Mac vs Windows

v75vette

Member
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
Since the question has been answered sufficiently I'll throw some gas on the fire..

I refer you to these two gems posted by Van in the Off Topic- Favorite Youtube Video Thread...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3q8_40GBuI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiAgrrwL_mk

You know what drives me nuts about the Mac corporation is the terror campaign to convince us that PC's are too hard to use and you can't do anything with music or video on them. Those current Mac ad's are so full of heavy exaggeration, distortion, and just plain B.S. For example they make it out to be a bad thing that the P.C. has to go in for an upgrade to be able to use Vista... ignoring the fact that a non-proprietary P.C. is infinitely upgradeable for years to come with cheap high quality parts from hundreds of manufactures. Personally, I save a little money every month and try to upgrade one major component of my P.C. every year, keeping my same P.C. up to date enough to run everything but the highest end games. I guarantee I can take a 10 year old P.C. and i can upgrade it to pass Vista system requirements for less than $500. I would like to see you do that on a Mac.

Hey if you like the Mac, you find them cool, easy, or just want to use them that's great, and if you're working for I.L.M. on the next Lucas project then cool use a Mac. What I don't like is what seems to be Apple company policy of scaring people with lies and distortions to purchase their product.

Thanks... I'm done and I feel better.
 
So...anybody have any favorite places to go and get RAM cards? I got my computer for best buy. So who do you think I should get it from. As well as installed?

Thanks
 
Installing RAM is the easiest thing to do on a computer. It will take you a little over 5 minutes depending on how hard it is to get the case open. If you've never messed around with doing your own computer work, now is the time to start. It will be very simple. Take a look at the mother board manual that came with your computer and you should find a diagram of how to install RAM. The short answer is you flip two little clips back and slide the RAM into the slot until the clips lock.

As far a purchasing RAM you can save a lot of money buying on line. My favorite sources are www.crucial.com and www.newegg.com Crucial is a manufacturer and they have a system scanner on their website that will tell you exactly what you have and recommend memory for you to purchase. The important thing you need to know is the first few words of fine print information located next to model number of the memory they want to sell you with the system scanner (for example DDR PC 3200) Now that you know what you can install take a look at what Newegg has to offer using their power search function Located Here check the boxes that the Crucial system search said you need along with the following Manufacturers: Crucial, Patriot, Muskin, Corsair, and Kingston.

Besides many varieties of speed and pin configuration, memory comes in several grades. You probably don't need to purchase the high end "hyper" or "Extreme" editions of the memory. The standard version will probably be fine, however if the price isn't too high you might consider it. The higher grade of memory has heat sinks, higher quality connectors, etc... it runs the same specs as the lower quality, it just is designed to take a larger beating when it comes to really intense graphics or if you want to overclock your system.

Crucial makes good RAM and they have done you a service helping you figure out what you need to buy so you might want to consider them over other brands if it's only a few bucks more. But those other brands listed all make quality RAM. I'll leave the moral decison up to you. Drop me a message if you need help with the manual figuring out how to actually do the install. But trust me it's VERY easy. Also take a look at Crucial's FAQ page, there's a lot of good information there as well.
 
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Hey, I love Ebay for when it comes to parts and pieces. I can't tell you how many PC's I have built over the years from parts available there. Use the "Buy It Now" don't get sucked into a stupid auction and wind up paying 4 times as much as you would in the store. Saving money by using E-bay will allow you Mac users to better afford to take the thing into a computer repair shop to pay a technician $60.00 an hour to install the ram for you. For You PC users the money you save on buying RAM from E-bay will allow you to purchase a couple more games, that still aren't available on Mac.:mrgreen:

Sorry I had to........ :twisted:
 
For You PC users the money you save on buying RAM from E-bay will allow you to purchase a couple more games, that still aren't available on Mac.:mrgreen:
Sorry I had to........ :twisted:

Hey Van that's not fair you've seen the video... there are 6 great games available on Mac including: Warcraft 3, that puzzle game with the Apple logo, Zork, Breakout, Super Breakout, and Photoshop.\

Ok, I'm done.
 

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