Using Apple Mac's for 3D Artwork

Dubzski · Nov 2014

Hey all.

I'm looking at getting myself a new laptop.

I'm wondering what peoples experiences are using a MacBook for creating 3D.

Mainly 3Ds Max i know it cant run on OSX so you have to use a dual boot. <<<< I use quite a bit of VRay so render things off, will this be effected by running in boot camp?

I also understand that Maya works fine on OSX and i think ZBrush.

What about other programs such as Unity/ UE4/ Marmoset/ DDO/ xNormal etc.

While were at it can anybody recommend a good laptop just so i can have a look at some options power vs price range?

I'm interested in getting a pretty bitchin computer one that will last for at least 2-3 years.
Specs im looking at - i7 with 8-12 cores is good.
SSD for the main harddrive.
<<Graphics Card>> - I'm unsure what is good to get.... A GeForce GTX 780Ti?
Minimum of 16GB Ram, probs 24 would be good as i also use After Effects quite a bit.

Any help/ advice/ knowledge appreciated!

Xoliul · Nov 2014

You're going to get more power for your money if you don't get a Mac, but it might not be the sturdiest build quality then. It all depends.

Unless you dualboot to windows (and then it makes less sense to get a Mac) a few things won't work like 3DS Max, Quixel and xNormal (other things you name do run on Mac, so the situation has improved the past few years). There's Allegorithmic's Substance programs on Mac that could replace those last two however.

JedTheKrampus · Nov 2014

You won't be running a 780Ti in a laptop without putting together an external GPU, which is not very portable, but it can be a good boost to your GPU power at home if you don't mind setting it up and patching your laptop BIOS. Macbooks are actually some of the best laptops you can get for such a setup, as they have the Thunderbolt port that has equivalent bandwidth to most PCI slots. You can take it with you if you're a maniac who pumps iron every day. Overall I wouldn't recommend it. Also you won't be see an 8-core CPU in any reasonable laptop. I recommend that you take some time to do some research and learning on your own and figure out exactly what it is that you want to get out of this computer.

I would say that a Windows laptop with a GTX 860m or 970m and any quad-core, non-ultra low voltage CPU should be quite adequate for 3D art, but you should look for reviews and make sure that the thing isn't going to get hot enough to fry an egg on at full load. If you get a Macbook you'll occasionally miss out on advanced graphics features like tessellation for a bit until Apple gets drivers out, but it's certainly not a showstopper and you can definitely get good work done on OS X. The main thing that I don't like about Macbooks is the price, and the second thing that I don't like about them is that they tend to run very hot, especially when you use both the GPU and the CPU if that's what you ordered. They have pretty nice monitors generally, though. Ultimately you'll have to do loads of research and draw your own conclusions.

dongyfeng · Nov 2014

Read second section of this blog: http://santyhammer.blogspot.com/2013/09/some-things-i-will-never-understand.html. I decided to stick to my PC after I read it.

thomasp · Nov 2014

as far as laptops go there don't seem to be many models out there as well put together as the macbook pro.
be advised however that the current models are not user serviceable/upgradeable at all, so the old way of saving some money by buying the one you want with the lowest RAM/storage spec and then doing aftermarket upgrades will not work anymore.
also apple's base warranty is pretty damn short for such a machine and apple care quite expensive for laptops and seemingly now necessary since you cannot even swap out an SSD yourself anymore easily.

mine is from the previous generation which can be user-upgraded and while i have never tried to run windows on it from a quick glance around forums it seems the drivers can be hit and miss and you won't get nearly as much battery life out of it as when running OSX - nor i assume the same smooth experience (trackpad gestures, etc).
years back i looked into getting a mac pro instead of a PC to run primarily as a windows machine and abandoned the idea because of reported driver issues, too.

if you are looking at a nice laptop to run windows, perhaps check out the Dell M3800. seems relatively comparable in build and specs and can be had for less. also user-serviceable.

Dubzski · Nov 2014

Hmm cheers for the feedback.

I mainly create for high end renders rather than game art so a quad core is not sufficient in the slightest.

Only reason im debating a mac is because i do VJ'ing so need a portable power house. As mentioned they are nicely put together, i often feel like windows based laptops are fragile in comparison.

