Cinema Performance in Windows vs. Linux...

[crash_tx]

Okay... These numbers are a little embarassing because I'm running a Dell Latitude D610 laptop with 1.8 ghz and 2 gigs ram, but here it is...

I ran the Cinebench 10.5 in native Windows XP sp3 and then I booted to Linux-> Opened Cinema 4D in Virtualbox (running Windows Xp)

Test results...

Platform Render Time CB Score OpenGL Score

Windows XP 10:14 1440 885
Linux 4:23 3355 190

Can you believe this?

[jackb602]

Did you try timing the renderings with a stopwatch? I think I remember seeing something like this under Parallels on OS X. It turned out that Cinema was somehow reporting the time incorrectly under emulation.

Jack

[Srek]

Yes, those results don't point towards a superior perofrmance of the virtual machine but a timer problem.
Cheers
Björn

[robodesign]

Another explanation of why those render times are like that:

Maybe on your "real Win XP", as you call it, you have many applications running in the background, hence making C4D render slower.

Another matter to ponder about... The virtualized XP in Linux running C4D should actually render slower. Why don't you use Wine and test this way the render time? Wine is not an emulator and will now slow down the actual application.

[tomglod]

I might do this just to make sure......

[crash_tx]

Well... Regardless if Virtualbox or Wine runs Cinema faster than it's native Windows, the poor OpenGL performance in Wine is absolutely NOT ACCEPTABLE. Also, in Virtualbox- the mouse seems to go bee-zurk unless you dedicate it to the VM. Both are more trouble than they are worth!

I love the performance of Linux, but until Cinema makes available their Linux version outside the Production Bundle, I'll be using Windows.

(Unless I get the G5 with two (2) quad core processors and 8 gigs mem!) ha ha ha!

[LucentDreams]

I'll warn you right now not to expect miracles form the linux versions the ogl drivers are not as good form my experience and rendering speed difference is nothing serious.

[crash_tx]

Darn... Seems like Cinema is the ONLY reason I'm sticking with Windows right now!

I loaded PCLinuxOS (Gnome Edition) on my wife's computer and I gotta tell you... I'm in love with it. But I'm not willing to switch my Cinema for anything else! Everyone in the Linux forums is screaming "Just swith to Blender!!!"

Uh... NO THANKS!

I'm currently looking at an Apple G5 with two quad core processors and 16 gigs ram with two Nvidia 256 G-Force cards. Without getting into the Windows vs. OSX debate, I believe Cinema performs just as well on an Apple as it does on a PC. I'm setting up a small render farm (six 1.8 ghz pc's) running Windows server 2000 and Net Render.

I've searched the forums with little results... Has anyone run into any bumps farming out renders across a Mac/PC hybrid network?

[LucentDreams]

as long as the rendering nodes are all PC or all mac its okay to have a different server. Challenge is you need both mac and PC versions of plugins.

[RenderTITAN]

I would prefer to have the render farm all one platform (windows or mac) including the server.

Your workstation doesn't matter. We get jobs from both all the time and no problems.

However, since you would have both platforms in house, then you need to keep both platforms updated with plugins as LucentDreams says.

NET Render tends to be nice when it comes to allowing to render without needing extra licenses for most things, the big things like render engines still bite hard, especially since they are usually the most expensive licenses.
M

[crash_tx]

Crap... I didn't think about the extra license and the plug-ins.

You know... For the price of another license, I think I'd rather use Finalrender's distributive rendering. I don't think you need extra license or even render nodes on your network. From what I've read, you can even use a mixed network of pc and mac. Besides, 99% of my work is single-frame renderings (architectural). I hate using the TILED CAMERA for a single frame render.

I've used FR and it's GI is not accurate, but fantastic nonetheless. The only think I didn't like was having to use the node-based material editor. I'm not too familiar with xpresso to begin with, so it's quite a learning curve. I have HUNDRES of Cinema AR procedural shaders that will not work in FR.

But hey... I guess if my company is growing, I should grow with it and learn new technologies such as Finalrender.

Thank you EVERYONE for all of your input. I think you have me on the right path.

[LucentDreams]

also with a mixed farm your going to have to be an expert on baking/caching. GI sadly just isn't reliable on a mixed network your going to often want to bake GI, and cache things like particles (TP baked through mograph standard using the bake command) caching cloth and hair and dynamics, and then for any objects using deformers like joints with spring constraints, soft IK, and other deformers like jiggle, you can use the point cache to cache entire geometry.

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