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Ironcad On Mac!


Jonas@Solidmakarna

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To follow up another thread in this matter...

 

I just want to tell everyone that also uses a Mac Notebook (MacBook) with an Intel Core Duo processor, that you can now run IronCAD/Inovate in emulated Windows, which is possible nowadays (but you who have one probably already knew that rolleyes.gif ).

 

We have a user who has installed and activated a USB-dongle licensed Inovate 9.0

He hasn't used it that much, so I can't tell you anything about the performance.

Maybe someone else has some experience of running Windows and IronCAD on Mac?

 

Here's some info:

http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html

http://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html

 

OS bootloaders:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

3 different bootloaders to choose from: http://download.onmac.net/

 

A finally a test running Win Vista; MacBook vs. Sony Vaio

http://www.computerworld.com/action/articl...ticleId=9003111

Edited by Jonas@Solidmakarna
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I have to be honest with you - I've worked at huge, small, and in between-sized companies and I have yet to know anyone who uses a Mac in an engineering environment. In fact, I haven't seen a Mac in the workplace for 20 years! My brother is a school media specialist in a school library and he loves Macs, but other than him, I know of no one else who uses them in a work environment.

 

XI makes an excellent CAD computer (used them for years) and the company for which I work now uses Acer computers - low price but decent performance using the right graphics card.

 

Dave

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I have to be honest with you - I've worked at huge, small, and in between-sized companies and I have yet to know anyone who uses a Mac in an engineering environment.

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Dave,

 

working in borderland between engineering and media production (doing technical documentation and computer animation), I'm doing my main work on Macs... even 3D work (since 1996). Of course both platforms are living side by side in my office, but as long as I *can* do something on the Mac, I'll do it there. Now, with the Intel Macs and the option of using several OS platforms in ONE computer, I'll get the best of all worlds at once. I definitely DO know several engineers, who (after several years of just being fascinated by Apple's 'aura') consider getting a Mac now. So, I think it's a valid working environment meanwhile... with a QuadCore Mac Pro being less costly than a similarly equipped Dell box.

 

Bernd

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We are also split here between PCs & Macs (probably 80/20, in favor of PCs - 90/10 if you count our IT & accounting departments). Mac users are either doing art, or 3D modeling/rendering. One of the two biggest barriers to getting the Mac users to try IronCAD for 3D modeling is that they would have to use Windows (the other is the artistic features of their rendering software.)

 

They might be convinced to sacrifice some degree of artistry for the speed, ease & utility of IronCAD (they can't even take measurement from their models) - but probably not.

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They might be convinced to sacrifice some degree of artistry for the speed, ease & utility of IronCAD (they can't even take measurement from their models) - but probably not.

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Mike,

 

it will be quite hard to convince a Mac user to work on Windows ;-)

 

OTOH, CAD etc. is not necessarily tied to Windows, although there *is* definitely a large majority of apps on that platform. I'm working with FormZ (since 1996) in the first place, an ACIS based modeler, which is available on both platforms. I definitely *can* take measurements, handle 2d drafting, calculate volumes and share files with all CAD environments using STEP or SAT.

 

There are some more applications (Ashlar Vellum Cobalt/Xenon, Vectorworks, CSI Concepts, SolidThinking), which are definitely good midrange CAD applications, and which have their userbase. Now, with Parasolid being ported also to Mac OSX (where ACIS has been available for a longer time), *I* would be the first one to get a Mac version of IronCad... the technology is already there :-)

 

Bernd

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Bernd,

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was told that running Windows on a Mac slows down Windows-based programs, somewhat. In other words, the heresay is that if you had two equally-processor-powerful computers - one Mac and one PC, the PC would be faster with Windows-based programs.

 

By the way, I live in San Diego, which is not too far from Silicon Valley. This is computer country over here and really, I know of no one who has a Mac. This doesn't mean that Macs are inferior; it's just that people here are far less likely to buy one if they don't know anyone else who has one. My kid's principal at her school once told me that many years ago, budgetary contraints pushed out the Macs and PCs now comprise the majority of computers there. This is not just one school, but the entire district.

 

Personally, I have nothing against Macs; in a way, they are like IronCAD - the underdog of their class.

