Guest tar Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 just want to add that OpenGL in the latest H13 on OsX, whilst still not GL3+, is really good. The main new event is shadow support but the performance is pretty nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybar Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) Best to run the test yourself, just install Linux on your Mac and see the difference, on the same hardware. You get better memory management for simulations, better OpenGL 3+, and generally faster overall performance. I would say approx. 30% better in general and even faster when using openCL Cpu/Gpu. 2x-10x faster simulation speed. You can boot into a Linux installation with Refind: http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/ Sounds interesting. I've been meaning to try out Linux, but I don't know much about it except using Ubuntu a few years ago. Which distro works "best" with Houdini? Is there a list somewhere over supported ones, or something? edit: Ah nevermind, the System Requirements was what I was looking for. Edited November 18, 2013 by Skybar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordibares Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Best to run the test yourself, just install Linux on your Mac and see the difference, on the same hardware. You get better memory management for simulations, better OpenGL 3+, and generally faster overall performance. I would say approx. 30% better in general and even faster when using openCL Cpu/Gpu. 2x-10x faster simulation speed. You can boot into a Linux installation with Refind: http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/ Wow, 30% is quite a big difference!!! I certainly have not noticed that drop… Will have to give it a go myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) Wow, 30% is quite a big difference!!! I certainly have not noticed that drop… Will have to give it a go myself. Great - let us know how you go. With all things considered I would certainly expect my productivity to be 30% greater in Linux. The gap is closing though, some of the bug fixes to OpenGL in the latest OsX & H13 releases, like the origin gnomone- which was a huge fix!, and shadow support is narrowing the gap. If OpenCL Gpu/Cpu, GL3+ come to the OsX then I would expect both systems to be quite similar then. Not too sure if the memory management for simulations can ever be equal though, Linux might always win there! EDIT: Thinking about it, 30% was comparing H12.5 on OsX 10.8.5 to Linux. Now with H13 and 10.9, I would say more like 25% Edited November 18, 2013 by tar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) Sounds interesting. I've been meaning to try out Linux, but I don't know much about it except using Ubuntu a few years ago. Which distro works "best" with Houdini? Is there a list somewhere over supported ones, or something? edit: Ah nevermind, the System Requirements was what I was looking for. Yup - I was using the ever unpopular Kunbuntu but it works well. If you're lucky enough to use a Amd7950 card in the mac, make sure to switch the UEFI hybrid firmware switch to 'Pc' once you install the proprietary drivers, otherwise the boot screen can hang. Also Kunbuntu 13.10 got stuck at the grub boot loader- 13.04 worked fine. Edit: Let us know how it goes. I'd be interested to hear if others find it as amazing/sicking how much better the same hardware performs under Linux! Edited November 18, 2013 by tar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3__ Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 ...I am just curious why people almost always prefer using them for Houdini, when it's known to be the most problematic platform for Houdini? Its just the current fashion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybar Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Yup - I was using the ever unpopular Kunbuntu but it works well. If you're lucky enough to use a Amd7950 card in the mac, make sure to switch the UEFI hybrid firmware switch to 'Pc' once you install the proprietary drivers, otherwise the boot screen can hang. Also Kunbuntu 13.10 got stuck at the grub boot loader- 13.04 worked fine. Edit: Let us know how it goes. I'd be interested to hear if others find it as amazing/sicking how much better the same hardware performs under Linux! Will do! I got lots to do now though so I probably wont get around to it until after christmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafaelfs Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 I am just curious why people almost always prefer using them for Houdini, when it's known to be the most problematic platform for Houdini? Because people don't make tutorials from their desks at their workplaces, I'd say. I very much like that I don't have to compile most things from source to use my computer at home though and that's why I stick with it, so that when I'm home I can just use my computer. I have display issues at home with my mac and I have display issues at work on linux... It's just become irrelevant. In the end it all goes to Mantra (or exported out to alembic and rendered by someone else) and it looks awesome! In a tutorial though, they have to point out that it's a display issue otherwise people wouldn't buy the tutorials. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Is anyone still getting display issues today though? These tutorials are obviously not using today's builds and I'm pretty sure that every display bug is being fixed almost instantly as they are reported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev2 Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Re Macs, right now I'm using Nuke and Houdini a lot but with the Mac, I have handy access to Vue, Resolve, FCP, Pixelmator, etc. I may not go to them much in the course of a project but that once or twice a day roundtrip is really convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koen Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 because when I get a choice, I choose a platform that actually figured out how copy paste should work, boy I hate linux :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mantragora Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 boy I hate linux :-) Just updated my Linux distro. Good news: - my tablet started working. Bad news: - my internet connection stopped working. I don't care how amazing linux was/is/will be. It's not even close to being ready as a everyday OS for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 I don't care how amazing linux was/is/will be. It's not even close to being ready as a everyday OS for me. Ya, totally - Linux is an awesome beast when running well but seems to fall apart and have to be rebuilt when you change something. Two tools in the toolkit approach works well - Linux is the F-1 car that needs a pit-crew to keep it blazingly fast, OsX, maybe Windows? is the sedan that just keeps on rolling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magneto Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 What about Windows? Nobody is using it here? I personally really like Windows 7, and don't see any issues in Houdini other than what's already out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 What about Windows? Nobody is using it here? I personally really like Windows 7, and don't see any issues in Houdini other than what's already out there. Windows is good but for me sits between OsX and Linux. Linux being faster and OsX being more reliable and where the rest of the apps are installed i.e. Nuke, Hiero, SynthEyes, Photoshop etc.. Running 2 operating system is just about ok but 3 is starting to push the amount of maintenance each one needs in terms of application updates and system updates etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mantragora Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 (edited) What about Windows? Nobody is using it here? Me, Me, Me! I use 7 too. But think I will switch to 8.1 this month or so. 8 was not finished. 8.1 fixes multi-monitor problem and splitting on each is really nicely solved now. I'm a big fan of the direction Microsoft took with Windows. I like Windows Phone, Love Kinect and I really need XBox ONE . Edited November 20, 2013 by mantragora 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magneto Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 Does W7 support single desktop over multiple monitors? Not split, etc. If you full screen a window, it will cover all your available desktop size, not just a single LCD? Because I really wanted that in 7 but it didn't have it. I think it's called spanning desktop. I thought 8 was gimmicky but haven't tried it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I thought 8 was gimmicky but haven't tried it 8 is good, 7 is good - they're all good unless they are buggy! Gimmericky is anything beyond a terminal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mantragora Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 8 was really not finished. I didn't liked it either. In 8.1 they added so many small touches that change so much... Probably another 0.1 release before they solve all problems with how to blend desktop/metro. Tweaking Vista took them 2 years. We are now one year after 8 debut. They still got one more year to tweak it even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil78 Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 because when I get a choice, I choose a platform that actually figured out how copy paste should work, boy I hate linux :-) Bad news: - my internet connection stopped working. I don't care how amazing linux was/is/will be. It's not even close to being ready as a everyday OS for me. Weird im on linux and don't have either of these issues. I'm no expert but my os of linux is running really nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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