3ds Max 8, will it run?

[Mad78]

Howdy,
I have been wanting to buy a Laptop for quite some time. I really liked the MacBook but I work alot with 3dsMax so it didn't seem like an option. But then Boot Camp came and may change everything.
The MacBook I have my eyes on is the 13-inch: Black one. The questions I am asking myself are the following:
1) Will 3ds Max 8 run if I install Windows using Boot Camp?
2) Will its rendering speed be greatly impeded?
Thanks

 

[Makosuke]

According to the posted minimum requirements, yes:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=5659453

...it will run, since all it requires is "Hardware-accelerated OpenGL® and Direct3D supported", which even the GMA 950 in the MacBook supplies.

Further, since Windows in BootCamp is just like windows running on any other 2GHz Core Duo laptop with a GMA 950 graphics chip, if the rendering is entirely in software (as opposed to offloading some of the work to the graphics processor--I have no idea how 3ds Max works), then it'll render extremely well. According to this benchmark, the 2.16GHz Core Duo is nearly as fast as a Pentium Extreme Edition 965, which is pretty good:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1948294,00.asp

That said, I'd guess that the experience of working with models is going to be seriously hamstrung by the anemic graphics processor; even if it renders as fast, the modeling end is going to use hardware to render the wireframes/previews/whatever in realtime, and that's going to be pokey.

If this is a big app for you, I'd think that the 15" MacBook Pro with its X1600 would be much better suited, but then that's just one opinion.

 

[Mad78]

Okay Thanks.
I shall look into it.
I just really liked the looks of the normal MacBook as well as the fact that its not overly expensive, the MacBook Pro on the other side...