Allegro Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 I'm not all that knowledgeable with computer stuff, and really haven't looked at using a Mac before. however, the new Mac Pro looks quite nice. I'm a student in my last year of animation school... and the machine I have at the moment simply isn't going to cut it for the film I intend on doing. This Mac currently looks like it will have the specs I need... but can it run the software I need? I'm unsure at the moment how much I will be using Houdini, but I most likely will be using Realflow, and will be using Maya, as well as numerous adobe products. I know that macs are set-up for one button mice... but that obviously isn't going to cut it for 3d applications... so... I'm curious if you can use three button mice on a mac, or if I should look at a different system for what I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitallysane Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 I know that macs are set-up for one button mice... but that obviously isn't going to cut it for 3d applications... so... I'm curious if you can use three button mice on a mac, or if I should look at a different system for what I need. You can use 3 button mice with the Mac, and Apple's own Mighty Mouse is a 2 button + wheel model. Third party (ex: Logitech) are also available. I suppose any USB mouse would work. If your going to get a Mac Pro, do yourself a favor and have one with an nVidia card. At least for Houdini work it's better. Dragos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegro Posted September 30, 2006 Author Share Posted September 30, 2006 So I guess that kind of answers my second question then... The Mac Pro is a suitable computer for 3d animation? I wasn't sure about what type of an advantage a quad will have over a dual in any of these applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegro Posted September 30, 2006 Author Share Posted September 30, 2006 Also, would you recommend this system for what I need? Or do you have any other ideas for a suitable workstation? I'll be working on a 1 minute short, which I want to have the quality as high as I can get it. Something on the level of the Digital Domain commercials is what I have in my head at the moment. It's just *not* possible to do any sort of rendering, or particle/dynamics simulation on my present computer that will get me the look I want. I may have access to a renderfarm for Maya, but any Houdini stuff I choose to do, I'll be left on my own. Additionally, since I have a fair commute, it would be ideal to at least have reasonable rendertimes so that I can get the look I want, before sending it to a renderfarm. There is no financing option for a Mac Pro in Canada... so... the cost is a turnoff on my present budget. Any suggestions... I should factor cost in. Though that was probably assumed when I mentioned that I'm a student Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 I'm also interested in this answer as I want to buy a new home machine and the new iMac seems pretty nice for casual use at the house. It has an NVidia 7300 card in it too. Has anyone tried this machine with Houdini? Some unjustified rumour has it that the next generation of Intel-based Macs will have a lot of issues with the introduction of the Intel processor straightened out and should perform better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitallysane Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 And I'm also interested if the MacBook Pro with the dreaded ATi can run Houdini. I just hope that because of ATi being bought by AMD (and Apple using Intel) maybe Apple would consider a nVidia powered laptop in the future. Dragos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peship Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 seems that bootcamp is not supported on 64bit macs yet. so, you will be out of luck with Houdini. the performance gain of Maya8 for OSX is around the weak 6-8% compared to Maya 6.5 and 7.0 on the same box. the reason is that the os is still 32 bit and maya is still not compiled as universal binary code. also Maya for osx is really bad choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegro Posted October 6, 2006 Author Share Posted October 6, 2006 This is the response I got at Highend3d.com I'm still not sure what type of a system I should be getting for under $2000... I need something in about 5 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wavesmack Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 MAC PRO RUNS HOUDINI AWESOME!!!!! no problems reported at alll. -c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegro Posted October 26, 2006 Author Share Posted October 26, 2006 MAC PRO RUNS HOUDINI AWESOME!!!!!no problems reported at alll. -c Good to hear! I'm still looking for my computer solution, and time is running out. How do you go about setting it up (having very rarely used a mac in the past, I barely know what I'm getting into) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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