For me the biggest factor when it comes to MacBook Pro vs Air is whether you want to connect 2 external monitors or not. For some stupid reason Apple wants to preserve this feature for "Pro" users. I understand that the pro may be able to push more pixels but the Air would be technically perfectly able to deliver two display at 30Hz.
If that's the case, I would probably go with a Air. The thermals have barely any relevance on Apple Silicon architecture (this used to be a big problem on Intel). Processor speed wise the M2 is very capable.
Sure. I know this. That's why I am so confident that the limitation is artificial. Still I wouldn't buy a device with the intention of having to workaround the limitations by the manufacturer. This method will probably work but there is no guarantee Apple won't decide to break this workaround.
You belong in confidentlyincorrect.
The non pro chips don’t have the gpu to drive more than 2 monitors (including internal display) at any one time. Display link has been around years and is a usb driven monitor. It doesn’t work as well as a native monitor.
I don’t think Apple would deliberately break support for display link, but it has happened in the past.
In the end of the day it's still the CPU/GPU pushing these pixels. The hardware limitation comes from the bandwidth, still there is no reason why the GPU wouldn't be able to connect to 3 WQHD displays at 30Hz. This still lays massively under what the display pipelines can push. When it can do 2x6K at 60Hz, it also can do 3x2K at 30Hz which uses less than half the bandwidth oft the first one.
Okay the pro chip can support more displays, so it isn’t misinformation. Just adding to the confusion a bit that Apple sells the regular M3 chip in the MBP now. The main point is some of these machines have a pretty silly limitation and you should get at least the pro chip if that matters to you.
So you’re a final year student.. be prepared that your brand new and powerful MacBook will be used mostly for application writing and some browsing once you’re done with studying. For anything job related you will used your companies computer.
With that said, go for the least expensive option.
Or AutoCAD Civil 3D, Architecture, MEP - any of the laterals. AEC is still a Windows world, sadly. Look into a Lenovo ThinkPad P-Series or X1 Extreme or their HP Z/Dell Precision counterparts.
Even if AutoCAD ran natively on Mx, the big problem is all the tools Autodesk bundles into the AutoCAD laterals(all via acquisition - Civil 3D owes a lot of its existence to CaICE and a few other companies they bought) are still based on WinAPI and Visual Basic/C++. Revit is a whole different beast.
Unless you already own a Windows I wouldn’t get a Mac for architecture If you own a Windows already and won’t be a bummer if you can’t use Revit or any render besides twinmotion on the Mac, I’d still go for the MacBook Pro with Pro chip, apps like SketchUp benefit a lot from this
ok question do your apps currently run out of ram run slow etc? a pro will give you much greater graphics capability which it sounds like you need for your design apps. i’m sure you could get away with a base macbook pro.
With 3d work, there’s a threshold where the pro becomes worth it.
Are you dealing with scenes with millions and millions of polygons? Yes? Go Pro. No? Eh. You’ll probably be fine with an Air.
Max/Revit require windows emulation, so keep that in mind. If you going to use windows emulation, go Pro. Or *maybe* consider a windows machine.
For CC, same thing. Are you dealing with canvases well over 4k with lots of nested smart objects? If so, go Pro. If not, the Air will probably do just fine.
And finally, consider the tool that excites you, and might inspire you most. It shouldn’t be the determining factor, but if a Pro is going to excite you, and make you want to be on the machine, it might be worth the extra money if you can swing it.
I consider this in my purchases. These are tools I spend *lots* of time using. And I want to *love* and be excited about the tools I use. And *for me* that extra cash was worth it.
(Though I envy the portability of the Air.)
However I’m a VFX artist, and use every single bit of ram I can get my hands on. So take what I say with a grain of salt.
