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easy3dsource

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  1. Another one for Chicago, IL http://arccentric.com @tom: Long time no beer!
  2. Windows 8 is still obviously quite young, and typically, most people doing high end computing (such as visualization) tend to wait a while before upgrading, just to make sure their workflow isn't negatively affected. The unfortunate downside to that is you won't hear many opinions on how well things hold up in windows 8 :/ I'm one of the build-it-yourself types, but putting that aside, I would just check and see what your software vendors are saying about the current state of their drivers. If they seem to have windows 8 drivers running stable, it might still be worth the upgrade, particularly since you mentioned this machine would be used only to host renderings (so reasonably, it wouldn't kill your workflow if it had a hiccup here or there). If you absolutely can't take the chance of potential bugs, stick with windows 7, at least for the next year or so
  3. I've seen issues like this happen, and usually it's one of 2 problems: If the materials don't seem to be rendering at all, it could be that you're not using UNC paths to your assets (materials). Set all paths to UNC, and make sure all computers in your network have access / permission to use those resources. If the material seems to be rendering, but it's not the right shade: make sure your gamma settings are the same on all the computers in your network. I've noticed that DR slaves don't adopt the gamma settings of the file you're rendering, so you have to manually make sure the settings are consistent.
  4. Judging by the things you've already tried, my guess is that your wall material might have some glossy reflections, and you're seeing the reflection of a light somewhere in your scene?
  5. I'll keep that in mind next time I'm doing some renderings for another planet
  6. Listening to Chicago Locals "Hey Champ", and listening to / mixing / mastering the latest track for my own music duo, "Vis-A-Vis" (VAV)... this is the most draining part of the music-making process...
  7. That's a great deal. Does anyone here have experience using the W7000 with the typical Arch-Viz toolset? For that price I'm almost willing to be a guinea pig myself.
  8. Have you checked all of your layers? The culprit could be on a layer that is hidden / off, but the light would still be affecting the scene.
  9. I know you'll have a HDD for the majority of your files, but I would still highly recommend getting a larger SSD. Certain programs (like photoshop, after effects, etc.) create cache files while you use them, which can grow to be very large depending on the project. Also; I'm not sure if you were planning on having your OS installed on the HDD, and only programs on the SSD, but I would highly suggest also having your OS on the SSD. Assuming you go with windows 7, you're already looking at 40-50 GB (I can't remember exactly how much) being eaten up. I know you mentioned you have to keep this all under budget, so if you have to skimp somewhere else, I'd say get an i7 3700K instead of the 39XX; then make sure you get a motherboard that allows for easy overclocking (along with a decent CPU fan) and O.C. your CPU just a little bit
  10. The first thing I would note about the two is that the titan is considered a gaming-class gpu, and the quadro is a professional-class gpu. Although nvidia may have changed things around a bit in the last couple years, the only difference between the two classes of GPU's was the driver. Back before the GTX 300 series came out, you used to be able to "hack" nvidia's gaming gpus to use the professional drivers (which were obtainable online).. so you'd essentially get the professional card for a third of the price. Unfortunately, nvidia caught onto this and that's no longer the case. Sorry for that bit of a tangent; I guess the point I'm getting at is that the biggest difference between the gaming and pro cards is that the drivers are optimized differently to better accommodate the card's intended application. The specs of the gaming card may seem better on paper than the pro card, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll perform as good / better. I wish I had experience with either of those cards to be able to give you some actual numbers to help with your decision; maybe try seeing if tomshardware has any benchmark tests?
  11. Maya excels when it comes to organic modeling with nurbs or subdivided surfaces, but 3dsmax's polygon tools are simple and streamlined, which is more suitable for the arch-viz industry (most buildings are fairly rectilinear). It's a matter of picking the right tool for the job, and for architecture, 3dsmax makes more sense.
  12. Often times you'll see an HDRI used for the general reflections off of shiny surfaces, but then a separate image may be used for the "back plate." This is often done in post, or it's just a plane or other piece of simple geometry with the image of choice mapped to it.
  13. For me, it all comes down to the "flow" during the design process. A lot of times when I'm designing I'm still "sketching" in 3d space. Rhino's flow is more conducive to this. For example: I can start drawing a line (snapping to another object or not), then while still determining the other endpoint of the line, I can input the exact length I may want that line to be, then snap it in the general direction of another object, or some arbitrary direction. I know 3dsMax has keyboard entry tools, but I've never found them to be very useful in this same regard. Another example; when rotating an object, I start the rotate command, select the object, select the pivot point, then a reference point, then use my cursor to determine the final angle of rotation. In 3dsMax, rotating an object and changing its pivot point are two separate functions that I find aren't very intuitive.
  14. I've always had my network set up as you described. The main thing to take into consideration is that if you're going to use one of your nodes as your main server, you might have to NOT use it as a node during any batch rendering jobs. If the CPU of the server is being pushed to 100% while it's rendering a frame, it causes delays in communication when the other nodes are attempting to connect to it. Also; this should go without saying, but make sure your entire network is hardwired, not wi-fi.
  15. I agree with Joe about the importance of the artist; technology changes quite rapidly, and with all these advancements you constantly hear about some hot new software that claims to be the "make awesome" button. That being said; it is worthwhile to look at the pros and cons of the different software combinations you've described. I'm a huge fan of Rhino, but have the mentality that you should use the right tool for the job. Rhino is great for architectural design; the level of precision you can achieve with it is amazing, and Rhino's nurbs are phenomenal. This makes it great for designing projects that are more organic, and if you use grasshopper you can do a lot of great parametric stuff as well. 3dsMax is great for all the capabilities it offers (as francisco mentioned), but due to it's lack of "precision" I personally hate using it as a design tool. However, all of its features make it great for visualization, especially if you're visualizing a project that you didn't design (it's pretty good about importing a variety of model types). As for the Maxwell vs. Vray conversation; Maxwell is as close to it gets to having a one-click solution to getting a great rendering, but the trade-off is the amount of time it takes to create a presentable image. V-ray has a much higher learning curve, but once you get the hang of it you can crank out Maxwell quality renderings in a fraction of the time. Your personal goals might help dictate what software is right for you; if you're looking to do a lot of architectural design, stick with Rhino (and take the time to learn Vray, although it's not as good for rhino IMO). If you're looking to do only arch-viz, you might find yourself working more effectively with 3dsMax + Vray. I honestly would never recommend using Maxwell unless you've got nothing but time on your hands, or you're too lazy to force yourself to learn Vray
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