Posted: 8/25/2015 10:37:01 AM EDT
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I need to upgrade my laptop. Really need a desktop workstation. Autocad mostly, some sketchup, spreadsheets, documents, viewing large pdf files. Some structural analysis software (older 3-d FEM modeling package - that has to run in windows o/s, it seems to run fine in a VM)
I do like the OS/X operating system and the build quality so I'd prefer to stay in apples court. Had windows boxes for years, I'd like to avoid them. I've been waiting for the skylake imacs to appear - and they might in the next couple months. By the time you max out an imac though you're getting close to the lower end of the scale for the mac pro's. I like the idea of the pro - spend money on horsepower, and then find the monitor(s) you want when you can. I have a 32" WQHD monitor and would like a second monitor at some point. For about the same price as a pretty well maxed i7 imac - looking at i7, 512 gb ssd, 295x gpu, 32 gb ram - you can get a refurb late 2013 6-core mac pro with similar ssd and mem. But it comes with 2 D500 GPU's with 3GB per GPU. The difference is no 27"5k monitor - but you do get horsepower and the ability to run mem up to insane amounts if needed. |
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How to put this nicely.
Apple Went "Windows" hardware a while back (ditched the RISC chip), and in regards to X operating system, Apple only writes drivers for the system devices for X they sell on their machines. So if you are going to go "Mac" Device, then you are being gouged for a pre-built system that apple sells. Here, since the mac is just really a windows hardware system under the hood, you can boot the system up either in windows or mac. The system will come with the X software, and they you will use boot camp to install Win on another partition of the drive. If you want both running side by side, then you can boot up into windows, and VM into Mac (or visa version, since you will have all the needed drives since your running X on a apple built system. If you go "Windows" machine, you can still boot it up in mac, but the trick is finding drivers for the system devices that Apple may not have written drivers for instead. Here, most of just just boot up in Win, then VM into the X, which allows VM to use the windows drivers that Apple may not have written drivers for instead. As for X, hate to say it, but just feels like it was build for a 6 year old to use instead (put it right up there as window tiles systems). Yes, I still use X when needed, but will state that is not my primary operation system to use instead (why I just VM into it when needed instead).. |
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Maybe, but my i5 macbook pro mid 2010 runs circles around the wifes i7 toshiba thats about 6 months old. I'm sure when you get into xeon based work stations then things probably level out to a degree.
Never a virus, never a malware issue. The o/s generally works - especially if the thing is a tool to do a job, and not a job in and of itself. If you want to delete a program - delete the thing - no running around digging through registries trying to kill all the leftover garbage that serves no purpose. Time machine backup is so simple to use, even I use it. So my system is backed up continuously. If the laptop takes a dump I should be relatively safe. The build quality is unmatched by the plastic crap out there. Downside of course is they are not easy for the diy guy to work on. the new 6,1 mac pro is pretty much a what you see is what you get. You can add memory and swap out the SSD. Not much else you can do with it. On my laptop I've managed to swap the hdd for an ssd, and add memory, but thats about as far as I want to go - but after 5 or more years the thing doesn't need anything. I just want a bit more horsepower for my job. I do the reverse - when I absolutely positively must run windows I do it through a VM. Drives Valerio nuts when I tell him I'm running skeet manger on a VM. |
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How does it specifically "runs circles around" your wife's laptop?
"Build quality" seems like an oddly high priority for something that is just going to sit there. If you like OSX, that's great. Use it. Windows, Mac, Linux are all good operating system, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you one is far superior in everyway. I find it rather strange to buy a Mac to run Windows programs in a VM because Apple hardware is "better". As mentioned, it's the same silicon. |
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Learned Claris Cad on a Mac, when we were still using templates over the F keys on Dos machines , so it not a bad, Simple OS system.
Yes, will agree that that windows has become too bloated trying to do too much, and all of this slows the OS down on the same hardware that a mac runs on as well. But try to design in Autocad, then AutoCAD DXF to G code converter, followed by Mach 3 with that G code to run the a bench CNC; all on the Mac OSX, and your dead in the water instead. |
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Quoted:
Learned Claris Cad on a Mac, when we were still using templates over the F keys on Dos machines , so it not a bad, Simple OS system. Yes, will agree that that windows has become too bloated trying to do too much, and all of this slows the OS down on the same hardware that a mac runs on as well. But try to design in Autocad, then AutoCAD DXF to G code converter, followed by Mach 3 with that G code to run the a bench CNC; all on the Mac OSX, and your dead in the water instead. 
Never go full retard. Windows has gotten progressively less resource intensive from 7 to 8 to 10. |
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Quoted:
How to put this nicely. Apple Went "Windows" hardware a while back (ditched the RISC chip), and in regards to X operating system, Apple only writes drivers for the system devices for X they sell on their machines. So if you are going to go "Mac" Device, then you are being gouged for a pre-built system that apple sells. Here, since the mac is just really a windows hardware system under the hood, you can boot the system up either in windows or mac. The system will come with the X software, and they you will use boot camp to install Win on another partition of the drive. If you want both running side by side, then you can boot up into windows, and VM into Mac (or visa version, since you will have all the needed drives since your running X on a apple built system. If you go "Windows" machine, you can still boot it up in mac, but the trick is finding drivers for the system devices that Apple may not have written drivers for instead. Here, most of just just boot up in Win, then VM into the X, which allows VM to use the windows drivers that Apple may not have written drivers for instead. As for X, hate to say it, but just feels like it was build for a 6 year old to use instead (put it right up there as window tiles systems). Yes, I still use X when needed, but will state that is not my primary operation system to use instead (why I just VM into it when needed instead).. wat |