new Apple Laptops?

[craigh]

Any thoughts on the new Apple Retina MacBook Pros and the graphics working with Pyware 3D?

[Psenicka]

I was looking for an answer to the same question. My old Mac book pro is starting to struggle with running 3D. I did not want to sink $1,300 into a new one unless I knew it would last.

[greatcow95]

I am using the Mac mini from 2011 with the AMD Radeon card (6330M). This model runs Pyware beautifully, even on Mac OS 10.9 Mavericks, especially since running Pyware full screen forces everything else to App Nap. So I went over to the Apple Online Store, making sure to check things out for the following or better:

2.4 Ghz Dual Core Processor or greater
4GB of RAM or greater
ATI Radeon HD 5770, NVIDIA GeForce GT 550 graphics performance or better
supporting OpenGL 2.0 or better (latest driver recommended)

Why? Because these are the recommended requirements for Pyware as opposed to the minimum. So this means any Air model is out of the question for running Pyware well. It doesn't have the horsepower needed.

The cheap Macbook Pro model (the $1199 model) has Intel HD Graphics 4000, which can run Pyware but you'll have to tweak Real View so it runs all right. However note that right now, this is the only model that allows you to upgrade the RAM. The other models have the RAM soldered onto the motherboard, which in my opinion just sucks. If I were honestly going for a new model, this would be my first choice and only because I can change out hard drives and RAM, even though the HD Graphics 4000 is barely enough to run Pyware.

The models with Retina displays (every other model at the online store where the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard) have Iris graphics and I don't know about that critter. Someone like Mark or Dustin would have to tell you about that one. If Iris works, then you won't have an issue with anything. If not, then you're looking at the top end model for the Retina displays since it is the only model with a separate graphics card.

Now for me to be honest--if I were you, I'd hit the used market. I am looking for a laptop since mine got borked, and I'm going on the used Mac market. Look for the following models in laptops:

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011) with the AMD graphics card
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011) with the AMD graphics card
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012) with the GeForce graphics card
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2012) with the GeForce graphics card

Those should run Pyware great, run about anything else you need to run, and it won't cost nearly as much as a new model.