Best MacBook for 3D Modeling in SketchUp + VR with Unreal Engine?

SketchUp Computer Advice
1

Hi all — I’m in the market for a new MacBook and could really use some advice.

My main workflow includes:

  • Creating detailed 3D property models in SketchUp

  • Exporting those models into Unreal Engine to build VR experiences (walkthroughs, environments, etc.)

I need a MacBook that can handle both the modeling and real-time rendering demands without lagging or overheating. Portability is important.

What’s the best MacBook for this kind of workflow in 2025?

Anyone doing similar work — what are you using and how does it handle the load?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

2

The best available MacBook is the one with the M4 Max chip, That can handle sketchup and unreal engine without any issues, just get as much unified memory (ram/vram) as you can afford. I prefer the 16” and I take mine everywhere I go, but the 14” has the same performance and it’s a bit more portable.

3

In the past, I always bought the larger (15"/16") Pro models partly because 1) of more screen space to draw in, and 2) the smaller ones never had a dedicated graphics card. This time around, though, with the new M chips, there’s no graphics card penalty for the smaller Pro model, so I opted for the 14" model for sake of portability. Really appreciated that traveling to 3D Basecamp last November.

Apple starts baseline machines with prices to sell, and then soaks you if you want the latest top of the line stuff. More is better, but at what price? I found a maxed out, new old stock M1 Max at a bargain price, so not the latest, but so far not falling short other than one rendering software package I saw that required an M2 or better.

4

I agree, M series chips are so good that first generations machines they´re capable of do almost anything the new models do, the only thing M1and M2 lack of is ray tracing hardware, it is possible to make renders with ray tracing on M1 and M2 machines, but it will take longer because it uses just the cpu being the gpu a lot faster.

5

This is the current Configuration I’m looking to get.

  • 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
  • Standard display
  • Apple M4 Pro chip with 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine
  • 48GB unified memory
  • 1TB SSD storage
  • 96W USB-C Power Adapter

Would this work well?

6

I would say yes.