AutoCAD – Mac vs PC

[Barbara Peterson]

Are there differences between AutoCAD run on a PC vs a Mac?

My son is taking an architecture program (a 4-year course / program) at his high school. In addition to learning sketching, drafting, etc, they will be learning AutoCAD, Revit, and Sketchup. He asked us (parents) if he could have a new computer and AutoCAD (student version) so that he could practice at home. I work with AutoCAD LT on a PC. He would like a Mac. His school has PC’s.

I have heard that AutoCAD is “slightly different” when run on a Mac vs a PC.  Has anyone who uses a Mac noticed any “differences” or “complications” when they have to switch to using a PC?

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

My understanding is that there are still bugs in using AutoCAD on a Mac. They are getting better than it used to be from what I understand. Mac users usually want to defend Mac to the death, but from talking to people who use both, they dispute the notion that AutoCAD works the same on a Mac.

 I love my iphone and ipod. Many graphic programs run better on Macs. AutoCAD is not one of them. This is why I own a PC.

[Tyson Carroll]

Problem can be solved by running through a virtual machine like vm ware or boot camp. The cost will be comparable with mac being somewhat higher but not bad. As Andrew alluded to this falls into the larger debate of Macs vs. PC’s. Like anything there are pros and cons. Just make sure that whatever you decide to go with that the specs for the hardware and video card match what AutoCad needs to run it. 

But yes AutoCad does run the same on a mac but you have to run it through a virtual machine. It is another step but after set up you don’t really notice. 

[Tyson Carroll]

Cad on  a mac using a vm is the same as a pc. 

[Cindi L. Rowan RLA, ASLA]

I run CAD on a MacBook with Windows via Bootcamp. Love it. The Mac is so fast and stable, and there is no difference at all between Windows/Autocad on Mac and Windows on a PC.

 

[Barbara Peterson]

Thanks to all: very helpful info.

[Sam Karp]

I know this post is a little old Barbara, but you should have your son get a personal subscription to Frame.

All the virtual machines are good but they require you to purchase the Windows OS software, bootcamp makes you give up lots of space partitioning your hard drive, and all these programs lead to slower computer performance and computer life.

Frame allows you to run ANY Windows application in a server, and will actually run faster than a regular Macbook sine you are using Frame’s servers that are much more powerful and faster.  Your son doesn’t even need to get a ton of RAM because Frame give you access to faster RAM.  

I literally had AutoCad running within a few minutes and I save all my files to my cloud storage(dropbox).  Their website is https://fra.me/

Is anyone else trying Frame out yet for personal or professional use?

[Tosh K]

i find there is a performance lag on similar specs for mc on bootcamp and pc; and i also hate having to OS’s vulnerabilities on one computer (assuming you use both iOS and Windows at some point), not to mention cost and upgrading time.

[Sam Karp]

Tosh, have you tried Frame?

[Tosh K]

Having gone through Sandy and a few other major network outages, I can’t recommend an online solution to my employers; the risk is too high for our margins.

[Author]

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