MAC questions (SU related)
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Hi there
I just want to point something out regarding your post. You say ..
" I am looking for recommendations for a renderer. I would love to use Vray as I know it best of anyones I have tried but currently it is not available for MAC. "
Well that is not true. Vray is available for MAC through the vraybridge for Cinema 4D.
take a look http://www.vrayforc4d.com/
I find that i can very succesfuly export models from Sketchup into Cinema 4D by using 3DS.Hope this helps
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Yes it is necessary to run MAC. That being said I will be running a fairly well built machine. I am hoping memory will not be an issue.
I may look into Lightwave since a friend told me it is fairly easy to use. Any users of lightwave currently?
Scott
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Right but that requires me to buy C4D just to get to Vray for MAC. I like and have used C4D but did not plan on it being part of the overall purchase.
Scott
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Para, are you trying to depress me with that attachment?
In any case, if you're interested in Lightwave, check out Kray. Their gallery's impressive, and they got a Mac version.
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May be worth seeing if you can change those Ati cards to Nvidia Scott, bearing in mind problems and performance hits people have come across in recent months.
Awesome machine though! -
Hi Scott.
A couple of things.
Please, for the love of God, do not buy your RAM and upgraded harddrives from MAC. MAC charges a ridiculous amount for them. Check out OWC or NEWEGG for much better prices.
You may find that you hit a point of diminishing returns with RAM, too. Most softwares can't take advantage of all of that RAM. I am running a 8 core 3.2 macpro, too. I have 10 gig of ram and very very infrequently do I ever get a page out. I regularly have safari, mail, SU, Cheetah, Photoshop, Illustrator, final cut, etc all open at the same time with little to no lag while switching. It's hard to imagine it running any faster, really so you might want to hold off on getting all the ram at once. Just my opinion, you know.
I upgraded to the Nvidea 8800GT, too, with no regrets. I think that Apple's price for this upgrade is very reasonable and is almost a no-brainer.
I think that Cheetah has a fabulous render engine. It utilizes all of the 8 cores (unlike certain other softwares, cough cough) and can really turn out some stunning images. Set up of the scenes can be a chore, especially interiors, but I think that that is just the way of rendering. Can't beat the price, either, unless you use blender. Cheetah also has a pretty extensive tool set and can accomplish quite a lot. I use OBJ or #DS files to transfer back and forth, and I am pretty sure that FBX works quite well too.
I am currently considering getting SILO for its sculpting toolsets, and Z-BRUSH when they finally release a MAC version, but I fully expect to continue doing my raytrace renderings in Cheetah.
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scott,
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i have run the windows version of vray for sketchup on my macbook pro (2.4 ghz, 4gb ram) under parallels. no problems at all. the same is true of podium.
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vray for sketchup is about to release a mac version soon. they told me it would be in july.
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bootcamp is supposed to be a better choice to run windows on the mac. i have not tried it yet but am going to. it seems to be the only one that allows you to use the full power of your mac under emulation.
good luck.
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@unknownuser said:
Please, for the love of God, do not buy your RAM and upgraded harddrives from MAC. MAC charges a ridiculous amount for them. Check out OWC or NEWEGG for much better prices.
Ah, yes, I forgot to point that out! Kannonabal is absolutely right! I bought 16 Gb of RAM a little while ago. Would've cost me little over € 2000 (according to our office's Mac supplier, anyway) if I went with Mac. Luckily, Kwisten pointed out I'd be fine buying from other manufacturers too. I eventually chose for Kingston RAM, and ended up paying € 700. Quite a difference. 2026.1039 US Dollar, to be precise! Imagine all the fun stuff you can do with that. Call girls! Cocaine!
@edson said:
vray for sketchup is about to release a mac version soon. they told me it would be in july.
So ... it'll be out in december.
@edson said:
bootcamp is supposed to be a better choice to run windows on the mac. i have not tried it yet but am going to. it seems to be the only one that allows you to use the full power of your mac under emulation.
I though BC wans't an emulator?
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Edson, i think the problem with running vray under parallels is that you get reduced processing power compared to running straight in the OS (as you would be doing with boot camp.)
I'm also not sure wether the virtual machine can use more than 2 of the host computers cores, obviously not a problem on macbook but if youve got an mac pro (aka the 8 core beast) its probably a bit disappointing.
Good news about vray for mac though. If they are running on schedule i reckon thats probably your bet bet, scott.
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And as stinkie said boot camp isnt an emulator, its just a utility that helps you install windows on your mac and then boot in to it.
