<p>I will be entering a dual degree program this fall at Notre Dame, studying mechanical engineering and also Industrial Design. When I asked the university about whether I should get a MAC or a PC...long story short, they gave the pros and cons of each which were fairly balanced and said it was up to me. I was thinking about getting a cheap PC for the first two years or so and then investing in a MAC..any thoughts on this? I've heard MAC would be better for design but PC would be better for engineering..is this true? Thank you all!!</p>
<p>as far as mechanical engineering goes, i haven't had any trouble with PCs doing CAD, FEA, what-not....so if you like PCs, i'd just go for it.</p>
<p>the truth is, i haven't seen any MACs in our engineering computer labs yet. (upson lab, philips lab).. so it's not like MAC is a must for MechE...</p>
<p>i have no ideal about Industrial Design.</p>
<p>MAC is generally reserved for things like the MAC Address, etc. You can call it a Mac. PC=Personal Computer, Mac=Macintosh.</p>
<p>I think you'd be safe either way, but keep in mind you might need to install XP on the Mac (alongside OS X of course). One of the classes everyone had to take at my school was a design class and I don't think the software came for OS X; I know that AutoCAD doesn't, but I think that is more a Civil program. </p>
<p>Why would you get a cheap PC and then a Mac 2 years down the road? I would think you'd have less money after two years at Notre Dame.</p>
<p>I don't know who would tell you that Mac's are better for engineering. Engineering has a slew of programs built for Windows. I've heard people say Mac's are better for video/image design, I dunno if that's true or not.</p>
<p>I'm a Mac fan personally, and as soon as this ol' HP dies I'm going to jump back aboard the Apple-fan-wagon. I would have purchased a Mac 2 years ago if my school hadn't designated the laptops (easy on-location repairs is the claim). If you want a Mac, go for it. It won't be a disadvantage as long as you get XP/Vista as a backup.</p>
<p>According to our jr eng student at ND, most of the engineering students at ND have PC and not Macs.</p>
<p>I use and have no problem with pc. Most of the softwares that I need to use are in a computer lab in a linux environment so it doesnt matter what computer i use.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't know who would tell you that Mac's are better for engineering.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>OP said it was better for industrial design, which may be true. I don't know much about that field though, but based on a poster I glanced at in my sister's high school, it seems very graphics oriented. And it seems like the basic consensus in the computer world is that Macs are good for graphics.</p>
<p>You won't be doing high-end color matching and printmaking and junk like that where any advantages inherent to a Mac would become apparent. Posters can be done in a ton of programs on any OS; it all just comes down to personal preference.</p>