My “old” laptop which I bought in early 2005, is well, acting up and things on it are starting to fail (I am talking about you touch pad!!)
I am warming up to the idea of a MacBook because of the expanded windows based software that is available for it. Also, because eVilista is about the only software you can get on a PC laptop with the exception of a Dell laptop running ubuntu… but I have heard there can be compatibility problems with running Linux and networking with say a wireless network and digital cameras and so forth due to a lack of open source drivers… but I digress.
Right now, the only thing that I am curious about is if AutoCAD is capable of being run on a mac (which probably would make or break the deal). I have done some searching, but I haven’t come up with anything conclusive that says AutoCad will or won’t run on a mac.
Are there other issues (software, hardware) with Macs that I should be aware of? Is there other software that absolutely will not run on Macs?
I am running the Student Edition of AutoCAD Architecture 2008 on Windows XP SP3 running under VMWare Fusion on my Late 2006 MacBook Pro no problem. This Mac maxes out at 3 gigabytes of RAM. New ones can take more; laptops up to 4 GB and desktops much more.
However, you need to set up Windows first, and complete all your tweaks and driver downloads and whatnot BEFORE you activate it.
You can install Windows straight into a virtual machine on the Mac, or VMWare can use a Windows installation on a prevously-existing Boot Camp partition.
With Boot Camp, you can also run Windows natively on the Intel Macintosh hardware; you still need to install Apple’s drivers before you have access to the trackpad, the Ethernet ports, the Bluetooth and WiFi radio hardware, etc, from Windows.
One advantage of booting Windows natively on the Mac, rather than in a virtual machine, is that you can then use the 3D acceleration of the Mac’s video card. (You need a separate video card for this; the MacBook’s integrated video won’t do.) The virtual video hardware doesn’t do the 3D for AutoCAD, but that’s okay, because I’m just doing 2D right now.
that should have said probably would not make or break…
Thanks Sunspace! Although it sounds kind of complicated. How difficult was that for you to set up? Is the Boot Camp software part of the virtual machine software or is it something completely different? Does running Windows on a Mac make the Mac more prone to becoming unstable?
Also, I would only want the 2D CAD… 3D is still way out of my league!!
The simplest thing to do is to use Boot Camp (which comes with all new Intel macs) to set up a Windows partition on the Mac’s hard drive. Then you use your Windows disk to install Windows. Once that’s done, you can choose Windows or Mac OS when you start the machine.
How to install Windows on a Boot Camp partition on an Intel Mac:
Buy Macintosh.
Start OS X.
Use Boot Camp Assistant to divide the hard drive and create a Windows partition.
Install Windows.
Install drivers for Apple hardware (provided by Apple on the Mac OS X install disc).
Connect to the Internet.
Download updates from Microsoft for Windows.
Download updates from Apple for the hardware drivers.
Install your own software.
Make sure everything is working the way you want it.
Register Windows.
Setting up the Boot Camp partition is easiest on a new machine that has plenty of room on the hard drive. You don’t have to worry about backing up your data; it’s simpler just to undo the partitioning or reinstall Mac OS X if something goes wrong.
Part two:
With VMWare’s Fusion (or its competitor Parallels), you create a “virtual machine” (VM) to run Windows ‘inside’ Mac OS X. This lets you have access to both Windows and Mac OS X at the same time. With the addition of another set of drivers for Windows, you can even drag and drop between Mac OS X and Windows. Much more convenient.
I use Fusion.
The virtual machine can use the pre-existing Windows installation in your Boot Camp partition (in which case all your Windows data lives on the Boot Camp partition), or it can have Windows installed directly iton it (in which case it and all your Windows data will be a really large file on your Mac OS hard drive).
The price for the convenience of both systems available at the same time is that the virtual machine is less powerful that the native hardware, especially for graphics. As I mentioned, it’s fine for 2D but not so much for 3D.
And, if you’re setting up Windows to run in a virtual machine, do not register/activate it until everything is set up and running: until all the virtual machine drivers are in as well as the Windows Updates (and the Apple drivers, if you’re running the Boot Camp installation in the VM).
When you start a Boot Camp installation of Windows in a VM, it thinks that the underlying hardware has changed and wants to be reactivated. The drivers provided by VMWare for Fusion apparently stop this from happening, but you have to start the VM at least once to install them!
Oh, and installing Windows does not affect the stability of Mac OS. Either Windows is running by itself, because you’ve booted into it right from the start; or Windows is running in a virtual machine, and, even if it goes down, you can simply stop the VM and restafrt it without affecting Mac OS.
And one more thing; it must be a MacBook Pro, not a MacBook. The macbook Pro has separate video card with separate video memory that AutoCAD needs. Likewise with the desktops: get one with a separate video card. There’s a listing on the AutoCAD site of what video cards will work with AutoCAD.
Everything that Sunspace said. I’m running Parallels Desktop 3.0 (latest build) for all my modeling software (AutoCAD Architecture 2008, Revit Architecture 2008, and Viz). I even use it to run my 3D modeling in Revit and don’t notice a dropoff in performance at all. I like that I’m able to boot natively into Windows if I need to though. One thing that I will say is to make sure that you install the Bootcamp 2.1 update for Windows before you upgrade to SP3 (provided you’re running XP). Haven’t talked to anybody who’s used Bootcamp for Vista, so I’m not able to give you any information on that subject. But yes, it is possible, and it actually works really, really well (again for the reasons Sunspace gave).
Thanks, flood. I forgot about Boot Camp Assistant 2.1. Yes, it’s needed for XP SP3. If you get a copy of XP SP3 (I think you can only get XP now by buying a Vista license and then downgrading), you’ll have to make sure Boot Camp Assistant is 2.1. But a new Mac should already have it.
Actually a new Mac will have the newest version of Bootcamp assistant, but I’m talking about the Bootcamp 2.1 update for Windows…that will not come with the Mac but will probably be available when the user does the Apple Software Update on the Windows side. Just trying to clarify so no one runs into the same problems I did.
Ah, the drivers and in-Windows utility. Makes sense. Presumably, new Macs are shipped with 2.1 on the OS install disc. I don’t know whether you can get XP SP2 from Microsoft anymore.
Wow! Thanks for all the info. I think I will bookmark this thread so when I get down to brass tacks of buying a new laptop I will be able to find the directions on how to do this if I go the Mac route.
I really don’t want to have to buy Vista ::shudder:: As far as windows stuff goes, I like XP way better than Vista. Talk about the lesser of two evils
I went over to microsoft.ca, and when I was looking for availability info for XP, it kept directing my to ‘buy Vista’ pages.
I’ve never used Vista. My PC died just when Vista was coming out; I’d heard horror stories about its DRM, and so I gritted my teeth and waited four months while saving up for a Mac. And I don’t regret it at all. The Mac and Fusion let me run Mac OSX, Windows, Linux, DOS, all sorts of things. It’s the most flexible computer I’ve ever had.
This Mac maxes out at 3 gigabytes of RAM. New ones can take more; laptops up to 4 GB and desktops much more.
