I require a new portable mac and use Rhino 2d and 3d.
My current iMac is the 2009 model and using Bootcamp to switch between Apple and Windows is long and painful. Not sure if this has improved over the last years on the Mac side…
I would love to use Rhino only on Mac but am not sure if and how that is possible? And if that is the best option, also for 3D? Do I have to purchase the software or can I hire it on a month to month basis?
Which portable Mac should I get? Is Rhino on bootcamp the better option still?
I am using more 2D than 3D…not sure if that makes a difference in the setup.
rhino for mac improved a lot. If you prefer macos I don’t see many reason to run bootcamp just for rhino.You can test the full version for 3 months at no charge: Rhino - Downloads
Which portable Mac should I get?
depends on the type of geometry you are dealing with and how much money you want to spent. also: what is portable to you? laptop or small desktop?
while you could do most modelling with a macbookair, for 200,- more you would get a macbookpro which would offer definitely more performance. (prices from apple.com ).
before buying a mac i would check the mac rumors buying guide, to see if any new model is around the corner (either save money or get more performance)
if you can still work on that imac then work it, it is not very portable though anyway if you are in need for a bit more juice, i recommend buying a used one, starting with a graphics card with 2 gb of video memory, nvidia, radeon, that should hold you for the next 2-3 years still.
apple is in the process of changing the processor architecture entirely, with a new laptop probably coming this autumn, if not now with the new processors i am pretty sure it will not take more than a year till they put a completely new design out there, since apple actually hired a specialist a while ago. here is a bit info regarding the new architecture.
under the line i would at least wait a bit still or buy a used which keeps you above water for just a little longer.
anyway if you are in need for a bit more juice, i recommend buying a used one, starting with a graphics card with 2 gb of video memory, nvidia, radeon, that should hold you for the next 2-3 years still.