jimbo514

Thanks Tim & Jeffrey. Time for some serious reading. Jim

Hello, I am currently running VW 2009 Designer with Renderworks on a PowerMac G5 Dual 2.5 GHz with 6.5 GB memory. Rendering has always been limited by a 3GB limit to memory usage. I watch Activity Monitor while rendering and when real memory usage gets to about 3 GB, rendering either ceases with an out of memory message, or VW quits altogether. HDRI lighting is also a memory hog. My solution is to reduce the resolution to a level that keeps memory usage below 3 GB. I often like to add hidden line rendering in the foreground, but this is hopeless for some of the complex work I do. I am now planning to replace my old G5 with a Quad-Core Mac and the new, top of the line 27" iMac 3.4 GHz i7 Quad-Core looks quite attractive, especially since my 23" Cinema HD Display is showing its age. My other option is the Mac Pro 2.8 GHz Nehalem Quad-Core. My first question: does 64 bit addressing solve this memory access problem? Will I be able to access more than 3 GB memory and run these renderings at a higher resolution? If so, then does the iMac i7 support 64 bit addressing? Nowhere in Apple's specs does it say so. Cinebench 11.5 tests from a year ago show the iMac i7 2.93 Ghz edging out the Nehalem 5.5 to 5.1, so that looks good. (http://barefeats.com/wst10.html) At the price of a refurbished iMac i7 this seems like the best solution for me in the +/-$2,000 price range, but only if it solves this memory issue. Does anyone have experience with these models? Regards, Jim