Pros n Cons Of Maya on XP and OSX

[plotz]

Maya runs pretty much the same on OSX and Windows. Choosing which one you want is largely personal preference IMO.

I run complete on a Mac at home and Windows at work. I'm actually thinking pretty seriously of switching the Windows license at work to a Mac license when 5.0 ships.

Here's what I can offer you:

- Render Speed: PC's win hands down. My Windows box renders about 20% faster than my Mac.

- OpenGL: More cards, and thus better speed, are available on the PC side. OpenGL on the Mac works well, but you can't buy a pro graphics card to really push it.

- Plug-ins and scripts: Again the PC wins. There are several cool plugs that are PC only. I've talked to the developers of some of them, and they're willing to port to OSX, but they don't have the tools to do it.

- No Maya Unlimited on OSX.

So, if you're just looking for the best box to run Maya on, then a PC will offer more options.

However, if you need to do more thanjust run Maya, the Mac starts to come into play...at least it did for me.

Overall I just like working on the Mac better, the above benefits don't out weight the flexibility my Mac gives me.

At home I use the machine for animating, compositing, roto, flash, internet access, word processing...it's even my VCR.

On my windows box I've always run into problems as I try and install more software and hardware to increase functionality.

As of Maya 5, you should really see true cross-platform parity between the apps. Maya 4.5 claimed it, but there were several major features missing (like DXF and IGES supprt, Certian Mental Ray capabilities) for OSX.

In the end it really comes down to more of a personal decision. If you like what OSX has to offer, then I don't think you'll be disappointed running Maya on it at all.

[DesignDawg]

As with everything, it'll be a lot slower on a Mac.

Ricky

[tyson12zoll]

I know its a very relative topic...but I've very happy running maya on 10.2.4. I simply don't crash anymore. (I keep my sys pretts barebones...and ask the next joe and he'll tell you something totaly different). I know I would get better performance out of maya with a Pc, as well as having more options for 3d software. But for me thats not anything I need. Ask yourself this:

1. Do you need support for a lot of plugins?
2. Do you need the best hardware for the job?
3. Do you wand Maya Unlimited?
4. Do you like PCs?

Here is another 2c of mine: If you have time to hold off on a mac (well into sept) I would seriously check out Apples next proceessor offering. Also check out Pixars job posting website (Steve Jobs owned). not direct quote 'Needed: Mac Systems admin' Is he planing on moving the company to macs in the distant future? Who knows...
Ok, that was a bit off topic...hope your happy with whatever you get

[BadKarma]

oic i neva really thought that deep into it... i thought that maybe there is some sort of "emu" program like "wine" on Linux that would make OSX able to run the different plug-ins? am i wrong in believe that?

as is, i think im gunna stay wiv my PC, as im gunna have to fork out ALOT of money to get all my software on OSX... made in tha future tho.

thanx alot for all urs help.

BadKarma

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