 

Dave

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was told that running Windows on a Mac slows down Windows-based programs, somewhat. In other words, the heresay is that if you had two equally-processor-powerful computers - one Mac and one PC, the PC would be faster with Windows-based programs.

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Dave,

 

this is not quite true. Since you have two different options of running Windows on a Mac, there are two different results you get. Running Windows in a VM (Parallels) within OSX limits the use of the hardware to one cpu and doesn't support 3d/hardware OGL, so using a CAD application would not be recommended in that configuration. Standard applications run as fast as usually.

 

Running windows using bootcamp is just as running windows on a PC, there's no difference to any other PC... ignoring the fact, that there are still some Windows drivers missing for the Mac hardware.

 

So being slower is only true using the Virtual Machine, and this isn't different from running a VM within Windows.

 

Bernd

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  • 2 years later...

I have several clients that want to make the switch to MAC.

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Tom,

 

without knowing some preconditions it's still hard to answer your question. The options are still the same (100% Windows on a Mac via Bootcamp, or Windows in a VM), although the VM technology on the Mac has evolved.

 

WHY do your clients want to switch? Are they going to use native Mac software then? Do they want to use IronCad simultaneously to other applications (Mac and/or Win)? If their task is very hardware-demanding (which CAD usually is), running IronCad in Windows only via Bootcamp is still the way to go. This means, you boot your Mac to Windows (or Mac) and can't switch the OS during this session.

 

If they are using IronCad for simple tasks (smaller files), while most of the work is done in Mac applications, a VM like Parallels would be a valid alternative. I haven't tested it yet, but if it is of any importance, I could try to install my version (Inovate 11) in my Parallels VM.

 

Bernd

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Hallo !

 

Ich habe 1 Jahr mit einem Mac Pro und Ironcad gearbeitet.

Am Mac wurde Bootcamp mit Windows XP Prof. installiert und es lief alles super schnell.

Das einzige Proble hatte ich mit sehr grossen Baugruppen (ca. 200 MB).

Bootcamp konnte nicht mehr als 2 Gigabite Speicher nutzen. Vielleicht ist es jetzt anders.

Ironcad 10.0 lief ohne Einschränkung und super schnell.

 

amdi

 

(Google TRanslate)

 

Hello!

 

I have 1 year with a Mac Pro and IRONCAD worked.

On the Mac has Boot Camp with Windows XP Prof. installed and everything ran super fast.

The only problems I had with very large assemblies (200 MB).

Boot Camp could not be more than 2 gigabits memory use. Maybe it's different now.

IRONCAD 10.0 ran without restriction and super fast.

 

amdi

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Thanks All,

Bernd, my client is frustrated with Windows and all its problems. Even after repeated IT support fixing probelm after problem, the machines still take 17 minutes just to boot up and after that its a nightmare.

 

I tried Spyware removal etc... and its no use.

 

With the MAC they have none of these issues ever some up.

 

I'm not a MAC user, so this is new to me.

thanks

Tom

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Is anyone currently running IronCAD on a MAC? If so, what is needed to do this ( emulator etc...?) .

What are the scarifices?

 

I have several clients that want to make the switch to MAC.

 

Any feedback is welcomed.

thanks

Tom

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Tom,

 

I just tried IronCAD on a G5 Mac Pro. I was just going to say that you have to run Boot Camp to have IronCAD support but I see Kevin was here. With Boot Camp you need a seperate partition for Windows and have to reboot from MacOS to run IronCAD but it doesn't take very long to reboot this as compared to what I'm used to. I haven't tried Boot Camp yet and I see now it might not support more than 2 GB.

 

I heard that Parallels has gotten better and so far I've only tried IronCAD this way and it worked fine until I tried to open a large file. Haven't spent much time on it, but I might do some more testing if I get more memory... after I find out about bootcamp.

 

I always thought IronCAD should be running native on a Mac for things like the in context design it would be a good match and I don't like rebooting Winblows... but the 64 bit OS sounds good after what Mike just said. I also heard something about a new version of Windows coming out is suppose to be much better... well I would hope so.

