Question for any MEs out there (or other Es)

[ÆNIMA]

I'm going into my 2nd year of an ME curriculum (if you don't know what ME stands for or have to google it, I ask that you don't respond). And I'm soon considering buying a new computer as well. My dilemma:

I want a Mac.

Is there a good selection of software that's compatible for Macs that would suit my needs and even work after undergrad? (by good selection, I think I mean student-priced software). I understand that you can run Windows on a Mac through various means...but I would prefer to avoid that.

Or should I rather spend the extra money I would on a Mac and get a better PC that is well equipped for any of these programs?

Also, would you recommend a laptop or a desktop for his kind of thing?

Thanks

[L1 TW]

I'm going into my 2nd year of an ME curriculum (if you don't know what ME stands for or have to google it, I ask that you don't respond).

[The Unliked One...]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/3192/hpim0389a.jpg

Don't bother, seriously. If ME stands for mechanical engineering, I don't think a mac can be very useful to you considering the software they use. Then there is the price. I think students can locate that money bit better than on a mac.

And that's my budget pc btw, can't think of any reason to buy a mac instead of that.

[PaulOakenfold]

Mech Es don't use macs. Are you crazy?

[Fit of Rage]

I sympathize with you. I just finished my 4th year of aerospace engineering.

I built my own PC last year and honestly, for engineering purposes, that's really the way to go. As far as I'm aware, the only mac-friendly engineering software out there is Matlab. Everything else (SolidWorks, AutoCad, Abaqus, Fluent, etc) would require a copy of windows. The problem with Macs is that if you want to upgrade RAM, chips, drives, etc, it's a lot harder since you have to go through apple for everything.

However, I understand the allure of OSX. I'm actually going to try putting a copy of OSX on a second hard drive on my PC and see if I can get it working. I'll let you know how it works out.

As far as desktop versus laptop, it depends. I had a senior design lab that I could access at school all the time (it was basically like an officE) and so I brought my desktop there and kept my old slower laptop at home for just word processing. It basically comes down to where you want to work. If you're all over the place, get the best PC laptop you can. If you work mostly at home, get a desktop (or build one -> see this thread). If you need both (portability/something you can move to school/the library, get a cheapo netbook along with your power-desktop build.

[0rb]

I will be in my 2nd year of CE.

I had a senior design lab that I could access at school all the time

This is essentially the same for me. All the computers at my college are open 24/7 and have all the necessary software for all disciplines. This might not be the case for you, but for me (and I have a mac) I have found that if I am doing group work or a design project that I find myself working in the provided labs rather than going home.

If you have labs like these then I'd say go for the mac. I have a few friends in ME and they usually only use their laptops to escape from doing work.

I found that with a mac, I enjoy it so much that I tend to forget about issues like these. But I really haven;t had a lot of experience with software relating to my discipline as we do more of that in 2nd and 3rd year within the program.

[D1st0rt]

I hold a degree in Mechanical Engineering. As an undergrad, don't get a mac unless you want to spend all of your time in a lab on-campus because your computer can't run the stuff you need. I'm not just talking about homework or design work for projects, either. Depending on your university's curriculum it might be a total pain in the ass because we had a class where we had to run certain software suites (HTRI, Fluent) on our own computers during class time, and tough shit for anyone who couldn't get it to work.

[ÆNIMA]

Thanks for all the feedback. I've also talked to some people currently working in the field and they have the same type of advice.

Right now I'm only at a community college, even though they have a lot of computer labs, they're not always open. 3rd and 4th year will be at a more reputable institution (although Distort might have something to say about that!)

[Zeebu]

you guys got this one

[D1st0rt]

(although Distort might have something to say about that!)

that faggot only plays EG and i think he might have quit the game anyway

[Blocks]

I also hold a degree in mechanical engineering. If you really want a Mac, you can get one and put Windows on it. In my experience, you really need Windows. Also, occasionally you might need to run some old-as-balls software that won't run on 64-bit Windows, so keep that in mind when you're deciding on what version to get/install. You could also run 32-bit Windows in a Virtual PC (free from Microsoft) environment but that's kind of a hassle.

If you can, I'd recommend getting two laptops. One is a large, heavy, and powerful computer you'd use mostly as a desktop (I had one that sat on my desk and hardly ever moved). The other is a cheap netbook. The big laptop is your primary computer, and you can still move it around for computer work pow-wows. The netbook is for class and portable stuff you don't need heavy processing power for. Alternately, you could go for a desktop and netbook, but then you can't carry the big guns around with you.

I think you should be able to get both for about $1000 total.

[Fit of Rage]

Well the $1000 for both is kind of a broad overstatement. If you're building a desktop there's also the monitor(s) and other stuff that might have to be purchased which drives up cost. As much as I'm a proponent of free software, I didn't want to mess with a hacked copy of Windows, so at least my 64-bit vista is legit (added about $90 to the pricetag).

I've asked around a bit and apparently it IS possible to load OSX onto a partitioned or clean hard drive and run it on a PC. Deatils forthcoming.

[Galleleo]

Man, while I was at Ball State they had this free computer lab thing where all the software is free for student and my hard disk broke so I had to get a new one and get windows re-installed and stuff. So I was like, while it all has to be installed over again, lets just but this free 64bit Vista Ultimate on it... but we couldn't get it to work with the drivers I needed, so now I am just back to 32bit Vista Ultimate. Still wonder how much of a difference 64bit would make (seeing as I got 4gb of memory, but only 3 somewhat is used by 32bit windows).

[pascone]

i thought this was a reference to windows millienium edition. i would have recommended a conversation with war

[PaulOakenfold]

Hi I'm a Mac. And I'm an ME.