A Mac will be just fine.

Dual booting isn't as big a nuance as everyone here is making it to be. All of your engineering programs will run just as fine as it would on any other laptop if not better.

Macs at the end of the day are worth it if you learn how to use the system properly.

I personally wouldn't go the Laptop/Desktop route because then you end up with information split on two different computers, I depend heavily on my computer you don't want to have to worry about transferring your files at 4 am in the morning to your laptop.

As for processing power, I have a 2Year old Macbook and it has very easily been able to handle Catia and Inventor on an external monitor.

MAKE SURE YOU WAIT TILL THE SUMMER. There is suppose to be a hardware upgrade to the Macbook pro line soon also I believe you get a 100$ mac app store gift card in the summer with every laptop on top of the 100$ off you usually get.

If you enjoy wasting your money, I'd say go for it. Very little difference between the two choices if you're fairly intelligent when it comes to computers.

Originally Posted by RyanC

If you enjoy wasting your money, I'd say go for it. Very little difference between the two choices if you're fairly intelligent when it comes to computers.

Dont start a Mac vs PC war, let him decide. There are huge differences between the 2, it's just different people prefer different things. The extra money might not seem logical to you and that is fine but to someone else it might be worth it or a deal for the price.

One mans trash is another mans treasure.

EDIT: if you really feel the need to start a war, don't pollute this thread, send me a PM and I'll gladly educate you as to why my MacBook has been worth it for me.

Just get a windows. It work with everything u need for engieering. Plus it's easy to get cracked software.

Welcome to mac.

Originally Posted by Crzyrio

Dont start a Mac vs PC war, let him decide. There are huge differences between the 2, it's just different people prefer different things. The extra money might not seem logical to you and that is fine but to someone else it might be worth it or a deal for the price.

One mans trash is another mans treasure.

EDIT: if you really feel the need to start a war, don't pollute this thread, send me a PM and I'll gladly educate you as to why my MacBook has been worth it for me.

If you actually bothered to read the intent behind my post you'd have found that I don't really hold postive nor negative feelings towards Macintosh computers, but of course you had to act like an assumptive hoity toity appletard.

Its entirely possible to make it through eng I without even owning a computer, purchase the software you need, or have your computer compatible with said software, its just a tad annoying having to rely on school computers when you're in a crunch. I've done it a few times and I always break down and buy/pirate what I need.

Originally Posted by RyanC

If you actually bothered to read the intent behind my post you'd have found that I don't really hold postive nor negative feelings towards Macintosh computers, but of course you had to act like an assumptive hoity toity appletard.

Its entirely possible to make it through eng I without even owning a computer, purchase the software you need, or have your computer compatible with said software, its just a tad annoying having to rely on school computers when you're in a crunch. I've done it a few times and I always break down and buy/pirate what I need.

You quiet clearly stated Mac's are a waste of money lol.


Yeah you don't want to rely on school computers for your software. All of the software require I have pirated so I can do my work at home, as I am not a library person.

I am a MBP user and I also have a windows 7 desktop. TBH if you are thinking of getting into electrical engineering program be aware that Mac OS doesn't run all the programs you need. I chose MBP for long battery life, and weight . if I were you, I would go with a new Asus or any other good windows laptop unless you can afford buying windows OS and install it on your new MBP.

You can definitely get by with a Mac. Pretty sure AutoDesk (what they use in 1C03) even runs on Macs. That said, you will NEED Boot Camp or something else to run Windows and unless you steal the OS, you can add a copy of Windows onto whatever the cost of whatever you pay for your Mac.

If you use Boot Camp, you'll be partitioning your hard drive (splitting it up for Mac OS and Windows OS). While, you don't need the biggest HD for this, don't skimp on the Windows partition. Trust me the space runs out quickly if you make it small (anything less than 40 GB). Especially since you'll likely be installing stuff like Visual Studio and Matlab.

Also bear in mind that the MBP/MBA will get a refresh over the summer, you might want to wait before you buy since if worst comes to worst and you don't like the new models, buying an old one won't be that hard (check out refurbished Macs on Apple's site to save some $).

Pretty much, what I am trying to say is that if you really want to use a Mac for Eng, nothing is stopping you. It would be easier to use a PC, but you can certainly get by with a Mac. As someone who has used a Mac since before they were cool (iPod, iPhone, iPad), compatibility has always been a bit of an issue but is nowhere near as bad as it once was and in fact gets better every year since the Mac market is growing.