viz vs. max?

[enfusion]

pardon my ignorance, but i'm new to archi visualization. i've been using 3ds max for all my 3d needs. i was just wondering, what exactly IS viz? isnt it just like max? should i use viz? why? how are viz and max different, and how are they used together?

 

and what about autoCAD? would it be advantageous for me to use autoCAD? or is constructing interiors/architecture models a task best done in max/viz?

 

thanks in advance..

[skogskalle]

Viz is a stripped down version of MAX that lacks most of the animating capabilities of MAX.

Im sure other things differ as well, but thats the main thing I think.

 

Viz is alot cheaper than Max, which (IMO) makes it the better choice if youre stricktly working with architectural presentations. If youre doing 3D work for games or if youre making short movies or something more advanced I think youll need MAX.

 

I currently use MAX though - old habit. Never used Autocad, I model everything in MAX but some people prefer modeling in Autocad - its all a matter of personal taste. It could hardly hurt to know autocad, but its not essential IMO.

[Jason Matthews]

Skogs basically covered it. Viz is stripped of all animation modifiers. With the exception of Viz 2005, max has mental ray where as vizz 4 does not. Renderings, imo, are about the same. Max is also more memory intensive. For some reason, Max uses system resources like crazy.