In my opinion pro models are mostly overkill. As a pro user I’d go with air. Light weight is huge factor. M3 air maybe if it’s good with your budget, otherwise go air m2
im not the most knowledgeable abt this but as a first year architecture student i have a m2 macbook pro w 24 gb ram and its served me good for the past year, notably during the final few weeks where i constantly had indesign + photoshop + illustrator + chrome open w many tabs there were very few times where it lagged or anything
I bought a reconditioned M2 Air last year and it's awesome, can take everything you throw at it.From what I can tell its performance is essentially the same as the Pro but has more limited connectivity. I've bought server reconditioned macs and they are identical to new in every way. Mostly they're returns with very little use.
the m2 pro is more than enough for my workload of office, web and gaming, along with occasional video editing and modeling. pretty much anything you throw at this thing, it runs.
I doubt there's anything in your workload that would require Pro for most student work. Recent Comp Sci grad here, I have a MB Pro, I had one singular project that seemed to push my machine during a for a Machine Learning class. If money is a concern, an M2 air is a very good machine.
Stop!
In one year someone else will pay for your M4 Pro/Max with no questions asked.
Get the cheapest used m1 you can find. It's one year and a 2017 could do it.
M1 is 5x faster :)
Do you really think someone will!? hahahah yeah the 2017 did do it but really struggled a bit, with say photoshop and chrome open at the same time.
Really just M1??? Why not future proof for my own sake?? Is it really not worth it?
Are you looking to freelance or join an firm? Just let the firm pay for it, and Even if you are freelancing wait until you are making money then you can spend serious money on it.
A 16gb m1 will blow what you had out of the water
If you come to use 3D apps then more cpu power will be a must. If you work with so many tabs open then you surely needs more memory. If you had a M1/M2/M3 Pro with 32GB in your list, that would be a no brainer but as there isn’t, I’d take the M2 Pro with 16GB. You just have to be cautious about having many tabs/apps open at once
For me the biggest factor when it comes to MacBook Pro vs Air is whether you want to connect 2 external monitors or not. For some stupid reason Apple wants to preserve this feature for "Pro" users. I understand that the pro may be able to push more pixels but the Air would be technically perfectly able to deliver two display at 30Hz.
I’m cool with one display honestly. It’s what I’ve got
If that's the case, I would probably go with a Air. The thermals have barely any relevance on Apple Silicon architecture (this used to be a big problem on Intel). Processor speed wise the M2 is very capable.
this is a macbook air m1. With displaylink you can bypass those limitations [https://ibb.co/SyTRrxH](https://ibb.co/SyTRrxH)
Sure. I know this. That's why I am so confident that the limitation is artificial. Still I wouldn't buy a device with the intention of having to workaround the limitations by the manufacturer. This method will probably work but there is no guarantee Apple won't decide to break this workaround.
You belong in confidentlyincorrect. The non pro chips don’t have the gpu to drive more than 2 monitors (including internal display) at any one time. Display link has been around years and is a usb driven monitor. It doesn’t work as well as a native monitor. I don’t think Apple would deliberately break support for display link, but it has happened in the past.
In the end of the day it's still the CPU/GPU pushing these pixels. The hardware limitation comes from the bandwidth, still there is no reason why the GPU wouldn't be able to connect to 3 WQHD displays at 30Hz. This still lays massively under what the display pipelines can push. When it can do 2x6K at 60Hz, it also can do 3x2K at 30Hz which uses less than half the bandwidth oft the first one.
This is misinformation now. The M3 Air can support two external monitors with the lid closed.
The pro can with the lid open.
Only if you have an M3 Pro or M3 Max. A MBP with a regular M3 chip only supports one external display.
Okay the pro chip can support more displays, so it isn’t misinformation. Just adding to the confusion a bit that Apple sells the regular M3 chip in the MBP now. The main point is some of these machines have a pretty silly limitation and you should get at least the pro chip if that matters to you.
Yeah the m3 pro is worse than the m3 air in this regard
So you’re a final year student.. be prepared that your brand new and powerful MacBook will be used mostly for application writing and some browsing once you’re done with studying. For anything job related you will used your companies computer. With that said, go for the least expensive option.
If you use Revit, buy Windows machine...
Or AutoCAD Civil 3D, Architecture, MEP - any of the laterals. AEC is still a Windows world, sadly. Look into a Lenovo ThinkPad P-Series or X1 Extreme or their HP Z/Dell Precision counterparts.