Also Windows 8 is bloody horrible heh.

I hear ya about the non customization business its bloody ridiculous.

I reckon it looks like a windows based computer is the best option.

JedTheKrampus · Nov 2014

If you need more than four cores you should either get a desktop or build a render farm that you can access remotely. The fastest mobile CPU money can buy, Intel Core i7-4940MX, has 4 cores and 8 threads running at 3.1 GHz. You can get laptops with desktop processors in them, but they're enormous, ugly, very hot, expensive, and totally not worth it. It honestly sounds like you want a desktop instead of a laptop. Is that an option for you?

Laughing_Bun · Nov 2014

My work used macs. It wasn't horrible but it was a pointless way to work. Not being able to use cool little tools that were released was just annoying. The dual booting works but is really inefficient. Xnormal for sure wont run and quixel I dont think works either. I was surprised at the amount of stuff that did have Mac versions but a lot of useful stuff didn't. I didn't like the hotkey placement and certain software the workflow became a slightly more awkward. Nothing major but ultimately it's all downside from my perspective.

Fomori · Nov 2014

Dubzski wrote: »

Only reason im debating a mac is because i do VJ'ing so need a portable power house.

As someone that used to VJ, I can give some input on this.
Basically a Macbook Pro is perfect for VJing. They are used extensively by DJ's and VJs in a club environment because they are great at staying cool in hot sweaty clubs (I've use Windows laptops and desktops in the past which struggled in the environment, my Macbook never over heated). Spending so much money on a laptop, just be careful with drink placement as a bit of water got in mine and it's now trash.

The thing is that you want one computer to do completely different tasks. You need more of a workstation for doing 3D at home and rendering. I know it's extra money, but it's the way to go. Even if you settle for a low performance desktop PC at home and upgrade it when you can afford to.

Jeff Parrott · Nov 2014

I use a Mac laptop at home and don't have an issue at all. I have it dual boot but only kick over for xNormal or Max. Otherwise OsX works fine for Maya, UDK, 3D Coat, Photoshop, etc.

Rick Stirling · Nov 2014

My biggest issues with my laptop is that the screen isn't really big enough - it's got enough heft to do the work other than that. I tend to use my iMac for most of the 3d stuff I do.

SHEPEIRO · Nov 2014

mac book pro with retina is cool for doing 3d on the move, but you may need a magnifying glass... if packages reworked for the higher res it would be cool. you have the res but as rick says the screen is small...

but its very portable and generally robust(though dont drop it on the corner of the screen, it doesnt like that and can be expensive to repair as i found out when mine was nearly brand new)

mattyinthesun · Dec 2014

I use a MacBook Pro for all my home 3d work, and like it. Generally Maya, Modo, ZBrush and Photoshop. I wish Quixel suite was available for Mac though - that alone really causes a dual boot for me.

VPrime · Dec 2014

Regarding your bootcamp question:
No, you won't lose any performance. Bootcamp is just apples marketing term for a dual boot system.
You're only running 1 OS at a time. So when you run Windows, OSX is not running. When windows is running it is 100% like running windows on any other PC.

There are however virtual machines like VMWare and parallels. These let you run windows while OSX is running, and it shares your computers resources. You can model, and run 3D applications in a virtual machine, but depending on what you're doing you will notice it being slower.

One cool thing with parallels and VMWare is that you can run your bootcamp partition in a virtual machine. So you get the best of both worlds. If the virtual machine is not fast enough, just restart into windows.

Goeddy · Dec 2014

so you want a laptop with 8-12 cores oO.
and you want to use your laptop for rendering.
and also it should be a macbook.

those thinks just dont work together.
laptops are not made for rendering with powerfull cpus, if you dont use an external cooling device your laptop will overheat in less then 30 minutes. if there even are laptops like this.

i'd advice you to get a less powerfull laptop and save the money to use an online rendering service instead, so you just use the laptop for the 3D work itself and outsource the rendering.

beefaroni · Dec 2014

One thing to keep in mind.

When I had a MBP (2011, sold now), it could not use the integrated graphics on the Windows side. As a result, I only had ~1.5-2hrs on Windows.

If battery life is important make sure that you can switch between IGP and dedicated GPU in bootcamp!!

Using Apple Mac's for 3D Artwork

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