John Brooks Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Does anyone have any experience running Vectorworks on a MAC mini? It looks like these machines are similar in performance to an IMAC. I am a potentially new vectorworks user and am trying to find an optimal hardware set up for running it. Any feedback would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment
rDesign Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 (edited) I do not have any personal experience with using Vw on a Mac Mini, but I found a handful of threads on the topic which may be helpful (links below). I can say that starting with Vw2019, Vectorworks relies more and more on having a powerful / fast dedicated video GPU. So the Mac Mini might be underpowered with its integrated graphics processor (especially when compared with the iMac) and you may need to consider adding an external GPU (eGPU) to the Mini. eGPU and Vectorworks Testing So Is the 2018 Mac Mini a Viable Vw Machine? Problems Using 2020 With an External GPU Mac Mini for Vectorworks or Upgrade Mac Pro On the following page you can find GPU ratings for different hardware configurations, and there are several versions of the Mac Mini listed, coupled with using eGPUs. [Unfortunately, the list hasn’t been updated by Vw for several years now, but it should still offer some insight]. User Success Hardware Benchmark Results Edited May 9, 2020 by rDesign 3 Quote Link to comment
E|FA Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 If your Mac Mini is an older mode (before 2018) it can't run an eGPU https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207443 1 Quote Link to comment
techdef Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Yeah, I do it at home and hate it. The lack of video hardware makes it a big drag to use. However, if youre able to use Vectorworks Cloud publish (as I do) it does get the job done! Quote Link to comment
John Brooks Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 8 minutes ago, techdef said: Yeah, I do it at home and hate it. The lack of video hardware makes it a big drag to use. However, if youre able to use Vectorworks Cloud publish (as I do) it does get the job done! THANKS ! I ended up getting an IMAC. Works pretty good. I might upgrade the memory but it works quite well on most of the files I am working in. There are a couple of design tools that I use that don't have a good MAC version - so I am looking at getting a laptop for running PC based apps. Quote Link to comment
Heff Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Hi there, Iam also looking at getting a new Mac mini to run VW2018 on. I’m not doing any 3D at the moment. I am not very tech and as Mac seems to be in a transition period I’m rather confused! Open to suggestions!! Quote Link to comment
line-weight Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 VW runs quite well on the new M1 mac minis but you won't be able to run anything earlier than VW2020. 1 Quote Link to comment
Ramon PG Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 5:46 AM, line-weight said: VW runs quite well on the new M1 mac minis but you won't be able to run anything earlier than VW2020. Do you know if Parallels on an M1 will let you run older VW versions under an older Mac OS? Quote Link to comment
zoomer Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) AFAIK, at least for now, Parallels for M1 Macs can only virtualize an ARM Operating System, no x86_64 system. (And if Parallels will ever be capable to do so in the future, it may be pretty slow because of emulation) So Parallels on M1 should only be able to run a Windows10 for ARM, an ARM version of Linux or macOS Big Sur upwards. And as no macOS older than Big Sur runs on M1 Macs, I think, on M1 Macs you are limited to any VW version that supports Big Sur. If I'm not wrong that is only VW 2020 and newer. Edited May 21, 2021 by zoomer Quote Link to comment
Ramon PG Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 2 minutes ago, zoomer said: AFAIK, at least for now, Parallels for M1 Macs can only virtualize an ARM Operating System, no x86_64 system. (And if Parallels will ever be capable to do so in the future, it may be pretty slow because of emulation) So Parallels on M1 should only be able to run a Windows10 for ARM, an ARM version of Linux or macOS Big Sur upwards. And as no macOS older than Big Sur runs on M1 Macs, I think, on M1 Macs you are limited to any VW version that supports Big Sur. If I'm not wrong that is only VW 2020 and newer. I believe so, too... 2020 and newer. Thanks for the note. Can't take both the M1 AND VWs 2021 hit right now. Quote Link to comment
line-weight Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 4 hours ago, Ramon PG said: I believe so, too... 2020 and newer. Thanks for the note. Can't take both the M1 AND VWs 2021 hit right now. I was in the same position as you... decided to go for the M1 and as a consequence had to go for the VW upgrade. I was on 2018, now on 2021. VW2021 is better than VW2018, but not lots better, and I only did it because I had to in order to move to the new mac. In and of itself, the amount I had to pay for the VW upgrade was not worth the limited improvements (and all the most annoying bugs and problems still remaining). Because I bought with a VSS subscription, I will be able to get 2022 as well, and so I'm going to hope that whatever it brings makes what I spent seem worthwhile. 1 Quote Link to comment
zoomer Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 I think it is a good idea to wait until VW 2022 gets released and see how far VW's Apple ARM optimization has come. Also more Apple Pro(sumer) Macs should be unveiled until then. 1 Quote Link to comment
Ramon PG Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 (edited) On 5/21/2021 at 4:04 PM, zoomer said: I think it is a good idea to wait until VW 2022 gets released and see how far VW's Apple ARM optimization has come. Also more Apple Pro(sumer) Macs should be unveiled until then. Very good advise. And I guess we'll be seeing VWs 2022 late this very year. Edited June 11, 2021 by Ramon PG typo Quote Link to comment
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