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Best Spec'd MacBook for Onshape
brucebartlett
Member, OS Professional, Mentor, User Group Leader Posts: 2,140 PRO
in General
I am due for a new MacBook and wondering what the best specs are for Onshape. Prefer the smaller 13" but would go to a 16" if the graphic are massively improved.
Curious of people's experiences with the new latest versions.
Curious of people's experiences with the new latest versions.
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cad.onshape.com/check
Onshape, Inc.
Also, there are a few different graphic card specs which the shore display version's my not have.
Twitter: @onshapetricks & @babart1977
Twitter: @onshapetricks & @babart1977
High speed internet all the time, anywhere, skip wifi.
The problem with the apple store is that they have the slow cpu's on the floor. When buying a mac, buy the fastest cpu. Double down on the cpu and spend whatever it takes. Even with a GPU, the cpu and clock speed governs everything.
CPU clock speed is only really important for regeneration times in offline CAD programs (like Inventor and Solidworks), while you're only really going to have a problem in Onshape if you have a terrible CPU. Also, while the new iPad Pro's are very fast, it might be difficult to use the full, browser-based version of Onshape because they are tablets first, and mouse/cursor-based computers second (and it's not officially supported).
@brucebartlett what is your timeframe for a new device? There are often lots of new devices launched in the fall/before holidays, so it might be worthwhile to wait a bit longer if possible. For one, there will be the new 11th generation Intel chips with their massively improved graphics performance (2x over the current generation), so a laptop with a dedicated GPU might not even be needed. There's also supposed to be a new Surface event soon, too, so it might be worth it to wait a little longer to see what crops up on the Microsoft/Windows side of things. Then again, a Surface definitely isn't a MacBook!
@alnis is my personal account. @alnis_ptc is my official PTC account.
Since they have full control from the firmware through the OS, they manage to squeeze out a lot more performance than you would expect from the specs on paper, and it's always getting better through firmware & OS updates. Since I got it, the max sustained boost clock on all cores for a render has gone from 2.5 GHz at first to 3.15 GHz now just through updates, putting the Blender bmw27 benchmark at 7:31 (XPS 13: 8:50; Spectre x360: 9:34, MacBook Air: 14:51). You can run the benchmark here to get a sense of how your laptop stacks up: https://opendata.blender.org/
I'd describe it as being close to an Apple-like experience, except the hardware is very user-serviceable (user-upgradeable RAM, wireless card, dual SSDs; user-replaceable cooling system & battery). I went with the i5 model since the i7 one is $200 more for a marginal performance increase, but bumped RAM up to 24 GB, storage up to 512 GB NVMe on the primary drive, and installed a 256 GB NVMe drive I had laying around for Windows myself. They are very repair and upgrade friendly, and opening up the computer to do repairs doesn't just not void the warranty, but is encouraged
Photo from when I was adding the second SSD:
However, the biggest problem is that the i5-10210U has UHD series graphics instead of the more powerful Iris series graphics, so framerates in Onshape can suffer on big assemblies (1,000+ parts). In this assembly, it gets about 10 fps zoomed out to have the whole model in view with edges, and 20 fps without edges, which is not fantastic, but still is useable. However, most of the time, it is very snappy (part modeling, smaller assemblies, etc.). Of course, if you want maximum graphics performance, System76 also offers laptops with GTX 20-series graphics cards (albeit ones that are less portable than the Lemur Pro). It also has a 10th generation Intel processor, while newer laptops will have 11th-gen chips, so it is technically a little out of date. Also, I'm not sure what 3D mouse support is like because I don't have one. I'm also not sure how shipping works internationally.
The all-important performance check (I have to say, I'm surprised at how close the triangles per second are to the MacBook Pro 16's dedicated graphics, seeing as my config was $1,350 + $50 shipping!):
Sorry for the long post, I just figured I would share my experience with my laptop
@alnis is my personal account. @alnis_ptc is my official PTC account.
I was searching for the same information when I was looking to buy a new laptop, unfortunately I could not find the information with the Onshape performance check, so I'm glad to provide a helpful feedback.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08965B3YD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I just bought a new macbook air 2.8lbs.
It's bigger than my 2lbs 12" macbook, the larger size & weight I'm not crazy about, but I need a new computer also.
I'm still going to buy a 11" ipad pro when they come out. 5G cell connectivity, 1 lbs & smaller than a 12" macbook; I think this will be the ultimate computer in the future.
Having carried a computer around for most my adult life, weight is everything for me.
Twitter: @onshapetricks & @babart1977
I have a 13" from work that I don't use. I prefer my 12".
Honestly I wanted a gold one and I don't need no fan.
I'll get it in 2 weeks and will let you know. Ordered it online.
Definitely a very zippy machine (for small, light, long battery life and no fan :-)!
@alnis is my personal account. @alnis_ptc is my official PTC account.
My 5 years old pc still stands tall with new high end laptops, built it myself with cost around €1500 (64gb ram is sweet for person who don't close tabs, not to mention fibre connection). Just made the test below with plenty of other stuff running while testing.
I also have Thinkpad X1 to use on the go and I love it for it's size and feel - but performance just isn't there yet.
lines and triangles are counted here, and you can can size your computer needs according to your average models
No doubt! Thanks for sharing this! Did you have any issues with heat or performance after doing work for a few hours with the Air?
So it came late on Saturday evening.
2 minutes and I'm running Onshape.
Most programs load. Chrome is released for the M1. I did try safari for a little bit and couldn't notice a difference. I loaded spotify and an exploratory version of vs code. There aren't a lot of non-web programs I run. I did force rosetta 2 to load and loaded brew the package manager under intel chip rules. Git won't load. That's the only hiccup so far.
Won't fit in my briefcase
Size is more important to me than shade & spin.
I may need a new backpack.
Overall:
It's a great computer
The speed matters and it'd be hard to go back to the old 12" macbook.
Loading models is the same speed, but sketches and selecting geometry is blazing fast. The experience is better.
The graphics is smooth & silky.
Flipping between windows is really nice.
The keyboard is fantastic.
I really like touching the button and it logs me in.
The battery is great, I work for an hour and the battery drops 8%.
Flashing on before it's open, who cares.
Future:
When ipad pro comes out with 5G, I'll switch.
If the ipad is a fraction of this speed, add a keyboard, add a mouse; this will be the ultimate computer.
ARM and RISC have been around forever, but they have come a long way now thanks to all the demand of cell phones and tablets.
Thanks for posting the benchmark I was curious on how they were going to look in Onshape.
I don't use a lot of desktop apps. I did just downloaded and installed transmit (FTP program) without any issues.
I think you'll be happy with the M1. I am.
I got a MacBook Air with Apple Silicon (16/512). I am really enjoying the overall experience with this thing! Its snappy and the battery lasts forever!
I have had a few glitches: I have some fairly simple configured assemblies that hang up in Safari, but cruise in Chrome. However, I find the overall performance to be lower in Chrome. Both are VERY good.
I also had the experience with Safari's section views. I was using imported geometry so thought it was suspect, but it was Safari. Chrome seems performs great!