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Guys,
Nice to wake up to this wealth of info, so thanks alot. As far as the RAM it is the owner who wants to just buy it all at once. He is a bit old school so it is what it is. I agree I could find it cheaper though. As far as the video cards, that is good to know. Does anyone know if I can have 2 8800's? Does MAC run SLI? I will be running the 30" apple monitor with a wacom Cintiq 20WSX. I have heard the wacom can be a bit of a card hog just sitting idle so I would like to let it run on its own card. If I can not run 2 in SLI does anyone have any other suggestions?
What has been purchased so far"
Wacom cintiq
Sketchup
Modo 302
Photoshop Master series
Vista ultimateStill looking at:
Cheetah
Rhino
Concepts unlimited
VRWorxsI am still reading about Parallels vs bootcamp vs VMware (fusion). Still have not made up my mind yet.
I need to have all this nailed down by monday. They want all purchases by then. If anyone else has any ideas on anything else I may need or want please feel free to let me know.
You guys have been great and I really appreciate all the help.
Scott
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@unknownuser said:
I though BC wans't an emulator?
i am not really sure what it is. i just know it allows one to run windows on a mac. perhaps it performs better than parallels and fusion because it is not an emulator.
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The part I do not like about Bootcamp is having to reboot to work within PC apps. I know under parallels I can switch without having to reboot. Parallels can hog some resources but I am hoping with the build I speced that will not be an issue.
Does anyone else have experience with Parallels vs Bootcamp?
Scott
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i do not like that either. that is the reason i moved to parallels in the first place. however, there seems to be a way to ease the rebooting. have a look here. that thread deals with the same topic treated here.
i used bootcamp under tiger until it expired but did not use it for rendering purposes. with parallels/win/SUp/podium i have no major problems.
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I think you will find that running SU in Parallels or Fusion works pretty well. Once you get into rendering, though, you want to maximize processor allotment, which can only be done with Bootcamp. You are right that rebooting is not at all an elegant solution, and can be a thorn in your workflow. Having Windows open in just another window is pretty sweet and I still get a kick out of flipping between OS's.
I would really take a look through the MAC forums before choosing Parallels; there seems to be quite the consensus that Fusion is a superior product. I have had no issues with Fusion and installing and getting it set up was very easy.
All things being equal, I would highly recommend getting render package that runs on the MAC side; life is really good when you are rendering a 8sec, 240 frame, 2560x1440 animation and you look at your processor activity and it is running at 98% usage. Makes you feel like you spent your money well. That animation took 36 hours to render, BTW, so every second per frame you can maximize saves a ton of time over the long run.
I could be wrong here, but I thought that the only real reason to run 2 graphics cards is so you can run 3 or 4 monitors. I use a Wacom tablet with no problems with 1 card, FWIW.
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Thanks Chuck. We will end up running a display wall of 4 monitors down the road and that will be up in the lobby, so I will need to upgrade down the road for sure. I think for now I will run 1 8800. That should run the 30" and the wacom without an issue. I think for rendering I am down to Modo302 and Cheetah. They have already bought Modo so I think I can just have them spring for Cheetah as well. I will upload some pics in a few weeks of the whole set up.
After some reading last night I think Fusion is the best I am going to get. Parallels still has some people complaining and that has me a bit worried. If I have to change later it is not a huge investment so I should be able to get that change made.
Scott
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I use VMware vs. Parallels. Used to use Parallels, but VMware just seems better in a number of ways (stability, speed, features).
But I didn't have to use between VMware or Bootcamp. You get both. I can launch VMware when I went it and mac open at the same time. And I can reboot into windows when I want real power. I think Parallels does the same. I will say that I have issues with startup time for Windows (others in office don't have this problem, have not pinned down why), but once windows is running, application are fast.
One things I can't do with dual vm/bootcamp setup is to suspend windows. With VMware only you can quit VM ware where it saves your windows state. Makes for quick startup next time, because windows is right where you left it with applications already open. Since mine is shared with bootcamp, it has to be shut down when I'm done.
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Thanks David. I am really happy that I am getting all this great info. I appreciate everyones input.
Scott
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@unknownuser said:
Concepts unlimited
in the meanwhile rebranded to 'Shark FX' with new version 5 (inkl. SU filter) and also functional limited versions called 'Shark' (no rendering/animation) and 'ViaCAD' avail:
2D / 3D CAD and Drafting Software | CAD Software for Mac and Windows | CAD Programs | Drawing Software | Architecture Design Software
2D / 3D CAD and Drafting Software, CAD Software for Mac and Windows, CAD Programs, Drawing Software, Architecture Design Software
(www.punchcad.com)
if you don't need modeling capabilities but looking for a renderer with an intuitive interface check resp. try Art•lantis too:
have fun,
Norbert -
Norbert,
I already have Artlantis V2. I was looking at Shark (thanks for the link) but could not find anything regarding a SU Filter. Can you point me to the documentation?
Scott
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