Mac vs Windows

[v75vette]

Hello all,

I'm looking into getting Vectorworks and I have no idea what computer that it'll work best on. Hence the title of this post.

I have a HP Pavilion zv6000. Here are some of the specs. Windows XP pro 2002. AMD Athlon 64 processor, 512MB of Ram.

Would this be able to run Vectorworks well on? What do you recommend?

Thanks

[soundlight]

Wow...with that title, you've just opened up a huge can of worms.

Quick and easy response: it'll work fine with the computer that you have. If you can jump your computer up to 1gig of ram, you'll be much happier with the performance.

[digitaltec]

I'm running Vectorworks on a Mac Book Pro with 2.16 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 1 GB of RAM. I ran VW on a PC for two weeks and switched to a MAC and it made a world of a difference. Honetly, it depends if your planning on doing Renderings and putting in alot of detail into your drawings then make sure you have a powerful computer. If yur going to just throw in a 100 conventionals in 2D then I really dont think it will make that much of a difference. 1 GB of ram is not a bad idea.

[gafftaper]

Your computer (or any recent PC) will be fine if you bump your RAM up to 1 or 2 gigs and add a good video card. Or you can buy a boat anchor... sorry... Mac... which will also run it just fine.

Don't buy a used or low end Mac assuming it will be able to handle Vector Works just because it's a Mac. Likewise, don't buy a cheap new PC assuming it will be able to handle VW just because it's new. The truth is it doesn't matter which brand computer you run it on, it matters what that computer's got under the hood in Ram, CPU efficiency, and Video Rendering power.

[Van]

I second and third everything that's been said so far. Bump the ram to at least a gig, your stock video should be ok since your aren't "technically" running a rendering workstation. What kind of card do you have ? That is one of the biggest questions when dealing with rendering. My current machine has an Athalon d64 at 2.5Ghz, overclocked at 3.2Ghz. I'm running 2 gig of ram and an single Nvidia 6600 SLI.

Oh, and the title of the thread is bound to start a ton of arguments. Gafftaper Is correct however, the reason I-macs have that handle on top is to make a convient place to tie on the rope or chain for use as a boat anchor.

[digitaltec]

Boat Anchor? Really?.....

[icewolf08]

Being a Mac user, and one of those Mac users who thinks everyone should be a Mac user (tho there isn't any other kind of Mac user) this is what I would say. It sounds like your computer should be able to handle VW just fine. I have used VW on both platforms and for most of the lighting applications thus far have not run into any problems. Now, I don't do any 3D work or rendering, so I would have to default to what other people have to say about that.

I run VW 12 on my almost 6 year old PowerBook G4 (800MHz) and it works fine. So if you were going to run out and get a Mac, probably anything they have for sale either new or refurb will do you fine as they are all newer than mine.

In the PC world I have run VW just dandy on the wonderful Smell... hmmm Dell... computers that the University IT department puts on every staff desk. Even with computer bogged down by Novell software and all that fun stuff that universities put on computers VW does well.

What does that all mean? Well I think it comes down to personal preference. If you like Windows (and the frustration that it causes) stick with what you have. That is the cheapest option too. If you want a computer that you may use to do other things like photo, video, audio, and graphics editing get a Mac. it will cost you al little more, but if you wanted to get a PC with equivalent power/flexability you would pay the same. If you go home at the end of the day and close VW in favor of your favorite computer game, you may want to stick with PC.


Here are a few quotes with which to close my post:

"Never ask a person what computer they use. If they're a Mac owner, they'll tell you. If not, why embarrass them?" -Tom Clancy

"Most of the shots that we're talking about, which are the space battle shots at the end of the movie, were actually done on a Macintosh, the kind of thing that almost anybody can do." - George Lucas, on the refurbishment of the Star Wars trilogy

"Being a Mac user is like being a Navy SEAL: a small, elite group of people with access to the most sophisticated technology in the world, who everyone calls on to get the really tough jobs done quickly and efficiently." - unknown

[v75vette]

Yeah, it is a loaded question isn't it.

Here's why I ask. The majority of our fine arts program. Music and theatre all use Macs where the architects use mostly Windows. So I thought I'd bring it up here before I went out and spent the money on Vectorworks.

That and it should create some good posts.

[icewolf08]

Originally Posted by v75vette

Yeah, it is a loaded question isn't it.
Here's why I ask. The majority of our fine arts program. Music and theatre all use Macs where the architects use mostly Windows. So I thought I'd bring it up here before I went out and spent the money on Vectorworks.
That and it should create some good posts.

Well, one of the reasons that in the architecture world you find mostly Windows based platforms is because they are mainly using AutoCAD which is not made for Mac. Beyond that, I know that there are posts/threads on the topic of AutoCAD vs. VectorWorks. In the entertainment lighting world, VectorWorks (with Spotlight) is pretty much the program of choice. In AutoCAD you need a bunch of third party add-ons to get the functionality built into VW. As for the Mac vs. PC in VW land well, as was stated previously, as long as your computer has good RAM, CPU, and graphics it shouldn't make a big difference. So use what you are comfortable with.

You can of course buy a new Mac with an Intel chip and dual boot in both Windows and MacOS X so you can have the best of both worlds. It is up to you.

The last thing is, make sure you contact the educational sales department at Nemetscheck because as a student you can get the entire VW Industry Collection (Spotlight, Architecht, Landmark, etc.) for something like $300

[Van]

I just applied for a grant to get multiple copies of both ACAD and VW. I've not used VW before but most of our lighting designers use VW and the set designers use Acad. I can't wait to get the Spotlight with RenderWorks. It seems to me that Autodesk is going to totally miss out on the Theatre design worlds potentila income. Nemetscheck has done a great job of posistioning themselves with the theatre industry with a ready made set up for theatre.