I have had a MacBook Pro for almost four years now and it's time to buy another one. Even though I had a BootCamp and I installed Rhino on the Windows side, it was always very slow.
The truth is that I don't know much about computers on the technical side of them, so I would like some advice on what I should pay attention at when buying a new one (Ram memory, graphic card, as far as i understand... but how to judge whether I am being sold a product worth the money i'm paying?)
There will be discrepancies at this next question, but would you reccomend Mac or PC? In my experience with Mac I have had problems installing CAD.
The software I would need to be using are Rhino, Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, the package generally)... I do use Final Cut Pro in my Mac but I know how to use Premier so that should not be a problem. I would need Cad, 3dstudio, either of them running on Mac. And well that's about it... I'd like to have some advice from someone who knows more than I do at this point. Thank you in advance.
3ds sucks on a mac in my opinion because of the slight (but important) differences with keyboard shortcuts.
A quick example is the delete key on pcs. This is used to delete an object.. But the key doesn't exist on a mac keyboard so you end up having to use the drop down tool bar.. (Very inefficient)
As for performance.. From observation of my friends using macs with parallels etc.. It just doesn't run as quickly as using the pc.
I would recommend a pc if you are looking to have a machine dedicated for cad and 3ds. every other program I'd say a mac can run just as well or maybe better
If you do opt to buy a pc, I would recommend going through a 3rd party custom built pc like ibuypower. They offer top of the line equipment for nearly half the price that it would cost to build the same pc as a dell hp etc.. In my experience mainstream pc manufacturers give you bad product and sell extensive warranties to cover them.
^I ordered a desktop back in '03 from ibuypower. Everything worked well for a couple of years but then components started to break down pretty quickly. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
As for mid-range laptop advice, I have been doing research on the same subject. Check out this thread from a laptop website, I found it quite helpful to know what's out there and how they stack up.
Ehh.. Despite what other people say about ibuypower.. I had a pretty good experience with their product.. Got a laptop from them at 1400 bucks which woulda cost around 2900 to build at dell.. And it still works great..
Although I suppose you can consider it somewhat of a crapshoot with it?
I haven't had any problems with my computer that was hardware related
I've bought custom pcs since early 2000's and haven't had a problem with any.. Maybe I'm just lucky
I would say look around for different custom built pcs and read consumer reviews to find the best product for the best value. Or.. Buy the components yourself and save more money.
for discount prices, the dell and hp business clearances are a legitimate option --- i know several people who have purchased from the dell business refurbished systems site
and two years ago i bought a refurbished hp -- it was a mobile workstation with a 500 MB quadro vx series card and dual core chip --- new it retailed for 3000, it cost me $750 through the clearance center, arrived in new condition and for any extra $50 they gave me a 3 year warranty
I would also buy refurbished nowdays, I bought a refurbished for half the price throught att online store, and arrived like new, works great. Same with laptop, I believe, just don't buy it from a person, buy it re-certified from a retailer.
Also, make sure you get the i-7 chip and good video card.
Advice on buying a computer
I have had a MacBook Pro for almost four years now and it's time to buy another one. Even though I had a BootCamp and I installed Rhino on the Windows side, it was always very slow.
The truth is that I don't know much about computers on the technical side of them, so I would like some advice on what I should pay attention at when buying a new one (Ram memory, graphic card, as far as i understand... but how to judge whether I am being sold a product worth the money i'm paying?)
There will be discrepancies at this next question, but would you reccomend Mac or PC? In my experience with Mac I have had problems installing CAD.
The software I would need to be using are Rhino, Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, the package generally)... I do use Final Cut Pro in my Mac but I know how to use Premier so that should not be a problem. I would need Cad, 3dstudio, either of them running on Mac. And well that's about it... I'd like to have some advice from someone who knows more than I do at this point. Thank you in advance.
3ds sucks on a mac in my opinion because of the slight (but important) differences with keyboard shortcuts.
A quick example is the delete key on pcs. This is used to delete an object.. But the key doesn't exist on a mac keyboard so you end up having to use the drop down tool bar.. (Very inefficient)
As for performance.. From observation of my friends using macs with parallels etc.. It just doesn't run as quickly as using the pc.
I would recommend a pc if you are looking to have a machine dedicated for cad and 3ds. every other program I'd say a mac can run just as well or maybe better
If you do opt to buy a pc, I would recommend going through a 3rd party custom built pc like ibuypower. They offer top of the line equipment for nearly half the price that it would cost to build the same pc as a dell hp etc.. In my experience mainstream pc manufacturers give you bad product and sell extensive warranties to cover them.
^I ordered a desktop back in '03 from ibuypower. Everything worked well for a couple of years but then components started to break down pretty quickly. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
As for mid-range laptop advice, I have been doing research on the same subject. Check out this thread from a laptop website, I found it quite helpful to know what's out there and how they stack up.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/what-notebook-should-i-buy-school/495397-hp-dm4t-vs-hp-dv6tse-vs-envy-14-vs-mbp-13-vs-studio-15-help.html
Thanks for your response... I will keep on having a look at what's available. thanks for the advice
Ehh.. Despite what other people say about ibuypower.. I had a pretty good experience with their product.. Got a laptop from them at 1400 bucks which woulda cost around 2900 to build at dell.. And it still works great..
Although I suppose you can consider it somewhat of a crapshoot with it?
I haven't had any problems with my computer that was hardware related
I've bought custom pcs since early 2000's and haven't had a problem with any.. Maybe I'm just lucky
I would say look around for different custom built pcs and read consumer reviews to find the best product for the best value. Or.. Buy the components yourself and save more money.
for discount prices, the dell and hp business clearances are a legitimate option --- i know several people who have purchased from the dell business refurbished systems site
and two years ago i bought a refurbished hp -- it was a mobile workstation with a 500 MB quadro vx series card and dual core chip --- new it retailed for 3000, it cost me $750 through the clearance center, arrived in new condition and for any extra $50 they gave me a 3 year warranty
it has worked great
I would also buy refurbished nowdays, I bought a refurbished for half the price throught att online store, and arrived like new, works great. Same with laptop, I believe, just don't buy it from a person, buy it re-certified from a retailer.
Also, make sure you get the i-7 chip and good video card.
^ i bought refurbished iphone, hehe.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.