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Any News of V12 for Intel Macs?


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If you look at the Apple web site there are currently no CAD programs on the Universal Binary version available site, the nearest in respect to work that any of us may do is Cinema 4D. No Archicad etc.

I think the vast majority of VW mac users would be running on a tower type machine, such as a G5, G4 etc. This giving the flexability of choosing your monitor of choice, and having some increased upgrade ability over the graphics card and of course substainshall RAM capabilities over the more consumer focused machines.

In this respect I guess whilst NNA want and need to get the job done, until a Intel based Apple Tower hits the streets the urgency is not as great as if these were available.

Maybe by the time Apple announces these NNA will have the VW12.5 upgrade ready to roll out. Be a nice marketing line for NNA. "To coincide with the release of Apples powerful new intel based workstations NNA annouches that VW12.5 free upgrade is released and will be available to Apple users as Universal Binary"

I'd rather they took their time to get it right than early release with too many bugs etc.

I'd say about July/August, but that's just a guess on my part.

Alan

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not all VW cad users on towers. As a matter of fact we have mostly imacs and macbook pros.

Although VW12 works just fine on my MBP - a little slow on the start up but for general drafting it's fine. I can't speak to it's capabilities in rendering speed which i'm sure isn't great running under Rosetta.

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Now that the cool MacBooks have been announced, I am hurried to know WHEN a Universal version of VW will be available!

Hugo

With the supplied graphics card I don't think its going to be a good choice, but again it depends on the type of VW work you're going to do on it.

That's about the only downer I can see in its specs but Apple probably did it to make sure there was a good enough differential between these and the Macbook Pros.

You've got to hand it to Apple, the way they introduce black as a colour option and make it something special, paying extra for it when those nasty old Windows machines have been giving us black for the last few years and people liked the Apple white because it was different.

I see Apple have adjusted the specs on the MacBook Pros as well.

Alan

Edited by alanmac
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Alan,

I understand the integrated graphics in the MacBook are not the best, but for example for rendering, what will give me speed, the graphic card, or the processor(s)? The MacBook, having a dual core chip, won't render blazingly fast in Renderworks? What is the role of the graphic card in this?

Thank you,

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Hi Hugo

As you've been using a iBook for some time, if my memory serves me correctly, and if in the work you do and what you do with VW you find it okay then I'm sure the MacBook as an upgrade is an excellent choice.

My comments on the on board graphics would be in the context of all the other programs I may use on my machines as well as how I use VW, which is mainly detail 3D models, moving these around on screen to see the various design and layout advantages, file average about 50mb.

As you are probably aware almost all rendering is done in software rather than using a dedicated hardware card like some high level systems.

To this end, cpu is were the number crunching goes on for these calculations and the dual core Intel chips can only be a big plus in this regard, even without using both cores, which thankfully I understand Renderworks does.

You've got to increase that RAM as well, to at least 1GB.

If it was me I'd go to the maximum but find a way of doing it without the costs Apple talk about.

Maybe buy the minimum spec and reside myself to ditching both sticks 256 mb sticks to buy 2x 1GB sticks from a good aftermarket supplier. Apples prices for RAM are just too high.

The areas were I think I'd find problems are panning and generally moving around a drawing, moving the perspective view around in a 3D model etc.

But like I said it depends on what you are doing in VW.

As a program it's used by many people in many different industries, who again have differing levels of complexity to the work they do.

After starting my VW CAD work on a cramped 15" monitor and working up to 21" CRT's and now 19" TFT and 20" Cinema displays I'd find working all day with a smaller scene very uncomfortable.

Short spells on the companies iBooks the sales guys use I find very frustrating.

I hav'n't studied the specs so I honestly don't know if you can add another monitor to give you additional screen space in the MacBook as in the MacBook Pro, but bear in mind that has got to be driven by the same card as your Macbook on board card.

My last comments on screen size are of course personal, and again if you find the iBook good for you then the MacBook will be more of the same.

Since the Intel based machines have been introduced with their capability to load and use Windows XP I've been considering getting one for my daughter to use, and the base model MacBook looked ideal for her schoolwork etc.

Sadly the talk of the units high heat readings from the CPU's and the posts debating the "wrong" application of thermal paste inside these machines has put me off for the time being.

I will be holding back until they've been out for a while and get more customer feedback or even until the first revision model appears.

Alan

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Thanks for your explanation Alan. The MacBook can use an external monitor as an extended desktop, so it would be useful for me.

But to simplify the thing, imagine we already have a 3D model ready, with all lights and views finished and we put, side to side, a Dual Core 2 Ghz PowerPC G5 Mac, a Dual Core 2 Ghz Intel MacBook, and a 3.6 Ghz Pentium 4 Win PC. We choose a Final Quality Renderworks. We start the three computers at the same time. Which one is supposed to end first?

I am supposing the MacBook would be using a Universal version of VW, of course.

Edited by Hugo
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Hi Hugo

Imagine is all you can do since there is no version of VW in UB released as yet.

Whilst you have incuded the Pentium 4 in your imaginary "shootout" Intel are pushing and selling its Pentium D dual core processor so a machine with that on should be included.

Whilst we are about it an "equivalent" AMD processor should also join the party.

I think you'll find that this whole matter is a little subjective anyway. I'm sure varying processor on varying files, complexity, size, lighting settings etc. will give a particular processor an edge over the others from file to file.

Just the same as one car will be faster in a straight line whilst another is quicker round the bends.

As I mentioned before I have never used Renderworks so I can't comment on its use but according to some comments I've read from other users if you want a fast way to speed up your render times then buy Artlantis.

Of course you lose the "integration" of one program and I'm not here to promote Artlantis over Renderworks, but I find the use of a seperate render program very useful.

I can render from several different programs in Artlantis, VW and Sketch Up. I can also put a walkthrough render on one machine and let it churn away till finished whilst I work in VW on something else.

The same could be said of using any external render program, Cinema 4D, Cheetah3D (one to watch out for, great product, great price), Maxwell(although this is very much work in progress) etc. not just Artlantis. But Artlantis is fast.

Again it depends on what level of service in rendering you want or need to provide your clients.

One thing you don't have to imagine - the MacBook will be faster than any iBook ever made.

If you worked well within the confines of its size and speed then you'll be even happier with the MacBook.

The use of an external monitor without an "illegal" patch is also good news for your eyes and productivity.

UB version will be the icing on the cake hopefully, but remember that thing about computers, the faster they get the more the software folks use the extra power which then slows them down again in relative terms.

Happy buying

Alan

Edited by alanmac
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Hugo

Just as a little footnote to your imaginery render competition, would you buy a Hi Fi system based on listening to just one song on a few systems? or would you look at how each system handles a wide variety of musical information.

I think the same applies to computers.

Each have their merits and everybody has their own needs, circumstances and budgets.

It sounds like your choice is a fairly simple one, which one of the three MacBooks models available do I buy.

Not the black one I hope.;~)

Alan

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