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Pikey
04-29-2002, 12:06 AM
I'm preparing to build a small network of workstations for my business to model and render short (1-5 minute) animations in Maya.

I'm just wondering, which system will give the best performance as far as both modelling and rendering in Maya? Which processor has superior floating point? How about if I were to expand and setup a renderfarm, where would I get the best performance? A Mac running OSX or a PC running Linux/Windows?

I'm probably gonna go with either 3 3D Boxx systems or 3 Mac dual 1ghz G4 systems to start off with....:shrug:

I'm not lookin' to start another Mac vs. PC flame war, I just want everybody's honest opinion on the speed aspect of the two. So...what'cha think?

Thanks
-Pikey
SheepFactory
04-29-2002, 01:02 AM
OK , Honest to god opinion from me is:

Go with the Boxx.

i used a dual G4 1 gig ram and a box with dual AMD 1 gig ram side by side. Boxx beats it hands down (faster ram) (faster cpu) (cheaper price) (more applications run on it)

Now all the hardcore mac fanatics will tell you to go with mac if you are comfortable with it etc. but my advice is go find a way to test both , i am sure Boxx does demonstrations , benchmarks etc. Check out the pros and cons of Mac and PC and go with one.

For the mac you can go to your local CompUSA store and test it if they have maya PLE or something installed(unlikely).

Good luck

A|i
phatgroovn
04-29-2002, 09:11 PM
I am a mac fan, but i use both platforms. I use Intel stuff for heavy 3d work, mostly because of Maya's maturity on Wintel vs. the still somewhat immature code on OSX. Hopefully this will be rectified with the next Maya release....Also, pro-level graphics cards simply do not exist on the Mac.

As far as rendering, it depends what you are rendering. If you are purely rendering Maya, the Boxx systems are your best choice. The Macs will smoke if you are planning on doing any type of video rendering.

The solution i have found and use is the wintel system for 3d work, and my mac for most everything else. Ususally, I'll model, animate, and render out of the PC to a server, then pull the frames off my server to my Mac to post them in combustion - then into Final Cut Pro to edit - then to DVD Studio for output.

Whether or not a dual-platform solution is for you, depends on your ultimate output needs. Nothing can touch the Mac for prosumer-level editing / DVD authoring on a budget, but if you are doing purely Maya, go PC.
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