need advice to get appropriate powered laptop capable of running sketchup comfortably.
There are lots of possibilities. A faster CPU helps, though SketchUp uses only a single core so quad vs dual won’t make any difference unless you also run a renderer that can use multiple cores. Max out the system RAM unless you only work with simple models without textures. SketchUp is usable with only 8GB, but 16GB is better and 32GB better still. Get one with a separate graphics adapter (vs integrated graphics) with a decent amount of video RAM, but no need for a gamer’s adapter. Nvidia adapters cause fewer issues than ATI. Low-end Intel integrated graphics cause the most frequent problems due to spotty OpenGL support.
Get as much as you can afford to get and MAX out the ram in the laptop . . A faster CPU is very much helpful . . I only have a I3 quad core 2.4 gigahertz but I totally maxed out the ram to 16 gig of DDR3 makes a ton of difference for running any thing . . . . I run Ubuntu 15.10 64 bit version installed Virtual Box and added win 7-1 inside of that to run Sketchup inside of that works good not extremely fast but does the job . . I only let windows (Virtual Box use 1.5 gig of ram ) rest is used by Linux part of the system
how about mac vs windows
Better not get started on that. It really depends on what else you are going to do with your computer than SketchUpping, and, if this is not your first computer ever, what software you already have.
CPU: get one that runs at more than 3 GHz, at least in Turbo Boost mode. SketchUp runs in a single thread, so the number of processor cores is not so important, 2 or 4.
RAM: I would get at least 8GB
Graphics: a decent Nvidia-based graphics card, with 1GB of memory or more
Disk: whatever disk space you need. If you go for a SSD, IMO it should have 256 GB or more.
You can spend a multiple of the money that buys you this kind of machine for the latest and greatest hardware but the effect on SketchUp performance would be slight, and the mobile workstations tend to be bulky affairs with short battery lives.
Anssi
I second Anssi’s comment: the choice between Windows and Mac gets into a lot more than SketchUp, more of it based on zealotry than actual differences between the OS’s and hardware. Both are usable for SketchUp. Presumably you have been using one or the other. Unless you are just itching for a change, I’d stay with what you know.
That said, talking purely about SketchUp I think everyone would agree that for some time now the SketchUp team has given scant attention to the Mac UI compared to the Windows UI. We Mac users have complained for years about the clunky materials window but it remains unchanged. Toolbars on the Mac were always different, but Trimble recently introduced the Trays system on Windows with nothing similar on Mac (some Windows users might debate whether Trays were a good thing, but that’s a different question).
Good advice has already been offered, but the following links are provided just for your reading pleasure…