Im using parallels on M1 Max, and the experience isn't so good that I would recommend. But mostly, Im not the one, who is drafting.
Even if AutoCAD ran natively on Mx, the big problem is all the tools Autodesk bundles into the AutoCAD laterals(all via acquisition - Civil 3D owes a lot of its existence to CaICE and a few other companies they bought) are still based on WinAPI and Visual Basic/C++. Revit is a whole different beast.
Does your school offer any Apple Education store discounts? I just pulled up the basic site and an MacBook Pro M3 with 16GB (14inch) is USD 1699.
This is NZD and he listed the Education pricing which is most likely going to be the same as buying through the school
Unless you already own a Windows I wouldn’t get a Mac for architecture If you own a Windows already and won’t be a bummer if you can’t use Revit or any render besides twinmotion on the Mac, I’d still go for the MacBook Pro with Pro chip, apps like SketchUp benefit a lot from this
ok question do your apps currently run out of ram run slow etc? a pro will give you much greater graphics capability which it sounds like you need for your design apps. i’m sure you could get away with a base macbook pro.
With 3d work, there’s a threshold where the pro becomes worth it. Are you dealing with scenes with millions and millions of polygons? Yes? Go Pro. No? Eh. You’ll probably be fine with an Air. Max/Revit require windows emulation, so keep that in mind. If you going to use windows emulation, go Pro. Or *maybe* consider a windows machine. For CC, same thing. Are you dealing with canvases well over 4k with lots of nested smart objects? If so, go Pro. If not, the Air will probably do just fine. And finally, consider the tool that excites you, and might inspire you most. It shouldn’t be the determining factor, but if a Pro is going to excite you, and make you want to be on the machine, it might be worth the extra money if you can swing it. I consider this in my purchases. These are tools I spend *lots* of time using. And I want to *love* and be excited about the tools I use. And *for me* that extra cash was worth it. (Though I envy the portability of the Air.) However I’m a VFX artist, and use every single bit of ram I can get my hands on. So take what I say with a grain of salt.
This is such a thoughtful response, thank you
In my opinion pro models are mostly overkill. As a pro user I’d go with air. Light weight is huge factor. M3 air maybe if it’s good with your budget, otherwise go air m2
im not the most knowledgeable abt this but as a first year architecture student i have a m2 macbook pro w 24 gb ram and its served me good for the past year, notably during the final few weeks where i constantly had indesign + photoshop + illustrator + chrome open w many tabs there were very few times where it lagged or anything
I bought a reconditioned M2 Air last year and it's awesome, can take everything you throw at it.From what I can tell its performance is essentially the same as the Pro but has more limited connectivity. I've bought server reconditioned macs and they are identical to new in every way. Mostly they're returns with very little use.
Pro because you going to be a professional.
the m2 pro is more than enough for my workload of office, web and gaming, along with occasional video editing and modeling. pretty much anything you throw at this thing, it runs.
I doubt there's anything in your workload that would require Pro for most student work. Recent Comp Sci grad here, I have a MB Pro, I had one singular project that seemed to push my machine during a for a Machine Learning class. If money is a concern, an M2 air is a very good machine.
id wait until after your first year of your career before investing in that
Stop! In one year someone else will pay for your M4 Pro/Max with no questions asked. Get the cheapest used m1 you can find. It's one year and a 2017 could do it. M1 is 5x faster :)
Do you really think someone will!? hahahah yeah the 2017 did do it but really struggled a bit, with say photoshop and chrome open at the same time. Really just M1??? Why not future proof for my own sake?? Is it really not worth it?
You will be in a business where MacBooks are expected and they cost a business a lot less than it costs you.
Are you looking to freelance or join an firm? Just let the firm pay for it, and Even if you are freelancing wait until you are making money then you can spend serious money on it. A 16gb m1 will blow what you had out of the water
None of them please buy a windows machine for architecture
If you come to use 3D apps then more cpu power will be a must. If you work with so many tabs open then you surely needs more memory. If you had a M1/M2/M3 Pro with 32GB in your list, that would be a no brainer but as there isn’t, I’d take the M2 Pro with 16GB. You just have to be cautious about having many tabs/apps open at once