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Participant
February 20, 2023
Question

Macbook vs Windows

  • February 20, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 1049 views

Hi,

 

3D and materials runs on a Macbook too right?  If so, which Macbook is recommended?  Does 3D and materials work better on a Macbook or on a Windows laptop/pc?  

 

I thought best ask on here since there's so many here with more than enough experience to give a clear answer.  Thank you in advance.

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

Community Expert
February 21, 2023

The operating system (Mac or Windows) doesn't really matter all that much. What is important is the notebook or desktop computer's hardware. For 3D work in Illustrator it is important for the computer to have a more powerful dedicated graphics accelator board rather than an "integrated" graphics chip on the computer's motherboard. Dedicated graphics boards typically have far more powerful GPU chips as well as their own on-board pool of GDDR RAM. An cheaper integrated chip solution will use system RAM for its operations.

Use caution if considering buying a thin & light "ultra portable" notebook. Such laptops are great for their portability and they often have really long battery life (that especially goes for the Apple notebooks). But there may be trade-offs for portability and long battery life, such much lower CPU and GPU performance. Integrated graphics chip solutions are pretty common with ultra portable notebooks. I think the current M1 and M2 MacBook Pro notebook lines only offer an integrated graphics approach; the actual CPU is doing double duty as a GPU.