iMac 3ds max performance in parallels/fusion?

[metabo]

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a new iMac 24 inch. However, I'm wondering about how 3ds max will perform inside of parallels/fusion. Searches I made on the net tells me that I can only expect to be able to do "light modeling", but what I want to know is, how light is light?

Anybody has any hard figures, e.g. i loaded a 10k poly textured character inside parallels.. i created a 50k poly scene inside fusion.. etc...

Will choosing the 8600 GS BTO option make a big difference? Or bumping the ram up?

Thanks alot!

[Rhisiart]

Using BootCamp (which comes free with a new iMac) would be a better choice. You'd need to partition your hard drive, so getting the biggest HD is wise. Parallels and fusion just won't cope with 3D.

[metabo]

Thanks for the reply. I know boot camp is better, but I'm just wondering how much I can get away with in parallels/fusion. Besides, constant rebooting between os x and windows might cause the licensing to break...

So, anyone tried before and can give me some rough guidelines as to what I can expect?

[ElDiabloConCaca]

You can expect pretty crappy 3D performance. Probably along the lines of using a Pentium III. If you're an experienced 3ds max user, I can guarantee you'll be nothing less than disappointed with the performance... while it may be "usable," it will not be "enjoyable."

I highly recommend using Boot Camp instead, as mentioned earlier.

The amount of reboots you perform has nothing to do with the licensing of Windows XP nor Mac OS X. Your Windows partition will remain perfectly "licensed" even if you reboot between Windows XP and Mac OS X one million times in a row.

[metabo]

Actually, I was referring to licensing for 3ds max. (Quite alot of forum posts on how boot camp seems to break 3ds max licenses.)

Anyway, I guess that kind of killed my hopes for getting a mac instead of yet another windoze box, since I'll be using 3ds max quite a lot. Even though it'll mostly be around psp level graphics...

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Ah, I see about the licensing thing.

Well, you could look at it this way: you can get a Windows PC and run Windows or Linux. Or, you could get a Mac, and run Windows or Linux or Mac OS X just as well as any generic Windows box.

[metabo]

I know, but I'll end up spending most of my time in windows, which kind of defeats the point of buying an iMac in the first place? Especially since it's more expensive than a generic windows box and not easily upgradeable too. And if i dual boot too many times the licensing breaks...

I mean, I really don't wish to deal with windows anymore, but unless someone tells me that parallels/fusion performance is ok, or autodesk makes a mac version of 3ds max (dream on) it looks like I don't have much of a choice.

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Originally Posted by metabo

I know, but I'll end up spending most of my time in windows, which kind of defeats the point of buying an iMac in the first place? Especially since it's more expensive than a generic windows box and not easily upgradeable too. And if i dual boot too many times the licensing breaks...

The "more expensive" thing is kind of an illusion -- it's just that Apple doesn't offer any ultra low-end Macs, whereas you can build a cheap PC for $300 or so. Feature-for-feature, though, they're pretty much on-par with each other in terms of price.

I mean, I really don't wish to deal with windows anymore, but unless someone tells me that parallels/fusion performance is ok, or autodesk makes a mac version of 3ds max (dream on) it looks like I don't have much of a choice.

Well, I'm not against Windows -- I'm all for purchasing the computer that will work for you. If you spend a lot of time in 3ds max, then by all means, get a Windows box and go for it... that will provide the best working environment for that program.