The MacBook Air as a CAD workstation? A Real-World Test. [Part III: Render Test]

Two architecture students took on the challenge of replacing their old MacBook Pro with the MacBook Air (M2) for a month. In Part I we introduced the students and their hardware, and in Part II we looked at the software performance of the Air in various use cases. Now the moment of truth strikes: In the render test, the MacBook Air (2022, M2) competes again against the MacBook Pro 16 (2019, i9).

Reminder: These are their hardware specs

Specs Andreas	MacBook Pro (Intel, Late 2019)	MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
CPU	2,3 GHz 8‑Core Intel Core i9 (Turbo Boost bis zu 4,8 GHz)	Apple M2 Chip (8-Core)
GPU	AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (4 GB GDDR6)	Apple M2 (10 Core GPU)
RAM	16 GB	24 GB
SSD	1 TB	512 GB

Specs Roman	MacBook Pro (Intel, Late 2019)	MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
CPU	2,3 GHz 8‑Core Intel Core i9 (Turbo Boost bis zu 4,8 GHz)	Apple M2 Chip (8-Core)
GPU	AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (4 GB HBM2)	Apple M2 (10 Core GPU)
RAM	32 GB	24 GB
SSD	512 GB	512 GB

Rendertest (Twinmotion / Maxxon Cineware)

Andreas used Twinmotion (2023.1) as the rendering tool for the test. Already when opening large files, he noticed that the Macbook Air loads them much faster than his old Pro. He also noticed that the Air runs noticeably smoother and faster when navigating the UI. In addition, the colours on the Air's higher-contrast screen are a touch more accurate for Andreas.

The big surprise came during the render test itself! The Air only needed 6 min 45 s to render a PNG file with a size of 81 MB. The Pro with i9 chip, on the other hand, could not process the file completely and crashed or overheated every time! A clear win for the Air and a somewhat disappointing performance from the Pro. The MBA was also ahead in smaller renderings. Files rendered 2-4 times faster on the Air, whereas the Pro crashed several times or had to downclock the CPU. Astonishing, considering that the Air is purely passively cooled, while the Pro has a fan and still overheats during the same workload.

Conclusion Andreas: The new chip and the larger RAM show the massive advantages of the MBA. Both Macs can process smaller files without any problems, but here too the MBA is a lot faster. However, the advantage becomes apparent with larger, more complex models. Here the MBA has a clear advantage, as such models sometimes cannot even be exported properly on the older MBP.

Roman used the Maxxon Cineware Engine within Archicad 26 (Apple Sillicon version) for his test.

For the interior image, the MacBook Pro needed 2 min 23 s. The MBA had a slight advantage and was two seconds faster (2 min 21 s). Not a dramatic difference, yet the Air wins the round.

Settings (indoor image): Indoor high, standard engine,1280 x 960 pixels.

The exterior image, on the other hand, is a much more complex render. The longer render time makes the differences stand out more clearly. The MBP 16 needed 26 min and 37 s for the scene. In contrast, the MBA with an M2 chip was able to complete the render after 23 minutes and 21 seconds. A lead of over 3 minutes! The results show that the differences in performance are by no means negligible, especially with more complex renders.

Settings (outdoor image): Indoor high, standard engine, 1280 x 960 pixels

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Conclusion Roman: The Air was consistently a touch faster than the i9 Pro!

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Conclusion of the render test and an outlook on Part IV

The Twinmotion render engine used by Andreas showed a clear difference in performance. While the Air was 2-4 times faster than the Pro when rendering smaller files, the i9 device completely failed when rendering large files and regularly crashed or had to downclock the processor due to overheating. So the Air emerges as the clear winner.

For Roman, the results were closer with the Maxxon Cineware Engine (Archicad 26). For the short render of an interior view, the Air was faster than the Pro, but only by two seconds. The more complex render of the exterior view, however, showed a clear improvement. The Air was finished just over 3 minutes earlier than the MBP. A time-saving that is not to be neglected in everyday studio life. Especially if you regularly have to render larger models for your projects.

For us, the results were surprising. The Air with the Apple Silicon chip came out on top for both testers. Even though the M2 is the newer chip, it is important to remember that this is Apple's entry-level chip. The fact that the M2 is able to beat the high-end i9 chip of the Pro, which is only three years old, without active cooling shows how much the computing power of Macs has increased thanks to Apple Silicon. We are definitely impressed.

In the last part, the two architecture students will evaluate the hardware of the MacBook Air (M2) and give their final conclusion on the practical test. So don't miss it!

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Disclaimer: This test was made possible by the support of our distribution partner DQ Solutions.