 

- Doug

 

 

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Bernd, my client is frustrated with Windows and all its problems. Even after repeated IT support fixing probelm after problem, the machines still take 17 minutes just to boot up and after that its a nightmare.

 

I tried Spyware removal etc... and its no use.

 

With the MAC they have none of these issues ever some up.

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Well, I understand this frustration. Running Macs alongside with PCs (real ones and virtualized ones) I make the best of two worlds:

 

1. All my PCs aren't connected to the internet (solely for the purpose of software activation, if necessary, and disconnected immediately afterwards). This allows me to run my PCs without permanent virus protection and the problems arising from this.

 

2. All internet/mail access is done on Macs. Still safe :-)

 

About performance within a VM: The new version 4 of Parallels seems to have the answers to this. It supports 64-bit Windows and up to 8GB RAM:

New in Parallels 4

 

I'm still on Parallels 3 (since I *do* have PCs, I currently run Inovate there), so I can't tell how well this works, but my positive experience with Parallels 3 leads me to think: Yes, should work. BTW, even Parallels 3 supports up to 3GB on a 32-bit Windows, but of course this requires your host Mac to have enough of spare RAM.

 

Booting a Mac directly into Windows would - in the long run - have the same risks and downsides as running any standard PC. If you use and allow internet access, you'll clutter your system with garbage. So this wouldn't have any advantage.

 

On the other side, running a VM on a Mac, where the Mac OS has internet access, but the VM on the same Mac doesn't, could solve a lot of problems. This is my configuration here, and Windows stays as clean as it could be.

 

Bernd

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  • 1 year later...

Even though I've been using Windows forever, I would run, not walk, to an Apple store and buy two or three Macs if Ironcad were able to run on a Mac natively.

 

From a business standpoint for Ironcad, I think if it ran natively on Macs, picking up new customers (in droves) would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

 

Ironcad and Apple philosophies of ease of use seem to mesh. I think that Ironcad is to other CAD software as Mac is to other computers.

 

For all the endless discussions and heated passions, Apple, for all its imperfections, is in another league compared to its competitors.

 

Ironcad - please consider working with Apple - the very best in the field.

 

Mark

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  • 9 years later...
  • 1 year later...

MAC is just not conducive to a good (meaning cost efficient AND powerful) work computer. The cost to performance is just absolutely terrible. The massive limitations on GPU options is also a huge pitfall when it comes to MAC hardware support and they are also now developing their own CPU's to replace the previous outsourced ones which will become a huge CPU hardware limitation. Go on their website and build a custom computer using all of the highest valued components (last time I did this it was around 25K and the PC equivalent was 5500) and then do a side by side comparison to how much the hardware is actually worth and you will be amazed. I have done this for a couple people and generally the price for the same computer (Same RAM, same CPU, better GPU, etc.) is about three to four times higher. MAC is great for people like my mom (which still uses a PC and clicks every popup on earth while saying she didn't) who have little knowledge of safe and unsafe actions on computers or just don't want to have to think about it. The other MAC advantage is for musicians, photographers, etc. but this is because they have proprietary software that excels in these areas, but the hardware itself is still not great. The OS itself is awesome, but that hardware cost to performance should make everyone feel a little taken advantage of. My OPINION only so please don't sharpen the sticks and light the torches haha.


-Spencer 

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Here is a quick example (first thing i saw on their site). Corsair vengeance, top of the line DDR4 RAM, two 32G sticks. 3200MHz (faster than the MAC version) = 279.99. MAC...1200. Literally 900 dollars more for a slower hardware component. Both these prices are direct from the manufacturer. It has always boggled my mind why people just accept that and buy one anyway

 

image.thumb.png.84ea457dde7d7e23654b7d63e3474bb0.pngimage.thumb.png.91fada5aba593cf8a49a52e27f86ed15.png

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  • 3 weeks later...

Rather than a Mac, I would prefer linux support :D - though it's even more of a pipe dream.

I tried installing it via WINE, and the installer actually worked, but ran into some errors with some binaries? and could not complete the installation. Making it work via WINE will just about make it work with Mac OS, though probably not the M1 macs.

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  • 1 month later...
24 minutes ago, dleczynski said:

today i install ironcad on macbook :Dkeep fingers crossed!

Just because you could? hahaha

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