster processor or even the more expensive notebook in general is not an issue, is what CPU Mankz should purchase in a notebook even a question here? Get the i5 - future proof yourself a little. It'll take, like, forever, but eventually the C2D will fizzle out. I know which one I'd be going for considering I'd hate to be running 3 generation old technology in my laptop in a years time.
     
  19. Burnout21

    Burnout21 Mmmm biscuits

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    Off topic, my last workstation CPU was an E2160 at stock speeds (1.8GHz) and that handled solidworks '10 fine, only upgraded to aid rendering in photoview.

    I personally would grab an i5 based laptop, MBP would be good if you fancy it, but install windows for CAD.
     
  20. Unicorn

    Unicorn Uniform November India

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    Apparently I got bad mileage out of my C2D then :blush: Obviously something was different/off but I have no idea what that could have been.

    Anyway, please don't think I'm trying to thread-jack this or stir up the hornets nest regarding pricing, but this is my spec'd up MBP which will be ordered at the end of July and arrive just as my Acer Ferrari 1000's extended warranty expires:

    [​IMG]

    Now that's a lot of money for a laptop, even I'll admit that. I'd even go as far as to admit that it's too much for the spec I'll get. You know what though? I don't care. I've been considering buying a MBP for years now, and my trusty old Acer Ferrari is begging me to retire it. It's been upgraded as much as it can be now (CPU, RAM, HDD, WLAN, Bluetooth, External Drive have all been upgraded in the past 12 months) and has been used every day for the past year, and roughly 3 days per week for the 2 years before that. To give you an idea, more than half of my posts on this forum and every other forum I've visited in the past 12 months will have been made on this laptop, with roughly one quarter on my iPhone and the rest on one of my desktops. It's a very well used laptop and has served me well, but the sad fact now is that it's noticeably slow at doing the things I need and want to be doing on a notebook. It's stock 2.0GHz AMD Turion was sluggish, the recently installed 2.2GHz model made a little difference but decreased battery life even more. On site, I'll get less than 1.5 hours with a CAD or design package open. An i7 powered MBP will keep me going for at least another 3 years, and because of the extra capability, will allow me to use it in even more situations and more often than I use my current laptop. As far as software goes, there's no task I can and often do complete on my Windows 7 powered Ferrari notebook that I won't be able to do just as well or better on the Mac. It's almost time for it and I can't wait to get it to be honest. It's going to make a lot of my work so much easier and for that alone it's worth the extra money. I'm almost certain that by increasing my productivity and mobility, it'll have paid for itself within a year.

    [edit]

    I forgot to add, I'll be upgrading the 4GB of memory in the MBP to 8GB as soon as I get it. I'll buy the modules and fit them myself because it's cheaper.
     
    Last edited: 18 Jun 2010

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