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Mac for programming and 3d stuff.

serdarminecraft's Avatar serdarminecraft4/14/15 12:30 pm
4/15/2015 10:58 am
serdarminecraft's Avatar serdarminecraft
Hello. I currently have a laptop that suits %90 of my needs. But i want it to have better battery life and also more portable so i decided to get a macbook air.

I will do 3d modelling and programming on it. Also some rendering. I plan to customize it so it has a better cpu and 8 gigs of ram (Im going to customize the macbook air with 13" screen and 256gb ssd model)

I am going to do this from the apple website.

I was wondering if i should by a macbook pro... It has a retina display and also faster cpu options when customizing (Since im going to do some rendering)

I am planning to get an extra portable 15" monitor with my macbook air since ill do programming too. Is this neccesary? Did anyone try programming with 13" screen?

I dont want it too expensive and i want it portable. I will probably get macbookpro 13" with retina or macbook air 13". But the question is... Which one should i get?

I am planning to get an extra portable 15" monitor with my macbook air since ill do programming too. Is this neccesary? Did anyone try programming with 13" screen?

I have also heard that macbook pro has intel iris graphics 6100 which can be great while rendering.

Should i sacrifice mobility for more cpu power?
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serdarminecraft
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
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04/15/2015 10:58 am
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
serdarminecraft
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Okay, thanks all for replying. I think i will build a laptop in an imac mini case or something around that size. Does anyone know a small pc case?
1
04/15/2015 10:25 am
Level 28 : Expert Nerd
TehDansorz
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Don't.
Don't even think about it.
Apple products are horrible for tasks that aren't bathing in money, going on Facebook and being inferior.
1
04/15/2015 9:33 am
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
serdarminecraft
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I can build a pc. But i want it to have atleast 8 hours of battery life and i want it to be super portable. ( I cant use a desktop on my armchair, right? )I have seen that the macbook air is ultra portable and also has high speca. I just dont know if it can do mdodelling and programming. ( the renders i do will be 1 frame renders. most of the time i will render things without even any textures) I could buy an ultrabook, but most ultrabooks have low specs. I was thinking about an imac mini. since its still super portable and also offers awesome performance. But like i said. its portable but i cant use a mac mini on my armchair. This is why i plan getting a macbook air or pro.
1
04/15/2015 8:12 am
Level 11 : Journeyman Explorer
53MP3RF1
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Regardless of battery life, any laptop will last maybe 3 hours at best when under load for a long time. If you really do intend to be working with renders, you also run the risk of damaging the parts inside the laptop - usually, OEM companies like to put in JUST enough cooling to allow for the parts to run at stock speeds at idle at a reasonable temperature. At load, however, the cooling systems often stop short at providing adequate cooling for the system. If I were you, I wouldn't go with buying a laptop because of this. Battery life is just so low, especially while under load, that your laptop would be tethered to a charging cable. If you were to get a desktop, you need to realize that desktops can be just as small as a console. I've put together a quick build here which is actually quite small and will still deliver amazing performance. It's got a nice 8-thread Xeon CPU in there, some fast RAM which you can downclock to 1600MHz and who knows how low CAS and know that you're barely pushing it, a GTX 970, which is still a pretty good card even though it only has 3.5GB of full-speed VRAM, and it all fits into a case small enough to fit into a backpack yet can still deliver great cooling performance with the included 200mm fan. All of this still comes in at just over $1200, which is still $100 under the budget of the Macbook Air / Pro you were considering, and it will destroy it in every way foreseeable.
1
04/15/2015 6:18 am
Level 77 : Legendary Robot
PrototypeTheta
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Not going to lie, you're wasting your money here.

While a Mac can possibly handle the programming/3d modelling you want it to, it's not the best for it. In fact I'd actively avoid getting a Mac if you are serious about doing these, it's possible but very awkward.

If you really want to go pre-built, I'd reccomend an ASUS N56V. As powerful as the mac, windows OS, better GPU (Nvidea GT650M came standard with mine), 8GB ram. And I've been using it for all the things you've described, works like a goddamn dream.

