Would an iMac or a PC Be better for AutoDesk Maya?

[AnimaniacMark]

Hi Folks,

I am in need of your brains! I'm currently studying animation at Univeristy, and im looking to purchase a new computer and ive been on the fence between a regular PC, or an iMac. I'm currently using softwares such as AutoDesk Maya, Adobe Photoshop, 3D Coat etc.

My main question is does anybody know which of the two computers would run AutoDesk Maya the best? And what kind of specs for either computer would I need as well?

Your help will be much appreciated

Thanks,

Mark

 

[GGJstudios]

System requirements for Autodesk Maya 2015
System requirements for Autodesk Maya 2013
3D-Coat System requirements

As long as the computer meets the system requirements, either a Mac or PC would work.

 

[BlargKing]

Well Mental Ray renders around 25% faster under Mac OS, but in my experience, Maya for Mac OS seems a bit neglected (for instance, license transfer utility hasn't worked for me in years).

Also consider that a lot of 3D related software and 3D tools are Windows only.

 

[Subdiv]

Hi Folks,

I am in need of your brains! I'm currently studying animation at Univeristy, and im looking to purchase a new computer and ive been on the fence between a regular PC, or an iMac. I'm currently using softwares such as AutoDesk Maya, Adobe Photoshop, 3D Coat etc.

My main question is does anybody know which of the two computers would run AutoDesk Maya the best? And what kind of specs for either computer would I need as well?

Your help will be much appreciated

Thanks,

Mark

Hi Mark,

There are advantages and disadvantages to running Maya on either platform. As BlargKing mentioned, renders are noticeably faster under OSX vs. Windows. (This is true for V-Ray too.) I personally think Maya looks nicer under OSX...the menu fonts are bigger, and I love how your last menu selections are highlighted. However....

Under Windows, you can open more than one instance of Maya, which makes it easier to copy and paste between scenes. Also, as a Mudbox user, I have found that transferring objects between Maya and Mudbox works much better under Windows. (Right now, I can't get it to work at all under OSX, but I'm running Yosemite, which I don't believe is currently recommended by Autodesk.) Speaking for myself, Maya seems to have better functionality and stability under Windows. (I'm running it on boot camp on a 2013 Mac Pro.) I can also confirm that the Maya frame rates under Windows on my machine are much higher than they are under OSX.

If you don't want to wonder if you should have gotten a Mac or a PC for Maya, you may want to go ahead with the iMac and install Windows in a Bootcamp partition so you can decide for yourself. Oh, and if you do that, save yourself some headaches and use your 2 activations instead of trying to use the License Transfer Utility. Its performance is horrid. I really wish Autodesk would move to a different licensing method.

Hope this helps...