[chad_winker]

Which of these two is better and which of them can run on Autocad?

[darius_robin]

Can you explain what is the new MacBook, is it the 2016 MacBook Pro? If yes, then it is the better choice since it is more powerful with a faster processor which is better for autocad.

[Bazza1]

The Air is a great device, but is clearly being phased out by Apple - the 11" now gone, the 13" can't be far behind (for price, Apple clearly wants users to buy iPad Pro, which is not the same thing at all), so not sure its a great investment now. I have an 11" Air and it works well for the stuff I do, but no major software demands - some picture manipulation - but I've never tried AutoCad or similar on it. But now an 'old' device and the price leap from Air to anything else may mean this is my last Mac. But I digress...

Like I said, big leap in price then to MacBook / MacBook Pro. MacBook 'horsepower' has been dissed - some argue worse than Air - while the Pro line has faster processor, more RAM - which can only help with AutoCad. That said, I've heard reports that some pro users of Mac products (which would probably include users of AutoCad) are less than impressed with the bang for the buck of new Pro.

Meanwhile, whatever you decide to go with, its always worth keeping an eye on Apple's refurb store. Here they sell devices returned - buyer remorse, wrong model, something wrong - and they do a full rebuild and check and resell with usual retail warranty. AppleCare can be bought for them and often it includes free shipping. US version of the store here - Refurbished MacBook - Apple

[wkelly24]

How big are the AutoCad projects? The more complicated the projects are with AutoCad, you're going to benefit more with a MacBook Pro vs just the MacBook line of notebooks. Though the Air was a good model for a while, it is being phased out, so looking at future supportability would become an issue. As mentioned earlier, you can look at the Refurbished site for better pricing on the newest models, once they get there.

If you're only comparison is between the MacBook Air and the MacBook, then I would say the MacBook is the better choice.

[Tech198]

I thought the 12' Macbook was clocked at a lower speed... The Macbook Air (assuming u go for the i7 upgrade would equal about the same performance as a 13' Macbok Pro Retina)

If the Air IS on it's way out, i sure hope Apple gets out a 13-inch version of the Macbook... I don't wanna settle for a 12 inch.

[Matty]

Which of these two is better and which of them can run on Autocad?

(Updated 2017 Answer)

If you are using Autocad for Designing and creating 3D designs then the GPU and CPU are your friend
The latest Macbook Air comes with a Intel HD Graphics 6000 with 1,5GB of graphics memory and a maximum CPU of 2.2Ghz i7
The Latest Macbook comes with a Intel HD Graphics 515 with 1.5GB of graphics memory BUT a maximum CPU of 1.3ghz m7

So if those are the only 2 options. I would take the Macbook Air 13" and bump the CPU to a i7 for the extra speed.

[chad_winker]

Im sorry to be specific I meant the

Macbook Pro
Touch Bar and Touch ID
2.9GHz Processor
256GB Storage
2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
8GB 2133MHz memory
256GB PCIe-based SSD1
Intel Iris Graphics 550
Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
Touch Bar and Touch ID