I'm looking at buying a Raven, and need to find out if the "lag" that Carvewright talks about when using Designer5 on a non-intel Mac is a problem. I can't get Designer5 trial version to run on my old intel core i5 Mac. It tries to start up, and then the program closes. It seems to work okay on this M1 Mac, but I've only tried a couple of things, and, since I don't have a Carver yet, I'm wondering if It will work long term. Anyone have experience?
Thanks
Steve
I have it running on my older Mac with an i7 core and it runs great. I also run in on my M1 and only find lag issues when dealing with a lot of vectors. Most projects have been fine. The lag is because it's using Rosetta 2 to translate it.
I'm running it on a I5 and M4 MAC's it works well with both computers
Hiya, I have 4 Mac Mini's: the original Mac Mini, an Intel Mac Mini an M1 Mac Mini and my most recent an M4 pro Mac Mini.
Currently I am running Designer 5 on the Intel Mac Mini and have used it to update the firmware on my A series Machine from Ver 1.8.8 to what ever the current version is.
I've been using my A series machine since December (2025) with no issues on the Older Mac other than the occasional screen pause when rendering or moving the onscreen 3D image from front view to back View.
It appears as though there will be no problem with the new Raven machines.
I have decided that I will make a you tube channel specifically for my adventures with the Carvewright system in hopes that whatever I m doing will provide some help to the others who have or are about to invest in the Carvewright eco-system.
The biggest issue for me is, do I continue using my vintage machine or upgrade to the new Raven?
So far since reviving my Compucarve (A) series machine, I have invested money back into the Carvewright/Raven ecosystem software so as not to loose my original 2500.00 investment in the machine.
So far I've toyed with the idea of buying a windows laptop just for the purpose of running Designer 5 on it just to see the difference between that and my Intel Mac so that I could offer Apples to Apples advice ( Pun intended)
SO as a long winded response to your original question: " I'm wondering if It will work long term." Just Consider this:
1) I bought my first Carvewright Machine in 2009 or 2010, and it still works fine with a Mac that was made well after the Carvewright machine was originally manufactured.
2) EVEN AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS I called them Up (Dec of 2025) , they got back to me within an hour or so! Answered my question quickly, Emailed me the files that I needed to update my machine WITH INSTRUCTIONS. And Guess what? My old machine is up and running on the new software!
It sounds to me like this is a company I can trust and would have no hesitation investing in a new Raven Machine If I were you.
So ScWeaver... My advice to you would be YES take the "plunge-cut" into your finances (pun intended) and buy a new Raven Machine... It HAS TO BE BETTER THAN MY ORIGINAL MACHINE, and I KNOW from experience that this company will stand behind their product what ever challenges you may face.
Best Regards,
Michael
