Quick MAC Pro Question

[maX_Andrews]

It will run 3dsmax 7 fine and dandy, but you should get a single x1900 grahics card as opposed to two 7300's, as they can't be used together. People have used the x1900 with 3dsmax and they say it runs fine. Here's an autodesk forum about 3dsmax on the mac pro:
http://discussion.autodesk.com/thread.jspa?threadID=507757

You should get a windows keyboard so that shortcuts are not an issue, it's a lot easier to use a windows keyboard with OSX than it is to use a mac keyboard with windows. I recommend a wireless keyboard and a wired mouse.

Any extra RAM you want to add should be bought from these guys: http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?model=250&type=Memory&TI=0852
Usually far cheaper than doing it through apple, moreso for larger upgrades than smaller ones.

[cynik6]

So buy it with one card and 1 stick of RAM and then purchase those others from the an outside source? Possibly sell the card.

Also, is it the OS that makes the Mac Pro better for graphics or is it the system itself? Also, is a dual OS install possible? If so, 2 seperate HDDs or just 1 partitioned?

[bin23]

Dual booting :
Try doing a google search for Boot camp (Native osx loader). There are a number of boot loader choices out there depending on what operating system you choose for your home (the one you will work in the most).

Software :
An alternative might be to work in Cinema 4d or Maya if you can. They run both on OS X an Xp.

Buying Suggestions :
I always buy barebones and do memory, hard-drive, etc upgrade myself.

Rendering :
I think the rendering (3D) your talking about, if I understand you correctly, will be handled by your cpus and your graphic cards will be handling your displays and your 3D viewports within.


I suspect that all of this is covered some where else on this forum.\


My 2 cents.

Bin

[Per-Anders]

So buy it with one card and 1 stick of RAM and then purchase those others from the an outside source? Possibly sell the card.

Also, is it the OS that makes the Mac Pro better for graphics or is it the system itself? Also, is a dual OS install possible? If so, 2 seperate HDDs or just 1 partitioned?

Ok, firstly, you should be aware that 3D Max is a windows only application, if you buy a Mac Pro, you will not be using OSX to run it in (though potentially Parallels may become a viable solution if it's not going to be your main productivity application).

With regards the computer for general graphics software, the Apple hardware is currently very good, and costs somewhat less (aside form hard drives, and memory) than it's PC brand counterparts, Apple are currently known for making pretty solid hardware that lasts well and is dependable, they also have a reasonably good reputation right at the minute for customer support and service. The actual hardware is no different from a PC though, the OS is good for some particular tasks, for instance it's a popular choice amongst video profesionals, it's editing, and 2d side is traditionally strong, however for 3D windows is still the more popular and in general better environment to be working in, mostly due to the graphics card drivers, and the availability of software (for OSX you have C4D, Maya and Lightwave basically, for Windows you have those and additionally Max & XSI).

[Oddgit]

quick thing to remember too, is that as far as i know, so far, Maya has not been retooled for the intel macs, so use at your own risk :D
I have a MacBook Pro and use XSi on the windows side just fine, same with maya, so i imagine a MacPro and Max would be pretty good too.

[lots]

Also, is it the OS that makes the Mac Pro better for graphics or is it the system itself? Also, is a dual OS install possible? If so, 2 seperate HDDs or just 1 partitioned?

IMO nothing really sets the mac apart from a PC in terms of graphics, except maybe the Cinema Displays, and the better monitor calibration. Though, if you dont work with color management, this is not such a big deal. And Cinema Displays work on PCs. In fact PCs and macs are made of the same parts. If you bought a Dell, you'd get just about the same thing as if you bought a Mac. So no difference here.

The only real difference is the OS. Some people prefer OSX, some don't. Its really just that simple. Both have advantages, but for the most part, I let my software choose the OS I use. 3DSMax only runs on Windows, thus if I were a MAX user, I'd have Windows. But if you want Final Cut Pro, you'll need a Mac.

Also the option for dual Geforce 7300s is nothing more than for multi display support. Macs do not have SLI capability, and thus these cards are not SLI ready. Even if they were, two 7300s are not what you want for an SLI rig, as they wont be much better than a Geforce 7600GT (nor do the combine for SLI....).

[cynik6]

All makes sense. So based on what my school most likely will approve for me in terms of hardware upgrade money, this is what I was thinking of building if I dont go with a MAC.

Processor (CPU):

• (Quad-Core) Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Processor LGA775 @ 2.66GHz

1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache EM64T

• List Price: $1,399.00*

RAM:

• 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select)

• List Price: $279.00*

Motherboard:

• NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

• List Price: $249.99*

Graphics Card:

• EVGA e-GEFORCE 7900 GTX 512MB DDR3 PCI-EXPRESS W/ DUAL DVI

& TVO - BULK

• List Price: $399.99*

Hard Drive:

• 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200 RPM INTERNAL HARD DRIVE

• List Price: $57.99*

Case & Power Supply:

• Case with 500 WATT PERFORMANCE ATX 2.0 POWER SUPPLY

• List Price: $169.99*

CPU Cooling:

• COOLER MASTER RL-MUA-E8U1 Long life sleeve bearing AQUAGATE

Mini R80 Liquid Cooling System – Retail

• List Price: $64.99

The total will be around $3k.

[GregHess]

Drop the 7900 GTX to a GTO and save about 150 bucks for 90% of the performance of the GTX.

Might want to take that money instead and look into a high quality EPS/ATX2 psu, like the FSP 600 watt EPS.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104025

Also upgrade the harddrive. The price difference from a 160 to 250 can be as low as 5 dollars. No reason to skimp that much. For that matter, going to an enterprise 400 gb drive is usually only another 50-60.

Not a big fan of liquid cooling myself, too much maintance required. If you were looking for a normal solution, check out the artic freezer 7 pro.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186134

[cynik6]

Sounds good. I wasn't sure if the liquid cooling is worth it or not. So that CPU would work well for what I'm doing?

[tfortier]

hehe! wow! I wish I had school money for upgrade my computer! and you will probably have less difficulty to upgrade a pc than a mac later...

oooops... my render finish! I have to go!

[Randybob]

Sounds good. I wasn't sure if the liquid cooling is worth it or not. So that CPU would work well for what I'm doing?
Yes it would. 3D apps take very good advantage of multiple CPUs. The more cores, the merrier.

[cbernardo]

Hi, guys,

Wich memory is compatible with Mac Pro Intel?

Theres a specific brand for the memory?

[]s

Carlos

[Srek]

The MacPros need FB DIMMs. Since FB DIMMs are only used in servers and high end workstations they usualy come at a rather high quality standard. I haven't heard of incompatibilities yet and tried at least three different types of FB DIMMs in Mac Pros with success.
Cheers
Björn

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