Not to mention it's less than half the price of the Macbook, but hey, if you've got more money than sense/ aren't paying yourself, go for the Apple, it'll probably still work... probably.
1
04/15/2015 6:04 am
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
serdarminecraft
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thanks everyone for your answers. I want apple laptops because of their long battery life. And i think ill get an macbook pro 13" retina display.
1
04/14/2015 6:30 pm
Level 17 : Journeyman Crafter
elfin8er
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To answer your question, I'd personally go with the Macbook Pro. That's what I have, and it's still ultra portable. It's light enough to carry in one hand, and really thin. I have novels that are heavier and thicker than this thing. I really like my Mac, but to be honest, you'd probably be better off with a Windows laptop.
1
04/14/2015 3:38 pm
Level 24 : Expert Architect
illdeletethis
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serdarminecraftThanks for your reply. (I dont get what you mean by "most cad programmes are windows exclusives" and "when you have to pay extra for the logo on the hardware and get windows anyways")

many cad programmes only get developed for windows, with no versions for other operating systems
my favourite Microstation is an example of this, it is windows only

i mean the apple computers cost more than other computers with comparable hardware, so you are paying more for a computer with the apple logo on it
1
04/14/2015 2:25 pm
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
serdarminecraft
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Bump... I just want to get a proper answer for my question.
1
04/14/2015 2:05 pm
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
serdarminecraft
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Also, My main question is macbook air (customized) or a macbook pro?
(is it worth sacrificing mobility for performance?)
1
04/14/2015 2:02 pm
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
serdarminecraft
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@OP what I don't get, is that you already have a laptop. Can't you use that for travel, and then get a more powerful desktop for at home?

I also see that you mentioned programming as well. What are you going to be programming? Are you going to be using something such as Unity? I haven't tried Unity on here yet, but I did try Unreal Engine 4. It wasn't great. Usable maybe, but hard to use. Also bare in mind the screen size of the 13 inch Mac. It makes it hard to see everything sometimes.


I do have a laptop. It has a battery life of 2 hours. (My battery is curretnly broken. Today will buy a new one. Still 2 hours life)
I want something super mobile. My current laptop is big. I want something like ipad but with a keyboard and better performance.

I was thinking of a desktop but well, I dont really like desktops. I dont know why. I just dont like them.

I will use eclipse and netbeans to do java code and visual studio for c#. I tryed unreal engine 4 but i decided i wont use it. And unity, I wont do much unity stuff but if i do i will do it in my other laptop (The one currently i am using). I will probably use unity in my mac just to test if my 3d assets work. If i get an air, i will also get a portable 15 or 17" screen. (Probably 15" since i am currently using it and having no problems.
The portable screen will probably be wireless and will use it on desk.

Oh and i wont do gaming on macbook air. I will do it on my laptop (Which can run almost all games at full graphic settings with a smooth fps)
1
04/14/2015 1:30 pm
Level 17 : Journeyman Crafter
elfin8er
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I've gone ahead and done some simple renders with Maya on my Macbook Pro. Seems pretty solid. Again, I've just been doing simple shapes and models, but I was able to render at 4k in a few seconds.

Also, to the fellow above me, most 3D modeling software I've found, works on Mac (Blender, Maya, 3ds max, Google Sketchup, Cinema 4D, etc).

@OP what I don't get, is that you already have a laptop. Can't you use that for travel, and then get a more powerful desktop for at home?

I also see that you mentioned programming as well. What are you going to be programming? Are you going to be using something such as Unity? I haven't tried Unity on here yet, but I did try Unreal Engine 4. It wasn't great. Usable maybe, but hard to use. Also bare in mind the screen size of the 13 inch Mac. It makes it hard to see everything sometimes.
1
04/14/2015 1:10 pm
Level 24 : Expert Architect
illdeletethis
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most cad programmes are windows exclusives, so in no way can you be better off using a mac for 3d modeling, when you have to pay extra for the logo on the hardware and get windows anyways
a case can be made for going with linux so you are in full control over your computer, and use wine for cad compatibility, but mac is not a reasonable option

i"d recommend you going with a robust laptop such as a lenovo thinkpad and equip that with the ssd, processor and ram you are loking for
i have one and it performs well even in hot and dusty conditions that would have killed many other laptops
1
04/14/2015 2:07 pm
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
serdarminecraft
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Thanks for your reply. (I dont get what you mean by "most cad programmers are windows exclusives" and "when you have to pay extra for the logo on the hardware and get windows anyways")
1
04/14/2015 12:50 pm
Level 18 : Journeyman Warrior
serdarminecraft
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I will do BASIC rendering (I mean rendering my models to see how they will look. It will be 1 frame renders. Ill do that when traveling). If i ever need to make an actual animation short film and etc, Ill use my other laptop with high specs.
1
04/14/2015 12:43 pm
Level 17 : Journeyman Crafter
elfin8er
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I'm on a Macbook pro right now, installing Maya. I kind of have my doubts about it working well, but I'll report back to you.
1
04/14/2015 12:36 pm
Level 21 : Expert Engineer
NetworkPCE
NetworkPCE's Avatar
Don't get a Mac for rendering, get a custom Windows PC with basically everything 2x more power/price. Rendering with laptops usually is a pretty shit idea too.
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