I am not sure if this is the right place to be asking, but I currently am looking for a new laptop for school
Already have a general idea on what I would want for a PC with a Intel Core i7 cpu, Geoforce and 16gig. But I recently have considered getting a Macbook seeing as my school uses Mac computers and I will run into problems when trying to convert files if I go windows
Right now I am looking for input on what kind of laptop I should get. I am open to any suggestions and discussion
Short answer → Macs are great for other stuff but not Blender.
Long answer → I have some topics on how 2.80 and 2.81 ruined for me my experience with Blender on Mac OS (or how Mac OS got more special…).
Before that, all was great for me (or enough) as I used Blender + Lightroom + Pages + Final Cut Pro and no gaming.
The best thing about Mac Os is sitting on a couch and getting things done, like for real.
The bad thing about Windows is the implementation of multi gestures on the touchpad.
Back to Blender:
I had since 2005 Mac OS devices. An old Mac Pro, a Retina Macbook Pro with Nvidia 650, then a MacBook Pro 13 with touch bar and lastly an iMac 2019.
Since 2012 I started learning Blender to replace Maya.
All was perfect (for me) until Blender 2.80 that replaced the Color rendering of objects with LokDev.
See here:
So in October I sold my Macbook and my brand new iMac and got an HP OMEN 17" with NVIDIA and a 13" Dell Inspiron for writing and drawing.
If you do insist on Macbook hear me out:
Blender will not work as supposed to on iMac. But it is decent on a 13" Macbook Pro or even Air. Why?
Because that has Intel integrated GPU. Amd, does not work with eevee, or lokDev so you can either view your scene with default colors, wireframe or Cycles render. So it can be limited.
Maya is not stable due to Metal API (is like the DirectX of Mac OS)
Cinema 4D I did not try… So I do not know.
Windows is cheaper and you can try the Razer 13" with GTX 1650 MaxQ. Great for rendering, portable and not bad looking.
I can help you with more informations if you need
Thanks for your input. The main issue that I should presented in a more clear on is whether or not I should get a Mac simply to avoid issues when converting files
Personally I would prefer a PC over mac but if file conversion becomes an issue then I would have to go Mac
Well you know better but i doubt there is not a software that can do that fast… Maybe some extra clicks.
I have an website. For that i edit photos, print them, research, write, do file management, work on home cloud, analyze the results and even do some Blizzard gaming. All that without a mouse on a MacBook. And 3 days i do that on one charge. I do some music listening also so then my battery goes faster. I use Tyme 2 app to quantify the time on tasks. I use free apps like Numbers and Notes on Phone and Mac to sync information on the go. I use Final Cut for many many years.
Now i have a windows laptop and i need a mouse. I work 1 day maybe 2 on one charge. I don’t have Numbers so I pay 100€ for Office ( but i have Outlook that is best). I don’t have tyme but i use my ios app for that.
I dont have Final Cut so i will try Blender for movie editing…
Lightroom works better, Blender is a dream and i can finally draw in Blender on the screen. I am learning even to sculpt.
The printer has more basic app than on Mac OS., that was a surprise…
I have lost a lot of money because i love to much Blender to stay with an OS that supports only photographers, journalists, musicians and youtubers.
So people who draw either stay on Illustrator/Photoshop or iPad OS for productivity or have a windows machine.
3D artists only use Windows… or most of them anyway.
Research people are shown with Macs but… i work there and we have lots of virtual machines on Windows so…
People with printers or CAD designers use Fusion/Catia/Creo that run only on windows.
Some banks even use Windows XP variants if not Ubuntu
I miss Mac Os but in a few months maybe 1 year it will all be a memory.
At least as far as blender files go, no difference in recards to platforms. Blender files are blender files. WRT other software, I guess your mileage may vary.
I just recently bought a new laptop, because I needed one to have at my 3D printer. It cost me 100 bucks and can run Blender just fine. If you use Blender only for modeling, you can use pretty much any GPU, including the Intel integrated ones. Maybe use a service like https://www.sheepit-renderfarm.com/ for rendering if you need that.
Thinkpad X240 from eBay, small, light computer with great Full HD IPS, 8 GB of memory and 10 hours of battery (new batteries cost like 70 euros though)
I’m still waiting for it to arrive but I think old Thinkpads are really nice if you just need a portable modeling machine. Plus if you need an external GPU, you can buy the X230 that has Express slot which you can attach pretty much any eGPU into.
Cube will be no more for Macos so you will be running old cuda for used Mac pro
The new Mac Pro uses amd Gpus which in term uses opencl
I’d suggest a lappy with a rtx card at least