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Forums >> Community >> Newbies >> Revit architecture for Macbook pro?
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Joined: Thu, Dec 16, 2004
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I see vector is showing his true colors again... you can search his other responses and come to your own conclusion about him, but I can save you the trouble and just tell you to ignore his posts.
With that said, every video I've made on RevitTotD.com was made from a macbook pro, with the exception of the last 2 which were done very quickly on my work machine while I was at my office. If you get a Macbook Pro, I would recommend maxing out the RAM. The specs you want to concentrate on the most are the CPU speed, RAM amount and RAM speed, in that order. Revit does not touch the GPU until you start rotating large models, and even then it is heavier on the CPU and RAM than it is on the GPU.
Check the results on this page to see what I'm talking about.
In regards to Bootcamp v parallels v VMWare v VirtualBox:
Bootcamp is officially supported by Autodesk as an option for running Autodesk pproducts on Mac. I prefer bootcamp over Parallels ONLY when it's a very large model and I'm on a production schedule. If I'm tinkering around and surfing the internet and not really on someone else's dime, I stay in parallels. The reason is because Bootcamp is not a VM, it is a true OS running on your computer, so you have better memory and video management while in Bootcamp. Parallels, I have found is much more stable than VMWare, and VirtualBox is free so I use it to test my Beta products since it is stable and I don't need speed while Beta testing.
Also, I too hate booting back and forth between OSX and Bootcamp, but honestly it takes less than 3 minutes to do so and as such I've learned to live with it since the productivity gains in bootcamp are worth it.
Hope this helps!
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Carl - rkitecsure[at]gmail.com
Need help? I'm probably in my chat room!
You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is never get involved in a land war in asia, but only slightly less well known is this! Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! |
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I really don't see a compelling reason to get a mac. Image is something, yes, architects benefit from looking hip. But a high-powered windows 7 laptop will perform better at a fraction of the cost. If you have a mac already, or are accustomed to macs, or have other proprietary programs you need -- then by all means search for a work-around.
But:
In my average day, I have a multitude of programs running. Autocad, Revit, Photoshop, web browsers, Indesign, excel... etc. And itunes, ironically. My desktop is a mess, but it's a productive sort of chaos.
I can't imagine having to operate revit through some sort of 3rd party application that puts a hitch in seamlessly bouncing around my programs.
I am also the IT guy for my firm and have a solid understanding of PC issues--of which there are plenty--with networking/license issues, and other troublesome tweaks that revit and autodesk throw at us. If the windows operating system is... virtual... I see troubleshooting being a special sort of hell.
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Our IT dept here trouble shoots 5 macs in our office through parallels. ActiveDirectory and user permissions still work the same.
I'm not sure why it is that everyone assumes that having a mac is about looking hip. It's awesome that the style Apple uses on their hardware is what is considered cool but that's not why people buy Apple hardware. They buy it becasue it's proven performance and customer support. When I buy Apple hardware,I know that they stand behind their product. This is something that I'm seeing HP and Dell really just recently getting behind, especially on their business customers.
I for one have had a bad experience with Apple my last purchase with them, however they admitted their foul up and I got a brand new laptop out of it after nearly 3 years of use out of my old one. Get HP or Dell to do that. Even with this experience I am looking at a lot more than just "being cool" when I buy apple hardware, and I think you'll find that every artist, movie producer, architect and industrial designer who uses Apple will say the same thing.
I mean, I guess you could say there are people who buy ferrari's just to look cool. Those are the people I could probably beat on a race track with my miata, because they don't know how to use their hardware. On the flipside, there are people that spend money on a ferrari for performance reasons, those ar ethe people who understand why they're spending the extra money.
Just my $.02
Edited on: Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 3:47:31 PM
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Carl - rkitecsure[at]gmail.com
Need help? I'm probably in my chat room!
You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is never get involved in a land war in asia, but only slightly less well known is this! Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! |
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Joined: Sat, Oct 1, 2011
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i bet you do..
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Joined: Sat, Oct 1, 2011
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i have my motherboard laying flat and open on a shelf above my 1440x900 display with all my drives laid out along that self.. overhead fans keep it all cool.. i have full control of all my components.. as for "looking hip"- i guess it looks hip..
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Joined: Sat, Oct 1, 2011
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alterego- it's possible the reason they glorify their hardware is because so many people have told them that they are using an operating system that is older than dirt- even older than DOS- even though it does have a modern looking GUI.. i have an Asus workstation board and i don't think you can get anymore glory than that.. i have an Intel processor and chip set- and you can't get anymore glory there.. i have Crucial memory- that's glory for sure.. and i have WD Raptor drives- famous glory.. and the stuff all looks good to me..
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I just had another look into Bim9. It was still hard for me to imagine how this technology worked. If I'm understand the basics, I think it's hardddrive and program in the clouds. Right? I asked them if several solo architects can somehow band together to used this technology with our own program license. At first they said yes. But when I called them, they had a slightly different answer. I had bad connection so maybe I was not understanding them well.
