Maya On The Mac - Good Vibrations or The End of the World As We Know It

# 1 31-03-2003 , 03:11 PM

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Maya On The Mac - Good Vibrations or The End of the World As We Know It

Yo yo yo!

Okay, maybe I've asked this before but due to my very short attention span and failure to remember anything truly important, I'll have to ask again. What can any of you tell me about Maya on the mac? I'm trying to do all I can to get enough money up to get me a Mac and I've discovered that Maya for the Mac is quite a bit cheaper than on the PC ( some site online has it for @ $1499). I like how Maya runs on a PC but I'm so intrigued by the Mac in all its glory and would love to give Maya a whirl on the Mac. Any news and info would be greatlu appreciated! user added image

Russell

Russell Bolding
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# 2 31-03-2003 , 03:19 PM

Kevin

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i wouldnt touch a mac with a 12 foot pole, will unless of course I was bashing it with it.

Get your self a decent pc! infact get 3 decent pc`s for the price of a "decent" mac

for futher info on mac...please pm rage user added image

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# 3 31-03-2003 , 03:31 PM

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A mac is a damn nice machine, but its not easily upgradable as a PC, its design is damn nice if you like that kind of look, tho the standard mouse that comes with a mac has been proven to hurt your wrist. Also they are pretty hard to stack on top of eachother.

The power of mac is nice, but as Kevin said you can buy 3 PC's for the price of one mac and hereby getting much more power.

Maya uses OpenGL and is very stable on PC, proven through the past many years. Mac has just recently gotten it. You do the math,.

Good luck..

Carsten Lind
Senior 3D Artist,
Maya Software Manager & Maya Instructor
LEGO Systems A/S

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# 4 31-03-2003 , 03:38 PM

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I think the biggest factor in this is the price of a mac. Like Kevin mentioned, you can get yourself 3 decent pcs for the price of one decent mac.

I have a Mac and it's great to work on, but it was not up to speed to run maya well, and buying a new mac that was decent enough to run maya would've financially killed me. I went with buying a pc for about $1,100.

If money is not an issue for you, I would still go with a pc on the facts that they do run quite a bit faster on a pc. Either that, or wait until next year when the rumored IBM G4 chips will be on the new Macs that will blow PC competition away on 3d user added image

We shall see.

Hope this helps,
George

God Bless you and 3D

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# 5 31-03-2003 , 07:27 PM

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All of the above user added image

...boooohahahaha... user added image

Israel "Izzy" Long
Motion and Title Design for Broadcast-Film-DS
izzylong.com

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# 6 31-03-2003 , 08:54 PM

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oh yeah, mmmmm G4, mmmmm user added image

- Simon

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# 7 31-03-2003 , 09:46 PM

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I am currently running Maya on my Powerbook, and things work beautifully. It's not as fast as running it on a comparable PC, but for me it works just fine. Functionally, Maya for OSX works the same as Maya for Windows (Maya Complete, that is, since there is no Unlimited for OSX). There are occassional display glitches, but I attribute that to Maya for OSX still being in its infancy. Overall, I am very happy with it. In fact, I use Maya on my Mac about 90% of the time -- the other 10% is on my PC when I need to use PC-specific exporters.

Bottom line is use whatever fits into your workflow. If I was getting a machine just for 3D and nothing else, then I would go for a PC. Maya is faster on it, you have many more options when it comes to 3rd party plugins/software and video cards, and PCs are less expensive. I'm running Maya on my Mac, because I personally prefer OSX over Windows, and I like the Powerbooks more than any PC laptop on the market, regardless of performance. That is just me, though. user added image

Danny Ngan
Animator | Amaze Entertainment
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# 8 01-04-2003 , 04:21 AM

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Okay, okay... let's just say I DO make the switch. user added image

I've read on the A/W site that the version parity (whatever that means) is 100% compatible. And I quote... "You can now exchange files with other users running Maya 4.5 on other platforms (Windows®, IRIX®, Linux®, Mac® OS X). Choose the platform that best meets your needs."

Now then, does this mean I can use any plug-in or Mel script or file created with my Maya NT version in my Maya for OSX version? I have a buttload (yeah, I went there :p) of plug-ins like RealFakeGI and GI Joe that I love and I'd hate to lose them just because I'd be on the Mac. I have to admit now that I've given it some thought that I only want to use what makes me happy.

Funny thing, though. I'm sure it'll be ages before I get the money I need to get whatever computer/OS platform I want and in another year, I hear Apple may be switching, themselves, to another processor maker. Only God knows! I found out that OSX is based on Unix and that possibly Apple may be the Mac on an Intel processor as we speak. Now, playing waaaaayyy off in left field now, the question is if that's possible, why can't one run OSX on a PC? :banana: Things that make you go... "Hmmmmmmm....."

Russell Bolding
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# 9 01-04-2003 , 11:34 AM

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Just because a PC is cheaper, doesn't automatically make it better. If you look around, I'm pretty sure you can find a DP 1 ghz G4 that is just as fast as a 2.5 whatever P4 system for the "SAME" price as a P4 system. Macs have gotten cheaper ya' know. Although, if you wanted the top of the line Mac, topped out with 2 gigs of DDR ram, and DP 1.42 Ghz you're going to pay for it. But, what some of you don't know is Mac OS X is so much easier and faster to set up a network, or just about anything in. You get stability. Everything works "Perfect" right out of the box. If you want Dual monitors, simple click of a button an you have Dual monitors. If you want to set up a network of computers, attach ethernet and click go, on the Apple menu. This includes your PC's too. No configuring required. And that is only going to get better with Apple's open sourced Rendevous software.

