I'm about to buy a new notebook and I want to get something that will do me well when I get to starting my M.Arch next fall. Any suggestions?
I'd like to get a Macbook Pro due to my love of OS X but I know that if I want to run Autocad 2007 I'll have to do so through bootcamp. Personally, I love Archicad 10 but I'm under the impression that Autocad (and ADT) is the industry standard.
Do you have to get it right now? Everyone I know who rushed out to get a Macbook Pro is wishing they had waited, because the last round of program releases didn't take that format into account, and things are pretty screwy right now. They are all saying they wished they'd waited for the next round of program releases, when apple says things should clear up a lot. Just something to keep in mind.
The Macbook Pro is the only computer on the market right now I'd even think about buying...yet I agree with rationalist's advice to wait. Slated software update issues aside, why buy now and end up starting grad school next year with a computer that's already halfway to being obsolete?
If you absolutely need something right now I'd say just buy a cheap refurbished no-frills Dell and sell it on e-bay in a year.
As for software, you'll have opportunities to try all kinds of drawing and modeling programs once you get to school and decide which one(s) work best for you. If you like ACAD, use it, but don't feel pressured to use it just because it's the "industry standard". Not knowing ACAD is not a career killer. A lot of botique and design-oriented firms don't even use ACAD, plus, by the time you're out of school it'll be all the more eclipsed by BIM software like Revit and ArchiCAD. It's much more important to understand the basic concepts that unite all vector drawing/solid modeling/rendering programs than it is to be an expert in one particular piece of software.
As for software, I wouldn't choose something to use for school based on industry standards.
the macbook pro i purchased this summer is great all around. the translation of all the new software format is not even apparent through rosetta. i run the first version of Adobe CS, and there isn't any noticeable lag at all. i find that OSX is rock solid as far as stability, and running archicad 9 on it is completely fluid, and rendering time blows away any pc machine.
if you wanted to run autodesk products, you could get a program called "parallels" to run windows side by side with OSX and use autocad that way. but in my experience, most firms are evolving to BIM software, and archicad has been doing that for years. Revit is the PC counterpart, but both run on the same principles. along those lines-don't even bother with ADT. it failed at doing what Revit and Archicad do much better.
the only caution i would offer for the mac book is it's price being too high for most students. i wouldn't have bought it if i didn't have a steady income to pay for it. but i have to say it was completely worth the cost.
the macbooks in studio seem to be running well but a lot of people have had a lot of initial trouble getting everything to run smoothly. rhino seems to have some crashing problems from time to time. but yes, you get a nice macbook.
i got a t60p thinkpad and it's run absolutely flawlessly. very very reliable. not one bluescreen of death in 2 months of hardcore working. thinkpads are slightly more expensive than the competition but i've dealt with thinkpad customer support many times and they've been nothing but exceptional. broken LCD monitor was COMPLETELY replaced after a drop off at a service station in THREE HOURS.
Just got a Dell M90. Great machine. Love just about everything about it. Best graphic card out there, fast processor (I's got a Core Duo 2 2.0). Very well built, as good as any laptop I've seen.
4 year onsite next day repair. That's crucial to me. Having to wait 4+ days for a repair for a Mac (on top of it costing much more) was enough to keep me from considering them.
Runs Max 9 better than my workstations (the Quadro - yeah, not Geforce - card is really nice!)
I have been beating the shit out of my thinkpad for 3 years now. IBM service is the best in the business hands down. If something breaks, they send you a new one the next day or send a tech out in a day or two.
That said, I just bought a Mac because its sexy (and I needed to run Final Cut...)
It's *your* computer, that you'll be connected to at the hip--choose the operating system you like, that you work well with. Don't pick a computer based on one program--especially in school--it seriously matters not which CAD program is "industry standard". The schools don't care, and you shouldn't, either. Use the platform that is comfortable to YOU--otherwise you'll be banging your head constantly, and inefficient in *whatever* program you use.
**and if you're still unsure, take the one that is more flexible, which in this case is the macbook, since you can run both.
if you can wait till next fall, you'll get a better deal on either machine and they will be much faster then what you can buy today. Academic discounts = $500+ for either machine... but then if you need something to produce your portfolio, then get on with it...
Me frist yr MArch... got a MBP. Like it a lot. Yes i run all that PC jazz on the XP partition of the hardrive and it works fine for the most part.
Here's a better tip: Focus on yer applications and such right now, unless you've deferred an acceptance?... Besides there will be all new better stuff then and based on today's electronics market I'd wait till just before starting....
Another thing to consider is that a lot of programs have a preference for one OS vs the other. Check the school websites to confirm that your system is in line with their "recommended" setups. If you get a PC and your school is primarily Mac-based, you may have more trouble getting support for it from campus IT resources. A lot of programs offer educ. discount packages on a box and a bunch of software pre-installed, so it may be wise to just wait until next Fall.
One other thought- having used Macs over the years, my rule of thumb with Apple hardware is to never purchase the first iteration of something Apple produces. Wait for the kinks to have been all worked out for the second generation. Cases in point- first Dual Proc G4 tower = nightmare. First gen Intel Apple MBs = random shutdown and screen issues (although those kinks seem to be worked out by now).
Oct 25, 06 5:32 pm ·
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Macbook Pro or Thinkpad?
I'm about to buy a new notebook and I want to get something that will do me well when I get to starting my M.Arch next fall. Any suggestions?
