[NuriaG]

I think I'll buy one of the macbook pro's editions, and I was wondering if the screen size matters, as I heard that for designing 15inch computers are better than 13inch, but is the 13" more comfortable to carry?

I really trust macs as I've tested both windows and mac and mac is my favourite by far, just wondering if it would be better to buy a 13inch or a 15inch one?

[jrhartley]

Unless you plan to buy a screen to use with it, a 13 inch one is pretty much pointless. You'll need glasses by the end of your first year you'll be squinting so much. Seriously, you are really better off going for a cheaper computer with a larger screen or a desktop - unless you are loaded and have money to burn.

[NuriaG]

I'm buying them second-hand actually, so the difference is like $75 or so.

[jrhartley]

(Original post by NuriaG)
I'm buying them second-hand actually, so the difference is like $75 or so.

surely if you bought a pc or tower second hand that would mean that the price difference was re-established?

i'd be wary about buying a mbp that is more than 2 years old btw, as there have been some big problems with graphics cards which you won't get fixed if you're not the original owner. check the model you're buying wasn't affected with the nvidia cards in question.

[pbsjohnz]

15 inch comes with a much better graphics card. I'm doing civil Eng and bought the 15, I dont know much bout Architecture but I think you will also use CAD like us, so better get the 15

[squiddly]

Agree with jr, I have a 13 inch but have since bought a 23 inch screen to work from and plan to build a pc over the summer. I wouldn't rely solely on a laptop and now I have 2 screens I would struggle to work with any less. I would get a cheaper laptop for convenience and build a pc and buy a big screen for the price you will pay for a 15 mbp and I'm pro apple before the arguments start!

[jrhartley]

(Original post by squiddly)
I'm pro apple before the arguments start!

Same here: I'm not anti-apple - i have a mbp and an 27 inch imac, but equally i recognise that they are luxuries and i could buy / build a pc of far better spec for a lot less money.

Apple is also gradually retreating from computers to the tablet / phone market (spoken to numerous apple resellers about this and its known industry-wide - stopped support for xserves etc). Apple knows the money is in the consumer market, not the business computer market, so that's where they are focusing their efforts. Plus for 3ds and microstation you will be running bootcamp (too memory intense to run in parallels / fusion) so you need to think if you want to learn those bits of software as well.

[CurlyBen]

You'd be best off finding out if there's any software you will need to run for your course and whether that will run on a Mac (or run acceptably using a PC emulator).

[sharp910sh]

get a pc...

[squiddly]

(Original post by jrhartley)
Same here: I'm not anti-apple - i have a mbp and an 27 inch imac, but equally i recognise that they are luxuries and i could buy / build a pc of far better spec for a lot less money.

Apple is also gradually retreating from computers to the tablet / phone market (spoken to numerous apple resellers about this and its known industry-wide - stopped support for xserves etc). Apple knows the money is in the consumer market, not the business computer market, so that's where they are focusing their efforts. Plus for 3ds and microstation you will be running bootcamp (too memory intense to run in parallels / fusion) so you need to think if you want to learn those bits of software as well.

This is exactly why I'm building a pc over the summer. I hate running bootcamp so have stuck to maya and autocad for mac so far but it's quite restrictive. I agree that my mac is lovely but yes it is a luxury. OP I would honestly suggest you build a tower, you will end up having to sort something else in 2nd / 3rd year otherwise imo

[pbsjohnz]

(Original post by squiddly)
This is exactly why I'm building a pc over the summer. I hate running bootcamp so have stuck to maya and autocad for mac so far but it's quite restrictive. I agree that my mac is lovely but yes it is a luxury. OP I would honestly suggest you build a tower, you will end up having to sort something else in 2nd / 3rd year otherwise imo

Can you get autocad for mac? I was thinking of getting windows for mac, since I already bought my mac ike 4 weeks ago.

[Architecture-er]

(Original post by sharp910sh)
get a pc...

QFT - cheaper, more ergonomic, more reliable, will actually interface with the university computer programs..


