iMac for maya and 3d modeling

You may end up with the same problem with the iMac...
There isn't enough airflow to keep the component cool enough for extended heavy rendering session.

For rendering and heavy lifting you have to go the nMP way if you want to stay in the OSX ecosystem.

If you're on a tight budget, you would probably better off going the PC way since all of your apps are available on windows. You'll get better performance and a greater choice of components, especially GPUs (you can have more than one in a PC).

 

How are you using these programs, student, work?
I use After Effects. I recently output a render that took 44 min on a 2008 MacPro 2.8 octo, the iMac 5k i7 did it in 12 min.
The fan did come on full force and the temps did spike but the machine was able to handle it.

That being said the old MacPros' fans never really ran full throttle.

I don't know if Maya uses gpu's for rendering, but if they do you might want to look into an used classic MacPro and add a few gpu's to it.

 

Yes you can use your Cintiq as a display, albeit a smallish one...

And, btw, Blender isn't really easier. Blender GUI is still a work in progress with options and tools appearing in two or three differnt places.

The easiest is 3dsmax GUI wise, but then again I'm not really into sculpting. I'm more into archviz and vehicule modelling.

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Not really. They're all dual core laptop processor now with integrated gpu.

 

Craigslist, Ebay. It will most likely come with one but you can add more if you need them for rendering. there are some 3D renderers that utilize the GPU especially Nvidia GPU's.

 

If you can find a used Mac Pro, the new cylinder, on eBay or craigslist, that would by far be your best bet. The graphics cards on the iMac aren't meant to handle professional level apps like that. It will do ok, but if you are at all serious about it then those Mac Pros, even an entry level one that shouldn't be too much more than a retina iMac, have WAY better graphics card for that type of work.

Source: I mastered in 3D and digital imaging.

 

Stay far far away from 2014 version of Mac Mini if you are intending to do anything serious on it. You will be better off finding 2012 version because it is still upgradable to 16GB RAM and 2TB of SSD (aftermarket). 2014 version of Mac mini is more of an appliance now.

 

Hi,
I do 3d for a living. You want few things for your workstation. First of all, no all in one and no mac mini. Mac minis don't have the graphic power required to run Maya and other 3d apps, and all in one(imac or laptop) develop serious issues for over heating. Your best bet is to find out a cheap 4.1-5.1 mac pro - the classic one. You can buy a 4.1 upgraded to 5.1 and 6 core cpu for 800-1000USD. Later on you can find an Nvidia Quadro for mac pro edition and you are set for the next 2-3 years. As you grow you can add more ram(8gb is no near enough for 3d). Once you outgrow your classic macpro you can build a small linux render farm to decrease render times. You say it does not matter how long it takes to render. Well, if you render a still image, yea, it might be true. But when you animate??? You will look into squeezing every second you can from the render times, trust me. Do your search though as i am sure that Maya uses nvidia quadros for viewport 2.0, not amd firepro as in current macs.....

 

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autoc...retina-imac-with-autocad-2015-lt/td-p/5347189

iMacs are built to not overheat, so you don't need to worry about that. When I render overnight on mine (I don't have the latest iMac), the fans blow hard, but everything's fine in the morning. I've been doing this for a few years now with no issues.