MacBookPro 2015 15inch - graphics for architects

Mar 13, 2018
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Hi there,

I am about to start my architecture master and since my old Dell Inspiron 15 (which I liked a lot for a while) has been getting slower and slower and is just about to die fully I am now looking into MacBook Pros as many of my friends have been on about how much sturdier and faster they are but also about better graphics...
So; my old dell (spring 2014) had an nvidia gt750m and as I know rather little about graphics I have been trying to read up on that. I don't really trust the inbuilt Iris pro that macbooks now come with... should I ? It seems though, if understand correctly, that apple stopped putting iris pro + nvidia in their mac books in 2013. Am I correct..? And now: what about the new radeon ?
So, I am using my laptop a lot, putting it through cad programmes, adobe suite (illustrator, indesign, photoshop mainly, very little video editing but who knows ?), 3d modelling (rhino etc) and all the ususal stuff... A lot of the time, all of this at once.
Anyone have experience with this? Which model would you suggest (also keeping in mind that I am a student so 2015 is probably the latest I will be able to afford) ?

Many thanks in advance :)

PS: Since in many forums this is a question that come up... No, I don't do any gaming ;)
 
Solution
First off, are you okay with the Mac OS? MacBooks work differently than Windows systems in many, many ways. ...or do you plan to dual-boot Windows on it? The newer 15-in Pros with the Radeon Pro graphics are very good so you shouldn't have any issues there.
I know you said money is tight but it looks like you'll be using some CPU/Mem/HD intensive programs. You won't want to scrimp on your purchase (whether it be Apple or Windows). Look for minimum - i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, discrete graphics.
Better to spend a good amount now, treat it like gold, and have it last 3-4+ years than be frustrated with a slow computer right from the start.

alceryes

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2004
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0
18,610
First off, are you okay with the Mac OS? MacBooks work differently than Windows systems in many, many ways. ...or do you plan to dual-boot Windows on it? The newer 15-in Pros with the Radeon Pro graphics are very good so you shouldn't have any issues there.
I know you said money is tight but it looks like you'll be using some CPU/Mem/HD intensive programs. You won't want to scrimp on your purchase (whether it be Apple or Windows). Look for minimum - i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, discrete graphics.
Better to spend a good amount now, treat it like gold, and have it last 3-4+ years than be frustrated with a slow computer right from the start.
 
Solution