For the record, I've been using a Toshiba Satellite laptop, and it's perfectly fine. Don't get a tower, since you'll want to be working in studios otherwise you'll become somewhat of a hermit. Plus you design better when you can bounce ideas off other people, you really need a laptop. Just don't burn excess money buying a mac, it's a design accessory, not a computer

[pbsjohnz]

Alienware laptops can run anything, but it is extremely heavy.

[Herr]

(Original post by pbsjohnz)
Can you get autocad for mac? I was thinking of getting windows for mac, since I already bought my mac ike 4 weeks ago.

Yes you can and education versions are FOC

http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=mac4students

[Herr]

(Original post by NuriaG)
I think I'll buy one of the macbook pro's editions, and I was wondering if the screen size matters, as I heard that for designing 15inch computers are better than 13inch, but is the 13" more comfortable to carry?

I really trust macs as I've tested both windows and mac and mac is my favourite by far, just wondering if it would be better to buy a 13inch or a 15inch one?

I view a lot of things on autocad all the time, sometimes I do amendments to it as well.... I would suggest that you get the biggest possible screen you could afford as otherwise you will be squinting like crazy.

As they say the devil is in the details.

[sharp910sh]

(Original post by Architecture-er)
QFT - cheaper, more ergonomic, more reliable, will actually interface with the university computer programs..


For the record, I've been using a Toshiba Satellite laptop, and it's perfectly fine. Don't get a tower, since you'll want to be working in studios otherwise you'll become somewhat of a hermit. Plus you design better when you can bounce ideas off other people, you really need a laptop. Just don't burn excess money buying a mac, it's a design accessory, not a computer

I have a desktop and im an structural engineer. I couldnt live with a slow laptop which you will have to upgrade every year...

[Architecture-er]

(Original post by sharp910sh)
I have a desktop and im an structural engineer. I couldnt live with a slow laptop which you will have to upgrade every year...

Every year??


I've been using the same laptop for 5 years and it's still performing perfectly adequately. Plus you're a structural engineer... you don't require the mobility of an architecture student, who needs to be moving from home to studio on a daily basis...

[squiddly]

(Original post by Architecture-er)
Every year??


I've been using the same laptop for 5 years and it's still performing perfectly adequately. Plus you're a structural engineer... you don't require the mobility of an architecture student, who needs to be moving from home to studio on a daily basis...

This depends entirely on your school. We don't have much of a studio culture so a lot of time is spent at home working with only a couple of design tutorials a week. For intensive 3D modelling and rendering a desktop would make your life a lot easier, and a cheap laptop for portability

[Stewie2011]

Yeah a big mistake to buy a mac I would have thought, been posts on this before but worth restating, a mac is 3 times the price and you still only get a basic pc laptop spec wise.

In the first year just used a pc laptop that was a few years old, it just about did the trick only falling down on rendering time. So if I had bought a new laptop with a fair bit of RAM then rendering time would have been improved giving me back more valuable time. As sqiddly says you can be mostly working at home if your course is not a full 5 day a week. Ours was 3 days a week (and not always full at that) but I prefer going off and getting on with it myself. Plus the computer labs were a complete nightmare to do any work in always someone talking loudly, irritating mobile phone calls/conversations. So after a short while I just decided to buy the adobe stuff and do it back in my flat, much nicer, more comfortable, more quieter, you can relax

So a 15 inch is good for taking into uni occasionally and easy if your living away from home for moving in/out purposes. Larger screens are better but then you start to lose portability. So desktop is good but you would most likely need a laptop to take into uni when you meet up with your design tutor. He/She will probably find it difficult getting a good enough view of what you have done on a small screen so 13 inch might start to make it a little awkward but lighter to carry though. I guess 13 inch would be handy say if you were on the train for a while and wanted to do some work or just look up research stuff on the internet, but I think you tend to lose spec the smaller they get so it would depend which programs would still run on it. Best of waiting to near of start of course as spec moves on and is all important for architecture. So maybe a 15 inch pc laptop or a large screen desktop depending on how much you will be in design studio possibly a cheap netbook for when you are out and about. Important to be able to access some sort of large screen somewhere for your work though at some point as you will be amazed what shows up that you will only otherwise notice when you come to print out.