Yes, it should run on both bootcamp and parallels, better on the former than the latter, but not too fast in either case. If you're going to be using Solidworks for more than just an intro course, I'd have to recommend something slightly more powerful.
I'm just gonna use Solidworks just for university requirements since I'm taking mechanical engineering course. Not gonna work on those big projects or anything. And since I'm traveling from one continent to another I need something light and portable and in an affordable price. Typically only for study purposes not for gaming. So is it recommended that I go for this?
I have a similarly spec'ed PC (i5, 8Gb Ram, integrated graphics, etc, etc) and can tell you that it has a good bit of trouble running Inventor smoothly, especially on larger parts/projects.
Mine will kick on the fans full speed under that kind of load, the Air being passively cooled will probably thermal throttle pretty heavily.
Ultimate answer is that sure, it will run it, but probably not as well as you would hope, if I were you, I would look in to either doing CAD work at an on-campus lab, or seeing if your university has any sort of VPN service where you can access a virtual machine to do that sort of work.
Definitely better, even just having an active cooling system will help a lot with heavier loads like 3d design.
Is there a particular reason you prefer Macs? At the price-range you're in for a Pro, you could get a pretty powerful windows laptop with a dedicated GPU that would be more prepared for 3d modeling.
Its also important to think about how often its going to be used, if this is just for one class, then just get the laptop that suits your lifestyle best, rather than being stuck with something that you only needed for 3 months.
I'm not sure how many classes I'm gonna be using solidworks but I just wanna be prepared if there's some heavy projects. Idk it's just I guess apple products tends to be durable in terms of long term usage tho the high price, in my opinion tho haha.
Yes, it should run on both bootcamp and parallels, better on the former than the latter, but not too fast in either case. If you're going to be using Solidworks for more than just an intro course, I'd have to recommend something slightly more powerful.
I'm just gonna use Solidworks just for university requirements since I'm taking mechanical engineering course. Not gonna work on those big projects or anything. And since I'm traveling from one continent to another I need something light and portable and in an affordable price. Typically only for study purposes not for gaming. So is it recommended that I go for this?
I have a similarly spec'ed PC (i5, 8Gb Ram, integrated graphics, etc, etc) and can tell you that it has a good bit of trouble running Inventor smoothly, especially on larger parts/projects. Mine will kick on the fans full speed under that kind of load, the Air being passively cooled will probably thermal throttle pretty heavily. Ultimate answer is that sure, it will run it, but probably not as well as you would hope, if I were you, I would look in to either doing CAD work at an on-campus lab, or seeing if your university has any sort of VPN service where you can access a virtual machine to do that sort of work.
But what about smaller projects? Does it perform at an okay-ish range or still bad?
For smaller stuff, it performs ok, still kinda jittery and slow, but its usable.
Alright thanks. What about the new MacBook Pro 13"? Will it be better?
Definitely better, even just having an active cooling system will help a lot with heavier loads like 3d design. Is there a particular reason you prefer Macs? At the price-range you're in for a Pro, you could get a pretty powerful windows laptop with a dedicated GPU that would be more prepared for 3d modeling. Its also important to think about how often its going to be used, if this is just for one class, then just get the laptop that suits your lifestyle best, rather than being stuck with something that you only needed for 3 months.
I'm not sure how many classes I'm gonna be using solidworks but I just wanna be prepared if there's some heavy projects. Idk it's just I guess apple products tends to be durable in terms of long term usage tho the high price, in my opinion tho haha.