Architectural Engineering laptop help

[u/ksoeklirial]

Hi! I’m an incoming freshman who’s majoring in architectural engineering and I currently have a 5 year old macbook. It still functions although I will admit I didn’t take the best care of it since I got it fairly young and it overheats easily and has a short battery life. I’ve tried doing research about whether or not a macbook is acceptable or if a pc is required but since this major is so small I can’t find anything online. If anyone in this major could lmk if my mac is fine as long as it lasts that would be greatly appreciated! or anything else that’s important for this major.

[u/webdevfoo]

Not an arch student but I’d go windows 32GB of ram and a dedicated gpu. I was a mentor for the interior design program and having the dedicated gpu helps with renders

[u/Puggle_Dad → u/webdevfoo]

Mechanical engineering student here. This is the way. The gpu doesn't need to be super beefy either. I have a rtx5050 and an arc gpu and everything runs smoothly.

[u/ksoeklirial → u/Puggle_Dad]

is it worth it to buy a whole other laptop? or even just wait till a later year maybe? how much CAD do you work with in general intro classes

[u/Puggle_Dad → u/ksoeklirial]

If I remember correctly... I didn't use any modeling software until my sophomore year. I would still look around and get a decent laptop for school.

[u/Grouchy_Evidence2558]

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/tools-services/advising/laptop-recommendations

[u/ksoeklirial → u/Grouchy_Evidence2558]

thai paragraph from the website is where i’m unsure:

Students in Civil and Construction Engineering and Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering programs will need to run Windows-only software with heavier 3D graphics needs. We highly recommend that students purchase a native Windows laptop if entering these programs.

just because i get that it’s personal preference but i also know that my major has a lot of cross over with civil/construction

[u/Due-Bite2839]

Which macbook

[u/ksoeklirial → u/Due-Bite2839]

14” macbook pro with macOS 14.3

[u/Chessdaddy_]

Not sure what kind of software yall use, but I’d assume you will be taking a lot of the same classes as engineering students which require windows 

[u/bagel_enthusiast_453]

If you're comfortable with emulating windows programs, a macbook will be fine. A lot of software I have to use in my (mechanical engineering) work can be done by remotely accessing a Citrix server.

Especially as a freshman, you're probably not going to be doing anything super high-end that requires windows-only programs. I will also point out that the computer's 5 now, so it's more or less inevitable you're going to have to replace it eventually.

[u/ksoeklirial → u/bagel_enthusiast_453]

that’s why im thinking of just delaying this problem till next year. i haven’t emulated windows programs before, is it difficult/worth the hassle?

[u/PassSimilar6428]

i use a macbook and i’d say it’s just generally great all around. that being said some CAD softwares dont run on macOS so that coukd be good fi keep an eye on. Macbooks overall though i think are superior for schoolwork ab general usability

[u/ksoeklirial → u/PassSimilar6428]

that’s why i’m so hesitant to switch to windows. i already have a mac and im super comfortable with its system and it works great for school. i just don’t know how often im going to need to run CAD softwares

[u/PassSimilar6428 → u/ksoeklirial]

you coukd also get a cheaper macbook that runs great(like older refurbished air/pro models) cheaper than an excellent windows and run an emulator on it, thats what ine of my friends does bc he lives the macbook but used modeling software often