Every Mac Is A Slow Mac

Technical Problems
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Hello AudioVirtueAcoustics,

in general: I use(d) SketchUp on my:

  1. Macbook Pro i7 4core 2,9Ghz, Radeon 560 4GB, 16 GB Ram
  2. Alienware Laptop m15, i7 6core 2,2Ghz up to 4,1Ghz, Nvidia RTX2060 6GB, 16 GB Ram
  3. Desktop-PC, AMD Ryzen 9 3900 X 12core 3,8Ghz up to 4,6Ghz, Nvidia RTX2080Ti, 32 GB Ram

I don´t work with Layout, but I use SketchUp to model Architecture and render in Lumion. Link to an overview in this forum about the things I do: My Architectural Drawings, Renderings and Animations - #40 by Peter_B
So my models are not the biggest ones, but up to 300 MB.

I did not notice a big difference in performance, when I compare these three machines with my SketchUp-models. Shadows turned on is a bit slower on the Macbook, but even the powerful Desktop-PC could not always display the shadows in real time. So I still like to use my Macbook with SketchUp, because I like MacOS much better than Windows 10. And the Trackpad and Screen is much better than the ones on the Alienware Laptop. And in my opinion even SketchUp is looking better on MacOS :slightly_smiling_face:

But when it comes to GPU-Rendering, it´s a different kind of story. The Radeon 560 in the Macbook is a slow GPU for 3d-Rendering (I installed Windows on my Macbook and tested Lumion, also I tested Twinmotion in MacOS). The RTX 2060 in the Alienware Laptop is much much faster. And of course the RTX 2080Ti is on the next Level.

So my workflow is a bit crazy:

  1. Modeling with SketchUp on my Macbook. For light tasks or browsing through the warehouse I sometimes sit on the couch, but most time I use the Macbook as an Desktop-Replacement, connected to two 4k-Monitors + Keyboard and Mouse.
  2. Switching to my Desktop-PC, importing the model into Lumion. Adding Vegetation etc., Rendering.
  3. Switching back to Mac: Working on the Renderings with Photoshop & Working on Animations with Final Cut (with the imported clips from Lumion).

If you do renderings, you could go for the new Macbook Pro with the Radeon 5600M. As I know (I read about it), the power of this GPU could be compared to a Nvidia Desktop-RTX 2060 GPU. Another way would be, to switch to Windows and get a Dell-, Razer or Alienware-Laptop with a powerfull GPU. But as an long time Mac User, it could be, that you don´t “become friends” with the Windows OS, or a worse touchpad compared to the one in the Macbook. :wink:.

Btw: Your website does not work. I would like to see your work. When I´m not working with CAD, I often play the Drums.

Peter