AutoCAD on iMac

Nemanja91

not sure if this is the right place but i have to install AutoCAD 2009 architecture but on their site their is nothing about the system requirements and how to run it on a mac or wether i have to install windows.

would anyone be able to tell me if i could install it on my mac or wether i will have to install windows first?

also in the system requirements there is nothing said about windows 7,should it work ok on it if it can work on vista and xp?

yoyo

AutoCAD is windows only, I would imagine you would need to dual boot with windows to get the hardware 3d rendering support, most apps which are vista compatible will work on 7, seven is basicly a highly tweaked Vista, so I would immagine there would be no problems running it

Nick

Nemanja91

yoyo wrote: »

AutoCAD is windows only, I would imagine you would need to dual boot with windows to get the hardware 3d rendering support, most apps which are vista compatible will work on 7, seven is basicly a highly tweaked Vista, so I would immagine there would be no problems running it

Nick

ok thanks very much

su_dios

You will be fine running autocad with the likes of vmware fusion. It runs very successfully too. Just check the compatibility with windows 7.

chillin_penguin

Ya use a program called Boot Camp its already installed on most macs and install windows (your going to need a product key) install ans use it the normal way (normal for me anyway) and there ya go. in short mac does not do auto cad or solid works or most engineering programs for that matter. Its a major headache sometimes but once ya follow the steps its a piece of cake.

su_dios

chillin_penguin wrote: »

Ya use a program called Boot Camp its already installed on most macs and install windows (your going to need a product key) install ans use it the normal way (normal for me anyway) and there ya go. in short mac does not do auto cad or solid works or most engineering programs for that matter. Its a major headache sometimes but once ya follow the steps its a piece of cake.

Vmware fusion is very cheap and I find its a better solution. When combined with spaces you can flick between autocad and your other mac apps seamlessly. If its only really one or two programs you need to run windows side then vmware is handy, also it allows drag and drop. But yes bootcamp is free and set up on your mac, it means you have to boot into windows though and then back into osx if you need to run something on that side. You don't want to have to keep restarting just to open say photoshop mac side and autocad win side.

Nemanja91

o thanks lads

im getting parallels anyway jsut not sure what windows to get yet

su_dios

Nemanja91 wrote: »

o thanks lads

im getting parallels anyway jsut not sure what windows to get yet

Get vmware fusion not parallels. I found it much better. XP will do you for what you need and isn't ram intensive.

jolsen

Out of interest how would CAD packages run on an entry level iMac or mini?

su_dios

I've never had a problem running autocad through vmware alongside with photoshop or illustrator open with my Macbook pro 2.2ghz 4GB ram. The entry level imac is higher specced.

Red Alert

I'd really recommend if you want to use windows software to use either Parallels or VMWare Fusion - dual booting is extra hassle, and you'll miss things like Mac/Windows copy and paste.