Choosing between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (M1 chip) for autocad. (2024)

FAQs

Is the MacBook Pro M1 good for AutoCAD? ›

For AutoCAD, the MacBook Pro with the M1 chip will be a preferred option over the MacBook Air. With its active cooling system, it has better graphics performance and higher sustained performance to enable it for such demanding tasks as rendering and working with huge projects.

The Air (M1) netted a 114.3% sRGB rating from our colorimeter, which slightly beats the 110.6% rating we got from the M1 13-inch Pro. The later models are just as good if not better. The 2021 and 2023 MacBook Pros take display quality to the next level with their Liquid Retina XDR displays.

AutoCAD can now run on Apple silicon for the first time, meaning the experience is almost the same as on Windows when using a Mac with an M2 or M3 chip. However, there are still a few missing features such as 3D Rendering and Drawing History.

Autodesk recently announced that AutoCAD 2024 and AutoCad LT 2024 software now runs natively on Apple silicon Macs. Native support means that the new software will now be optimised for both Apple silicon (M1 and M2) Macs and Intel Macs.

While the exact amount of RAM you need is going to depend on the size and complexity of the model you will be working with, we generally recommend a minimum of 16GB for all our systems. AutoCAD (including Mental Ray rendering) is actually fairly light on RAM requirements and Autodesk only recommends 8GB of RAM.

64-bit Microsoft® Windows® 11 and Windows 10 version 1809 or above. See Autodesk's Product Support Lifecycle for support information. Basic: 2.5–2.9 GHz processor (base) ARM Processors are not supported. DirectX 12 with Feature Level 12_0 is required for Shaded(Fast) and Shaded with edges(Fast) visual styles.

AutoCAD products for Mac also create files in the same native DWG file format as the Windows AutoCAD products. However, AutoCAD products for Mac are not straight 1:1 ports of their Windows-based counterparts.

Its 52.6-watt-hour lithium polymer battery is a notable upgrade from the M1's 49.9-watt-hour battery, and the M2's more efficient power consumption extends its life even further. The M2 also charges faster through its MagSafe charging port. The M1 model only charges via USB-C.

Is AutoCAD 2024 worth it? ›

It is a great user-friendly software. All of its features are very user-friendly. Using AutoCAD LT we can quickly and easily generate a plan or a design and show details to the client for review and approval.

What is the best computer for CAD work? The best computer for CAD work will be a workstation with a very fast CPU that supports ECC memory, a large amount of RAM, the latest GPU technology, and one or more monitors that enable fast rendering and exceptional detail. How much RAM is needed for CAD programs?

Except for Computer Science majors, we do not recommend the newer M1-based (i.e., Apple silicon) MacBooks for engineering students. The new M1-based MacBooks are not compatible with software written to run on Windows computers with Intel-processors, which much of the software used in Engineering's curriculum requires.

Generally, running AutoCAD requires at least 8GB of RAM to operate, which is next to nothing in today's world. However, we recommend you get at least 16GB of RAM for your workstation, as AutoCAD will not be the only software that will use it.

The MacBook Air will run the software you mentioned, but it will not run it well. While you can get AutoCAD for macOS, all of the other software is Windows only.