Wanting to put a dual operating system OSX/Windows on one MAC laptop, which would be the best?

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Level 1

10 points

Wanting to put a dual operating system OSX/Windows on one MAC laptop, which would be the best?

Hello dear Apple friends,

Having converted to Apple more than 15 years ago, unfortunately I will have to start using a software which runs better on Windows.

This marvelous software is Rhinoceros 3D.
I currently have it on my MAC, and after viewing the better Windows version on my friend’s PC I have decided to purchase a MAC laptop and install both operating systems on it so that whenever I need to use Rhino MAC, I use OSX Mac Rhino and whenever I need to use Windows Rhino, I change operating system and use Windows Rhino.

My question to you dear Apple friends, is which mac LAPTOP would you suggest I purchase to have a powerful machine who could survive both operating systems, as well as a deep RAM user software such as Rhinoceros 3D.

I read online that one could use an external hard drive which would store the Microsoft Windows operating system, and once plugged in could simplify the task for the OSX conversion.

Thank you for your input in this matter!

MacBook (13-inch Aluminum Late 2008), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Oct 4, 2017 7:06 AM

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Answer 1

alex7375

Level 3

702 points

Oct 4, 2017 11:46 AM in response to Hanzo305

Any MacBook Pro mid-2012 or NEWER would work fine.

16gb ram and 512gb. SSD will work best.

Dual core i5 CPU or better.

I have a mid-2012 with 16gb. ram and 512gb. SSD.

Dual boot OSX Sierra / Win-10 and it works great , Flawlessly in Sierra and Win-10.

I created (2) partitions of 250gb. each for each OS. 120gb partitions will also work fine but will not leave much room for growth.

I actually almost newer use the Win-10 OS. I just keep is around for convenience.

You can find a mid-2012 MBP with i5 CPU refurbished for about $500 ( search the web )

Upgrade it with 16gb ram and 512gb SSD for about $300.

I think this is going to be your least expensive option for MBP with 16gb ram.

If you plan on doing video editing then get the NEW MBP with Quad core i7 CPU and 16gb ram and 512gb SSD.

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Answer 2

Oct 4, 2017 8:16 AM in response to Hanzo305

You can share storage space between Windows and MacOS (work on the same file from both operating systems) by storing the file/data on an external drive formatted ExFat. ExFat formatted drives can be read/write by both Windows and MacOS.

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Answer 3

Hanzo305 Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 4, 2017 8:06 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Thank you for your reply Bob,

What I'm actually thinking of doing is using Rhino on Mac, but then switch to Windows Rhino, copy pasting different sections of it (easier to work whether on Windows/OSX) throughout the work process. Having both operating systems with the same work base, but create and add copy/pasting from one to the other. To finalize the work having been worked upon both operating system Rhino versions.

Is what I'm saying even possible?

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Answer 4

Hanzo305 Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 4, 2017 8:57 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

I'm not talking about sharing storage.

I'm taking about having a tab opened with Rhino Mac functioning and a different tab opened with Rhino Windows functionning.

Keeping the operating system OSX, but having Windows installed on it to allow me to install Rhino Windows under BootCamp or something else, but having them both able to communicate between themselves as copying from Rhino Mac to Rhino Windows without having to restart anything.

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Answer 5

Hanzo305 Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 4, 2017 2:02 PM in response to alex7375

Thank you for your answer Alex!!

Would you think that Windows PC would be better suitable for graphic animations?

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Answer 6

Hanzo305 Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 4, 2017 2:03 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

Thank you for your reply Bob,

I will look into the different options to switch between the two without rebooting.

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Answer 7

Oct 4, 2017 8:01 AM in response to Hanzo305

You can not install and use Windows on an external device unless you are using Windows Enterprise. See the Microsoft site for more info on installing Windows on an external device.

Mac users who need to also run Windows normally use Boot Camp or a virtual machine to install Windows. For resource intensive apps Boot Camp would be the better choice since it allows each operating system to use all your computer's system resources. With a virtual machine your computer's resources are simultaneously shared between the operating systems.

See Boot Camp - Apple Supportfor instructions on using Boot Camp.

If you opt for using a virtual machine you can use Fusion, Parallels, or VirtualBox. See their respective sites for instructions.

Regardless which option you choose, get a computer with 16GB RAM and a large SSD. Running 2 operating systems and having storage space for the data they produce requires more than a basic system.

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Answer 8

Oct 4, 2017 2:01 PM in response to Hanzo305

You would need to run Windows in a virtual machine in order to switch between them without rebooting. You can use Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox.

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