As far as performance in Maya on the Mac, check a couple of threads back to this post I made, Regarding Maya on the Mac and General spiffiness of OS X . And in case you miss the link about Alex Alvarez, Gnomon fame, talking about Maya on the Mac, click Word up

And here is another post I made about Apple's commitement to a newer processor PPC 970? .

Generaly it comes down to what you prefer. If you've found Maya on the Mac for $1400, hopefully you can look around and find a DP Powermac for the same price or cheaper. Here is a good place for refurbished units . IMO, since I'm a 3D hobbyist now, Speed will only become important when you want to render large movies. If I was planning on rendering like crazy (ie movie shorts, etc...) I would go with a renderfarm, based on Linux, and purchase a linux version of Maya to render from. I use Macs and Windows computers at work, and believe me I would much rather work in OS X than any version of Windows. Especially when it comes to server work. OS X Server is quite simply the easiest way to configure any network, administrate it, and maintain it. But that's another issue. But as far as functionality while working, you probably won't notice much of a difference between PC's or Macs in the viewports. OS X will just look better because of Quartz and Aqua. user added image

And, I was able to get GI_Joe, and GI_Joe version 2 to work in Maya on the Mac. it's not that hard, just change a few lines and that's it. Emmanuel actually tells you how to do it. Follow the instructions. Here's a pic I did a few months ago with it, on Maya on the Mac using the GI_Joe script..

user added image

Other pics are on my site if you wanna see more. user added image

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# 10 02-04-2003 , 12:47 AM

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Originally posted by Kevin
i wouldnt touch a mac with a 12 foot pole, will unless of course I was bashing it with it.

Get your self a decent pc! infact get 3 decent pc`s for the price of a "decent" mac

for futher info on mac...please pm rage

Originally Posted by

We all know that Kevin is not into Macs - Never mind -
I would contact Alex Alvarez from GNOMON or any other people there; they can explain you why they are using Macs. If you make a choice don't only consider the price of a system as an argument but the quality and reliability.

KEVIN: which 3 decent PCs are you refering to? user added image

Kind of an outdated statement u're using.

When the only tool you use is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.

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# 11 02-04-2003 , 03:11 AM

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Oh boy oh boy oh boy! user added image

:banana:

Now I'm excited. But I guess what puzzles me is how soon I should try to save up for my new Mac. user added image

If this new processor I mentioned is coming out by year's end (which may be just enough time for me to get the money I need), I don't want to invest in a new Mac only to discover the NEW new Macs have been released after my purchase. I just want to get the best Mac to run Maya on and QUICK without breaking the bank OR being left behind in the process. Also, once I get the Mac, it'll be a long time before I can get a brand new Mac to replace the one I'm planning on buying soon, I hope. LOL! Have I lost anyone?

Anybody know of any Maya for Mac OSX resources or links online I can visit? Anybody ever hear of the Apple Purchase Program other than me?

Russell

Russell Bolding
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# 12 03-04-2003 , 02:13 AM

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It goes without saying that there is always something newer and faster just around the corner. Apple is known for updating machines every 3-6 months, usually near the beginning of quarters on the financial calendar. Best thing is to buy your machine when you need/want it. There is no "best" time for buying a Mac.

I can't really think of any solid Maya for OSX resources online. You can check the A|W forums, HighEnd3D, and maybe even CG-Talk for the occassional post regarding Maya for OSX. Not really a lot to it, though. Maya is pretty much the same on both platforms. The only exception is plugins which have to be compiled for specific platforms. MEL scripts, in general, work fine (sometimes a few simple modifications need to be made).

Danny Ngan
Animator | Amaze Entertainment
my website | my blog | my job

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# 13 03-04-2003 , 05:42 AM

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Well, as long as my Mac will still be useful in another 2 or 3 years, I guess it'd be okay. user added image

I keep reading where the "slower" Macs are actually faster than the fastest ones out now. True? Untrue? All I know is I just want me a Mac and the fastest, best one i can get in my budget. user added image

Maybe I'm asking the wrong question here but what have you heard about the new processors?

And what you're saying is most all plugins will work in Maya for OSX with little trouble, as long as it doesn't have to be recompiled for the certain OSes? I'm still just so excited about possibly getting a new Mac, regardless of what the world says about them (or even what my wife thinks... she's a PC diehard!). I mean, sheesh, you should see what I'm running Maya on now (eMachines 533 MHz, 192 MB RAM). Any thing has to be faster than that! user added image

Russell Bolding
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# 14 03-04-2003 , 02:28 PM

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The DP 1Ghz machines that where out before the new designed DDR machine was faster than the new DP 1 Ghz with DDR. This was only because of the L3 cache. I believe they lowered it to 1 MB per chip, instead of the 2 MB per chip that the first ones had. Other than that though, all of the newer machines are faster than the older ones. So you shouldn't have to worry about that. IMO, my DP 1 Ghz (First/Old Model) is plenty fast, and if you look around you might be able to find it for less than $2,000.

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# 15 03-04-2003 , 03:54 PM

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Hey Axel,
I actually did ask Alex from Gnomon that question. I asked which I should get since they had used both pc and mac maya. He recommended getting a pc.

God Bless you and 3D

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Maya On The Mac - Good Vibrations or The End of the World As We Know It

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