Hi all,
With all the recent chatter around the 5870 cards, especially the availability and compatibility issues with older than 2009 Mac Pro's, I'm wondering whether OS X is still a viable platform for a 3D graphics artist.....Having only really acquired those credentials a short while ago.
The 2 things that are really important for 3d graphics are a decent GPU and as much CPU rendering power as you can get. The 08 Mac Pro had both of these things and was great value but since then things have changed. It's not just the cost of upgrading a system although that's pretty damn high at the moment. It's other stuff like the 5870 having 2 MDP's instead of 1 and an HDMI port, which is in my opinion far more useful. It's all the hassle and limited choices when it comes to upgrading the GPU when you can slot anything into a decent PC rig and just get on with it. It's being able to build a decent core i7 system that can render away and chug out frames without costing as much or more than a decent car. And it's about forced obsolescence....Systems that are only 2 or 3 years old being left out of the loop and the sense that Apple took your extra money in exchange for upgrade potential, and then welshed on the deal.
Conversely, I love the OS X environment. It's stable, keeps out of the way, it's great for video and general digital life management. I don't need to be reminded of the pro's and I am in general an advocate of Macs. If I didn't do 3D graphics, I'd buy an iMac and be very happy but that just doesn't cut it in the 3D world.
So I'm coming to the conclusion that my next big system purchase in a year or so is going to be a PC again. I envisage working on that during the day and having my Macbook open beside it for email and iTunes etc (ie, all the fun nice stuff) and then when the working day is done, firing up the MP or plugging in the MBP to the big screen for "everything else" like music, video etc.
I'm OK with this from a pragmatic and professional point of view.....When it comes to rendering out frames and CPU horsepower the Mac Pro just doesn't stack up financially anymore and that doesn't look likely to change. But on a personal note, I think it's sad that having reached parity (in terms of performance and cost) with PC's for professional 3D work, the Mac Pro is now sliding out of view again with no viable OS X alternative.
I find myself wondering why Apple bothered with the 08's in the first place? Were they an accident? An oversight? Have the bean counters at Apple put together a killer slideshow in keynote for Steve to show that Middle of the Road consumer products are where the money is and if Graphics Professionals really want to stay with OS X, then they'll willingly pay double what they did 2 years ago?
Perhaps I was naive but I thought the 08's heralded a change in attitude at Cupertino. In retrospect they look like a blip on the radar.
With all the recent chatter around the 5870 cards, especially the availability and compatibility issues with older than 2009 Mac Pro's, I'm wondering whether OS X is still a viable platform for a 3D graphics artist.....Having only really acquired those credentials a short while ago.
The 2 things that are really important for 3d graphics are a decent GPU and as much CPU rendering power as you can get. The 08 Mac Pro had both of these things and was great value but since then things have changed. It's not just the cost of upgrading a system although that's pretty damn high at the moment. It's other stuff like the 5870 having 2 MDP's instead of 1 and an HDMI port, which is in my opinion far more useful. It's all the hassle and limited choices when it comes to upgrading the GPU when you can slot anything into a decent PC rig and just get on with it. It's being able to build a decent core i7 system that can render away and chug out frames without costing as much or more than a decent car. And it's about forced obsolescence....Systems that are only 2 or 3 years old being left out of the loop and the sense that Apple took your extra money in exchange for upgrade potential, and then welshed on the deal.
Conversely, I love the OS X environment. It's stable, keeps out of the way, it's great for video and general digital life management. I don't need to be reminded of the pro's and I am in general an advocate of Macs. If I didn't do 3D graphics, I'd buy an iMac and be very happy but that just doesn't cut it in the 3D world.
So I'm coming to the conclusion that my next big system purchase in a year or so is going to be a PC again. I envisage working on that during the day and having my Macbook open beside it for email and iTunes etc (ie, all the fun nice stuff) and then when the working day is done, firing up the MP or plugging in the MBP to the big screen for "everything else" like music, video etc.
I'm OK with this from a pragmatic and professional point of view.....When it comes to rendering out frames and CPU horsepower the Mac Pro just doesn't stack up financially anymore and that doesn't look likely to change. But on a personal note, I think it's sad that having reached parity (in terms of performance and cost) with PC's for professional 3D work, the Mac Pro is now sliding out of view again with no viable OS X alternative.
I find myself wondering why Apple bothered with the 08's in the first place? Were they an accident? An oversight? Have the bean counters at Apple put together a killer slideshow in keynote for Steve to show that Middle of the Road consumer products are where the money is and if Graphics Professionals really want to stay with OS X, then they'll willingly pay double what they did 2 years ago?
Perhaps I was naive but I thought the 08's heralded a change in attitude at Cupertino. In retrospect they look like a blip on the radar.
