jer25 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Hello, I can't think of a way to describe how much I loath Vista. I am so sick of it and my Dell Vostro laptop that I'm highly considering switching over to mac. I am kind of nervous about it though. Currently I have a system with Windows XP home, one with XP x64 and a laptop (which I use most of the time) running Vista x32. Will it be difficult to network them all together? Well, more difficult than it's been already? Also does V-Ray work with mac's? I'm running it as a plug-in through 3ds max. Does 3ds max run smoothly on them too? Any other information you think would be important to my decision would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, PS. Another option might be to switch to Linux and run Maya with the V-Ray/Linux version. (not sure if I want to spend that much cash though). But the last version I used was maya 4.5 and I've gotten into architecture.... thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lester_Masterson Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Wow. Thinking of changing your entire work ethic over an OS? Just...wow You know, it may be simply cheaper to uninstall Vista and put XP on it. Not sure if you can force Dell to provide you with this, or simply pay the $199 to purchase a fresh copy. Either way, the amount of "retraining" involved will be zero as opposed to dealing with Linux, MAC and a Windows network, Maya, VRay for Maya, etc. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 That's a lot of questions, but I'll start with the one that jumps out at me. 3D Max does NOT run on Mac OSX. VRay is available for several OSX 3D packages such as C4D, but 3D Max does not run natively on OSX. It doesn't sound to me like you want to switch 3D packages, just OS. It would be possible to run Vista or XP in the background on a Mac using Parallels. I have no experience with this, but I think AJ will chime in as he's done it. I guess Linux and Wine would be another similar solution. I have found Ubuntu and Suse very easy to install and use. Honestly, to me it sounds like a lot of effort....and I'm a Mac fan. I think you're path of least resistance is to use XP to run your software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasD Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Hy, I am a mac and pc user. I`am running 3d max 2009 on my vista 64x and it runs very good. 3ds max gives many problems on mac bootcamp. License problem is the mayor one but some have it and some not. There is a maya version for mac and it is very nice, but the vray for maya is still a beta. But if you use maya go for the maxwell render. chears Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Max/Vray is heavy duty stuff. If you were to go with a Mac and wanted to run it, you'd want Bootcamp. But, what they said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antisthenes Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 get ready to 2 finger 3rd click Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I have no experience with macs. I have no experience with Vista. I have xp64 on everything and I think its awesome. However, you can see from above that Im a rubbish guy to tell you what to do here. I think you want all your machines running the same OS though, that seems to stand to reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I think you want all your machines running the same OS though, that seems to stand to reason. I don't. Networking Macs, Windows, and Linux together is quite easy and file formats are pretty much all cross platform. Each OS has its pros and cons so each user should choose what is appropriate for the task at hand. If he was building a file server, I would have said try Ubuntu. If he was editing video, I'd say Final Cut on a Mac. He's using 3D Max, so a windows based machine is is best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 get ready to 2 finger 3rd click If this is supposed to be a slam against Macs for shipping with a one button mouse, its a bit silly. Almost any mouse will work with any Mac. Use the supplied single button mouse or use another. The choice is yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianKitts Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 If this is supposed to be a slam against Macs for shipping with a one button mouse, its a bit silly. Almost any mouse will work with any Mac. Use the supplied single button mouse or use another. The choice is yours. actually I read his comment as.... get ready for the wonderful world of not needing the extra button! I wish dell would inherit a dual touchpad so that you could give them that functionality. I work on my macbook all the time then use my girlfriends Dell and get all pissed when my double touch isn't working only to realize I'm back in PC world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neko Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 switching to mac means you won't have the challenge of seeing how long you can ignore the stupid 'automatic updates' notice that pops up every ten minutes on my office machine. i'm up to almost a month now. *before anyone gets on me for not shutting down my machine, you just don't know what a world of pain that creates everytime i restart. i ride to work, i recycle and i always shut my machine at home down, and i'm very much aware of the wastefulness of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 The two OSes do interact quite well now, excpt when you need something that only runs on one of them - the list of those keeps shrinking but it does unfortunately include almost everything from Autodesk. The Adobe stuff is pretty much identical on both platforms, I'll be damned if I can tell a difference in C4D, networking is easy, sharing external disks is easy, and all the non-Autodesk file formats are handled well (except for WMV - that's a pain). The multiple fingers on the touchpad thing is handled so well now that I get confused when I use a PC laptop. And don't get me started on how much better the Apple build quality and customer service are. And Final Cut and Aperture are both flippin' sweet. But if you need to run Autodesk stuff you need Windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackb602 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Just to be clear, if you want to stick with 3DS Max, you can't switch to OS X. You can run bootcamp, but of course then you'll be running some version of Windows on your Mac hardware. If you really do want to change your workflow entirely, I'll just say that I'm very happy using Vray with Cinema 4D. I have no idea how difficult it would be to switch from Max to Cinema, although Cinema has a modest learning curve. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 actually I read his comment as.... get ready for the wonderful world of not needing the extra button! If that's the case I stand corrected My PowerBook is a G4 and I don't have such luxuries. Bought it 5 years ago and its still going strong with a 2.5hr battery run time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antisthenes Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 what if any PC could get that with just a BIOS upgrade (that had a touchpad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer25 Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 Wow that's a ton of information, thanks. I did buy a "downgrade" license of XP and put it on my laptop except some of my hardware isn't compatible. (The newer versions of my laptop accept that OS now). I could handle running XP I guess but I will probably need to replace my computer anyways. The frustrations I've been having with Vista have irritated me enough to want get ride of Windows for ever... I was just curious if it would make sense. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a laptop that comes with XP still? (I'm gathering that's my best/easiest option)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 I did buy a "downgrade" license of XP and put it on my laptop except some of my hardware isn't compatible. (The newer versions of my laptop accept that OS now). Did you do a Google search for downgrading to Windows XP on your laptop. Simply type in your laptop name, and Windows Xp after it. A ton of drivers to make all the hardware compatible will more than likely pop-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 http://support.dell.com Go to drivers and enter your model number. They have XP drivers for damn near anything they make. Just download everything for your model for XP and put it all on a USB stick, then do the XP install, then install the drivers. You don't need to throw money at this particular problem - heck, you probably can't, good luck finding a new model laptop with XP installed by default. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer25 Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 Sadly there is something with the actual hardware that keeps screwing up the laptop when I install XP. The first one I tried got completely fried and I returned it to dell for a new replacement. The second one had a similar issue but I took it into some techs and they managed to recover just the basic OS. Not really feeling like trying a third time cause it just gets costly and I lose my information. (I have a harddrive backup system now but it's still a pain) I think the best course for me is to purchase a new computer and have the manufacturer install XP. Anyways thanks for all the help! Anyone know if Max is planning on making a mac version? Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneis Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Anyone know if Max is planning on making a mac version? Hardly! That would mean spending more money in R&D, something Autodesk has an allergic reaction to. If they really wanted another OS-X friendly app in their line-up, they'd buy out Maxon (Cinema 4D) before they ported 3DSMax to OS-X. On another note, if you wanted to run Maya on Linux, go straight to Fedora. Maya 2009 is qualified on Fedora 8, but you'll have no problems with the latest, Fedora 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer25 Posted November 28, 2008 Author Share Posted November 28, 2008 How does Maya work for architectural stuff? Can it import max and cad files decently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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