I'd like to get a Macbook Pro due to my love of OS X but I know that if I want to run Autocad 2007 I'll have to do so through bootcamp. Personally, I love Archicad 10 but I'm under the impression that Autocad (and ADT) is the industry standard.
Any advice is appreciated.
well, MBP now has the advantage of the Core 2 Duo as of today... IBM (lenovo) still hasn't done it yet with the Thinkpad
Do you have to get it right now? Everyone I know who rushed out to get a Macbook Pro is wishing they had waited, because the last round of program releases didn't take that format into account, and things are pretty screwy right now. They are all saying they wished they'd waited for the next round of program releases, when apple says things should clear up a lot. Just something to keep in mind.
The Macbook Pro is the only computer on the market right now I'd even think about buying...yet I agree with rationalist's advice to wait. Slated software update issues aside, why buy now and end up starting grad school next year with a computer that's already halfway to being obsolete?
If you absolutely need something right now I'd say just buy a cheap refurbished no-frills Dell and sell it on e-bay in a year.
As for software, you'll have opportunities to try all kinds of drawing and modeling programs once you get to school and decide which one(s) work best for you. If you like ACAD, use it, but don't feel pressured to use it just because it's the "industry standard". Not knowing ACAD is not a career killer. A lot of botique and design-oriented firms don't even use ACAD, plus, by the time you're out of school it'll be all the more eclipsed by BIM software like Revit and ArchiCAD. It's much more important to understand the basic concepts that unite all vector drawing/solid modeling/rendering programs than it is to be an expert in one particular piece of software.
As for software, I wouldn't choose something to use for school based on industry standards.
the macbook pro i purchased this summer is great all around. the translation of all the new software format is not even apparent through rosetta. i run the first version of Adobe CS, and there isn't any noticeable lag at all. i find that OSX is rock solid as far as stability, and running archicad 9 on it is completely fluid, and rendering time blows away any pc machine.
if you wanted to run autodesk products, you could get a program called "parallels" to run windows side by side with OSX and use autocad that way. but in my experience, most firms are evolving to BIM software, and archicad has been doing that for years. Revit is the PC counterpart, but both run on the same principles. along those lines-don't even bother with ADT. it failed at doing what Revit and Archicad do much better.
the only caution i would offer for the mac book is it's price being too high for most students. i wouldn't have bought it if i didn't have a steady income to pay for it. but i have to say it was completely worth the cost.
the macbooks in studio seem to be running well but a lot of people have had a lot of initial trouble getting everything to run smoothly. rhino seems to have some crashing problems from time to time. but yes, you get a nice macbook.
i got a t60p thinkpad and it's run absolutely flawlessly. very very reliable. not one bluescreen of death in 2 months of hardcore working. thinkpads are slightly more expensive than the competition but i've dealt with thinkpad customer support many times and they've been nothing but exceptional. broken LCD monitor was COMPLETELY replaced after a drop off at a service station in THREE HOURS.
Just got a Dell M90. Great machine. Love just about everything about it. Best graphic card out there, fast processor (I's got a Core Duo 2 2.0). Very well built, as good as any laptop I've seen.
4 year onsite next day repair. That's crucial to me. Having to wait 4+ days for a repair for a Mac (on top of it costing much more) was enough to keep me from considering them.
Runs Max 9 better than my workstations (the Quadro - yeah, not Geforce - card is really nice!)
Thinkpad vs MacBook Pro is a tough call.
I have been beating the shit out of my thinkpad for 3 years now. IBM service is the best in the business hands down. If something breaks, they send you a new one the next day or send a tech out in a day or two.
That said, I just bought a Mac because its sexy (and I needed to run Final Cut...)
It's *your* computer, that you'll be connected to at the hip--choose the operating system you like, that you work well with. Don't pick a computer based on one program--especially in school--it seriously matters not which CAD program is "industry standard". The schools don't care, and you shouldn't, either. Use the platform that is comfortable to YOU--otherwise you'll be banging your head constantly, and inefficient in *whatever* program you use.
**and if you're still unsure, take the one that is more flexible, which in this case is the macbook, since you can run both.
if you can wait till next fall, you'll get a better deal on either machine and they will be much faster then what you can buy today. Academic discounts = $500+ for either machine... but then if you need something to produce your portfolio, then get on with it...
Me frist yr MArch... got a MBP. Like it a lot. Yes i run all that PC jazz on the XP partition of the hardrive and it works fine for the most part.
Here's a better tip: Focus on yer applications and such right now, unless you've deferred an acceptance?... Besides there will be all new better stuff then and based on today's electronics market I'd wait till just before starting....
Another thing to consider is that a lot of programs have a preference for one OS vs the other. Check the school websites to confirm that your system is in line with their "recommended" setups. If you get a PC and your school is primarily Mac-based, you may have more trouble getting support for it from campus IT resources. A lot of programs offer educ. discount packages on a box and a bunch of software pre-installed, so it may be wise to just wait until next Fall.
One other thought- having used Macs over the years, my rule of thumb with Apple hardware is to never purchase the first iteration of something Apple produces. Wait for the kinks to have been all worked out for the second generation. Cases in point- first Dual Proc G4 tower = nightmare. First gen Intel Apple MBs = random shutdown and screen issues (although those kinks seem to be worked out by now).
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