Help me which macbook to buy given my dilemma!

I currently own a moderately capable windows laptop and i plan on buying a macbook because:

1.) my friends and i are interested in designing iphone apps.
2.) virus keeps bugging me and the curiosity to own my first ever non windows laptop.

But the reason i cant fully abandon my windows laptop is because i work in an engineering company and i deal with lots of dwg files and AUTOCAD software. So:

I would go for a macbook pro 13' and ditch my windows laptop in a second if i knew there is autocad or a similar program for mac that wont be costly. (purchasing an autocad software for mac is out of the question becauseit is expensive) so now this option seems not viable since going macbook pro means im going all in and dumping my windows which i cant because of autocad.

So my second option would be to buy a macbook air and make it my primary computer and just use my windows pc for autocad and sync my other work files via dropbox. But the downside is the steep price for the air given its specs, i fear that it might slow down in the near future. Which leads me to my last option which is:

Third option would be to buy a cheap phased out macbook (not pro) which willbe sufficient (i guess) because we'll still be able to make iphone apps. But this option leaves me a bit hanging since its an old model. And it might be slow too.

Anyway, which among the three options wuld you suggest i take?
I also own an iphone and an ipad, dunno if that'll help in choosing an option.

Go for the MacBook Pro

You can run your existing Autocad software in Bootcamp or a virtual machine and still enjoy writing mac apps in Xcode and all the other advantages of the mac world

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ru...4239-running-windows-mac-switchers-guide.html

Mosmordre said:

Third option would be to buy a cheap phased out macbook (not pro) which willbe sufficient (i guess) because we'll still be able to make iphone apps. But this option leaves me a bit hanging since its an old model. And it might be slow too.

Click to expand...

Depending on how demanding your iPhone app development projects will be...you would be surprised how capable a 2007-2009 used MacBook can be for $400!

- Nick

AutoCAD has been on the Mac for quite some time now:

AutoCAD for Mac Design Software - Autodesk

Louieshen, i've been researching and it seems running autocad on a windows version of mac has its problems so im hesitant to go all in for a macbook pro. I'll be in big trouble if the autocad acts up and i cant fix it.

Pigoo, i know, this seems to be the practical option for me.

Chas_M, as i said in my first post, purchasing a new autocad software for mac is out of the questions bec. Its expensive.