Hello!
Ive decided that I need a notebook to study and work with computer graphics, and it needs to replace my desktop for lets say, 90% of the time.
The past weeks I've been strugling with the decision of buying a mac or a origin/sager notebook.
Here are my fears towards the retina macbook pro:
- Will need windows half the time, so bootcamp is the way to go. But I've heard many complaints about windows 7 + retina resolution...
- rMPB may get TOO hot constantly and throttle as consequence.
- No matte finish for the screen.
- And of course all the current rMPB problems that have been popping up here or in the apple's forum.
The obviously GOOD points about rMBP is the chassis. Light and thin, more portability.
Anyways, can you guys give me a help deciding this?
Thanks!
Short version: For what you want, you need Windows. You're better off getting a Wintel system. End of story.
Apple's products emphasize elegance, not raw power. 3D production is NOT about elegance, it is all about raw power. Believe it or not, Windows is better optimized for 3D than OSX is.
Don't even think about VMware. The performance hit will kill you. Likewise, switching between bootcamp and OSX as part of your production will be murder for your workflow. Don't do it.
I'm going to assume that you will be creating content for games. I will tell you right now that 3D production for game development is sorely lacking in OSX. There are a slew of Windows-only utilities that many PC users take for granted which are unavailable for the Mac (i.e. xNormal, 3DO, Unreal Engine, etc.).
I have a Macbook of my own and for the last year I have tried to make a Mac-based workflow that can accomodate a heavy texture baking routine work. It doesn't. There are no decent programs that cover the wide-gamut of tasks required to prepare your models and make them game ready unless you don't mind hopping through 4 or 5 different programs - a huge time pit.
The situation is so bad for game developers that many will opt to use a PC over the Mac for iOS games that utilize 3D content. It's an incredibly embarrassing situation that Apple refuses to acknowledge and it shows just how far professionals have been kicked to the curb.
As for longing for extended battery life, forget it. 3D modelling is a very laborious task that will consume many hours before reaching other areas of the production pipeline. You WILL be spending most of your time connected to a power outlet regardless of what notebook you elect to buy.
Performance is another problem as well. A MBP retina isn't going to handle viewport navigation with dense geometry like a champ either. Rendering, especially architecture, will try your patience as well as that of your clients' if multiple revisions are necessary. As the saying goes, time is money.
If you are really serious about working professionally in 3D/Photoshop, you're going to need a full-sized keyboard, high DPI three-button mouse, Wacom tablet(it doesn't matter if you can't draw) and a dual monitor setup if you expect to be as efficient as your competition. In fact, if you plan on spending a lot of time in one place, staying with your PC desktop will really be a better investment for you because of the numerous GPU options available.
If you absolutely positively must get a Macbook, then do your modeling on the MBP and then transfer your files over to your PC remotely and have it start rendering. You should be able to do this with VNC/RDP for windows.
Here's the other thing worth considering: You'll be using only a select few specialized programs, right? Your experience between OSX and Windows under those circumstances will be a non-issue. OSX works better than Windows when you're trying to take on everything (especially print). But when you're confined to what is necessary for a 3D workflow, OSX doesn't just lose its advantages, it becomes a liability.
It's a hard pill for you to swallow as it was for me but in the end, you'll be better off with a PC solution since Windows is where you'll have to stay.
P.S. For heaven's sake, get something with an Nvidia GPU!
