State of Mac vs PC in 2026

[ratherfishing]

Hello,

I have been using VWX on Mac and PC. My experience has always been that Mac is much better. Now it seems enough time has passed because Im interested in this again. Im constantly tempted to use PC, because there are a lot of programs that are so much better on PC. However, Im not ready to lose any (really, not any) VWX Performance. So:

Now I have M3 Max Macbook Pro with 128gb RAM. Its ok, but not great. I have to wait quite a lot. Im not too interested in rendering speed, my main thing is the speed of actions and navigation in the app. I do large scale entertainment.

 

So, lets say I get a 9950x3d CPU (I believe this is the best there is), 192gb of best RAM and 4090/5090 GPU. If some other components make a difference for the better, I get those as well. Will I get better performance than on Mac? Are there any benchmarks that might help me?

 

Thanks, help is much appreciated. 

[Jeff Prince]

The problem with this software and many like it, is it has not been optimized to take advantage of all the power the latest machines offer AND many processes just take a long time due to the way they were programmed.  you sometimes don’t see any gain running certain operations on fast vs slow hardware, site models being one of the best examples.  Many of my site edits take 1/2 the time on the last intel based iMac compared to the latest high performance thinkpad.  It has been this way for many years.

 

it seems like all legacy software suffers this fate.  Too much time spent on introducing “new” features and not enough fixing and optimizing the existing toolsets.  That’s one reason upstarts seem to be more nimble than legacy products.  For this and other reasons, it seems like there is rarely an actual advantage to buying bleeding edge hardware.  A benchmark might look fast, but actual day to day operations will reveal the truth.

[ratherfishing]

Thanks Jeff. I agree with you. Having more responsive program should be number one wishlist item all the time. For us using this software all day everyday, it makes all the difference. New features, not so much. 

I have very good experience using Bricscad on high end PC. It was almost unbelievable how nice it was to work as fast as I could without ever waiting for the program. Sadly it is missing the key features I really need.

[zoomer]

For me VWs Viewport is faster than Bricscad's for large BIM files (like 400-1000 MB IFC imports). Same for selections or switching visibilities. And those DWGs didn't feel much faster on the PC for me either. Although Bricscad is still Intel and not native Apple ARM.

 

Reasonable sized projects are ok on both for me though, even on the 16 GB M1 Mini 2 years ago.

I think VW and Bricscad are complete opposite in every aspect. So they complement quite well.

2 hours ago, ratherfishing said:

my main thing is the speed of actions and navigation in the app.

 

So choose the CPU with the highest single core speed, for PCs usually the top model with the most cores anyway. With current Apple M CPUs usually the single core crown. And Apples fast shared memory may also help.

 

2 hours ago, ratherfishing said:

I do large scale entertainment.

 

Order enough RAM.

 

But I think my and your 128 GB should be good for a few years. And I would wait another 1-2 years before upgrading from a M3 Max. Maybe there is still some/more potential in optimizing the VW files than new hardware.

[Christiaan]

2 hours ago, ratherfishing said:

Having more responsive program should be number one wishlist item all the time. For us using this software all day everyday, it makes all the difference. New features, not so much. 

 

2 hours ago, ratherfishing said:

I have very good experience using Bricscad on high end PC. It was almost unbelievable how nice it was to work as fast as I could without ever waiting for the program. Sadly it is missing the key features I really need.

Seems to me you chose features over the speed then. 😉

[Tom W.]

I think @zoomer hits the nail on the head: most recent chip (= fastest single core performance) + as much RAM as possible. Consult geekbench to compare benchmarks. But like @zoomer says you'll probably find that your current computer compares pretty well ready.

[Ryan Russell]

I started my entire computer life on PC and made the switch in 1997, when I left 3d Computer Animation in favor of Graphics Design.

In 1997, I switched over to Mac, and I will never revert. Nothing Redmond (Microsoft) makes can convince me to go back.

 

Apple development today is about 5-10 years in front of Microsoft and their Partners. 

It's inherently more secure, and just overall a better designed experience from head to toe.

 

And just as Adobe is Apple first, so is Vectorworks. Nothing more needs to be said!

[ratherfishing]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

If I understood Jeff correctly earlier, he says his old Mac still beats new high end PC at many tasks. Im not sure but I think the benchmarks would suggest different. This is my experience as well. Two-three years ago I had Intel 13900k, 64gb of RAM and 4090 as GPU. So top of the game PC at the time. VWX experience on that machine was very bad. When I then switched to M2 Macbook Pro, everything was much better. I would switch to Windows right away, if I got the same or better performance than I do now, but I dont know if its possible, no matter the budget.

 

I know optimisizing files is a big thing, but I think I have at least basics pretty much covered. I never import DWGs or 3d objects, all the references I use are clean, modeled/re-modeled in VWX. File sizes are about 300mb, when I have 100 sheets. The model itself is usually about 70-90mb. 

 

The main performance issues I have are switching view from Top Plan to Shaded and many operations with plug-in objects, especially hoists and trusses.

 

Im all aware that I might have everything as good as it gets. But still looking for a way to work faster.

 

Thanks all.

 

 

 

[Jeff Prince]

5 hours ago, ratherfishing said:

If I understood Jeff correctly earlier, he says his old Mac still beats new high end PC at many tasks. Im not sure but I think the benchmarks would suggest different.

I guess you didn’t read my entire post….

 

On 1/23/2026 at 4:32 PM, Jeff Prince said:

A benchmark might look fast, but actual day to day operations will reveal the truth.

[ratherfishing]

Hi Jeff,

 

I read you entire post. My point was, that your example from two computers prove that benchmarks won't in all cases tell how the real life experience will be. Maybe I expressed myself inaccurately.

 

 

[LenLindhout]

Hi All,

 

Windows (intel/AMD) vs Apple (Apple Silicon) is like comparing apples and pears.

 

What most people overlook is the lag created by driver incompatibility of hardware manufacturer incompatibility.
This is the real bottle neck in now a days windows machines in my opinion.

I use a MacBook Pro M1 Max and still outrun my colleagues with brand new HP Zbook Fury machines. Not when using Final Quality Renderworks or anything, but just pre-production tasks like making rigging plots or designing lighting infra structures and patching fixtures.
Performing those production tasks is mostly much faster then on windows, even after leaving my MacBook on for multiple days without rebooting and leaving Vectorworks open with multiple drawings open (most files are +300MB after some rigging data is inserted). 

I believe this comes from the fundamental difference in system design between Windows and Apple the past 3 to 4 years.
Apple just put everything into one chip which makes data exchange so much faster between main components like Processor cores and RAM or disk.

Then other manufacturers start making ARM systems like Apple that are fully compatible for windows and windows is optimised for ARM, only then the comparison is fair and equal.

[Tom Klaber]

Apple is incompatable with too many programs to be viable. 

[E|FA]

1 hour ago, Tom Klaber said:

Apple is incompatable with too many programs to be viable. 

Too hard to tell these days if you’re being serious or ironic. 

[ratherfishing]

Thanks Lennart!

This is very much what kind of information I was hoping to get. Im doing more or less the same, and have same experience as you. So, maybe no PC in 2026...

[zoomer]

10 hours ago, Tom Klaber said:

Apple is incompatable with too many programs to be viable. 

 

For me Windows and Linux unfortunately too.

 

My main Apps work on all 3 though.