It seems, like Autocad, techonolgy is being developed for the big corporate offices in mind. Not all of us are big time architects and sometimes run a solo practice. I guess solo practicing architects are becoming outdated because of technology. I dont know how that happens. My initial tought was that it made solo practice even more possible because the drawings are updated and coordinated more quickly.
Thanks Alabaster and rkitect for the specifications on Dell and the Mac book pro. I'm also hoping the Bim9 might work for me somehow ...one day.. or maybe something better will happen. All this is expensive stuff.
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Joined: Sat, Oct 1, 2011
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BlueFairy- don't waste your time with that cloud crap- that's just a diversion from the simple things you need to understand about what revit is and what it can do for you.. revit builds a 3D model- a model helps get the construction design the way it's supposed to be.. owners need to see a model of the building.. no longer will owners construct a building that was not a model first.. you need 2D drafting skills in addition to 3D skills.. it's just a 3D model sliced up to give you a head start on the 2D drafting and plotting.. if you are a 2D drafter and you know how to make money- you might just learn revit drafting and pay someone to create the model.. you need to look at the big piture based on what you want to do..
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you can absolutely use stand alone licensing on a cloud, you can transfer licenses from a laptop to a desktop quite easily. I used a cloud with Revit where I had a manufacturer, contractor, designer and database designer all logged in at the same time, working on the same model, leveraging the same data. It was even over a bonded t1 internet connection that was not very fast at all. I could even remote in from my laptop using verizon 3g data connection and work while traveling. if you do plan on working with other independent designers, engineers or even contractors the could computing is the best way for the entire team to share data. For you the hardest part would be finding a host for your computing could.
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Alabaster, what do you mean by host? You mean the one computer that holds all the programs? Does not the company who provide the cloud provide the place where the programs are installed.... or you do you mean somebody still needs to take care of one computer holding all the programs... okay... sorrry but still hard understanding cloud
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BlueFairy- i don't understand the cloud system either- but the way alabaster is describing it i think it could very well be something important.. i'm not sure about its relevant importance to the question you raised though- but then that is often times what is great about any questions being raised- just digging up stuff so we can all become revit experts.. revit and this whole new revolutionary approach to the business of architecture is so much more complex than anything that has come before- that we have practically the whole AEC community spinning.. i've even suggested this could be a big part of the construction slowdown in the world these days.. it does take time to figure it out- especially since much of it is still being invented.. good time to get in on something this big and this important- i've been very excited about it everyday since i started with it..
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I'm looking into cloud technology because I want computer hardware upgrades to be not my responsiblity so I can focus on architecture not computers. It also has to be affordable like paying for utilities, not that paying for utilities is cheap for the average individual anymore either. Putting out $5000 for Bim9 does not seem reasonable for me at the moment.
What exactly is this cloud technology?
This kind of thing I think may be useful for dinky offices like my own and the average individual if only we could afford it. Not everybody wants to be a computer technician and the problem with many business these days, especially architecural offices is trying to keep up with the hardware.
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Running Revit using Bootcamp/Windows 7 on a 17" Mac Book Pro 2011. I love this forum. I hope I can contribute!!!
Edited on: Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 7:08:49 PM
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I see you still haven't figure out this "context" thing.
Cloud services is kinda like renting an apartment: it's great for the short term low cost option, but eventually the overall cost is going to exceed just having your own house (and this is coming from the guy who had to short sale his house...). No one is going to take a loss on the technology and if they do, it's a limited time offer. I think it's a great idea and could be useful for companies with needs in remote offices or short term contracts with employees, but as a long term solution/alternative to having your own hardware, I do not see the benefits.
Also, please don't mistake Revit for a 3D modeling solution. It is NOT. If you want a 3D modeling solution you need to get yourself something like 3DS, Maya, Blender, 123D or something of the likes. Revit is a BIM solution providing MODELING INFORMATION. You can do an entire project in 2D Detail components and make it a BIM model in Revit, containing more information than an AutoCAD drawing could. That is what Revit is, NOT a 3D modeling package. THe last thing we need is people coming across this thread by mistake and thinking that Revit is provided as a 3D modeling solution.
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Carl - rkitecsure[at]gmail.com
Need help? I'm probably in my chat room!
You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is never get involved in a land war in asia, but only slightly less well known is this! Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! |
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Carl,
I'd rarely disagree with you twice but here i think i have too. Cloud services can be a great long term solution and a cost effective one. It creates cost saving abilities like telecommuting, worksharing, on-site revisions, hardware savings, software savings. For example if I take a single 8 core workstation and set it up for a BIM cloud it can host multiple users. thats several people that won't have computer monitors on, commuting to work, having lights on and so on. These things do have a financial impact and with my experience having my project working on a cloud gets things coordinated much faster which helps with crunchtime at deadlines. I once thought the cloud concepts was a ridiculous idea but after using the technology I am now a huge fan.
Being a long time 3ds Max user I love Revit as a 3d modeling solution... but on that topic that applies to my own specific taste and would never try to convert a Max or Maya guy unless there was some sort of project construction involved
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