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Author Topic: PC vs. MAC ?  (Read 583 times)
Description: New user buying a new computer to run MDB3
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
tomfabinski
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Posts: 1


« on: September 28, 2015, 12:50:20 AM »

Greetings!  This is my first post.  I'm currently using an iPad to run FRAX video very successfully!  However, I would like to be able to render MDB3 video and I'm considering a MACBook Air as a replacement for my really old PC to run MDB3.  I understand MDB3 is available to run on both PC and MAC but I really like my iPad and Apple technology.  Does anyone have a really good reason why a MACBook Air won't suffice?  I'm planning on rendering videos that are about two minutes long.

I realize there's probably strong feelings on both sides of this topic.  And probably pros and cons on both sides.  So I don't want to start a battle here.  I just want to know if there are people successfully running MDB3 on a MAC and/or if there's uniform opinion against MAC.

Thanks,
Tom
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ellarien
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« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2015, 10:35:54 AM »

One thing to consider, quite apart from the Mac/PC issue, is that Mb3D is very CPU-intensive -- it can run flat out for hours on end -- so it may not be the best idea to run it on a very miniaturized machine. I've been a lot more comfortable running long renders since I moved my fractaling to a custom desktop with a bit of extra cooling built in. (I got mine from a firm that specializes in gaming rigs.)

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hobold
Fractal Bachius
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« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2015, 12:07:12 PM »

Modern "thin and light" notebooks are not really made for running software that hogs the CPU for hours on end. Portable computing devices are always a compromise between portability and computation.

The MacBook Air is a fine ultraportable (as is, say Dell's XPS 13, or some others), but it does not have a particularly fast processor. It might not sustain full speed over longer computations due to heat. There is even a theoretical risk that the thermal stress of ongoing computation can shorten the expected lifespan of the device.

If you do buy an Air, you should do so primarily for portability. A computer that is meant to be a fractal pixel production machine should be beefier and cooled very well, in my humble opinion.


On the other hand, if you find the speed of an iPad acceptable, an ultrabook ight do for you as well.
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JohnVV
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« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2015, 08:53:16 PM »

seeing as apple moved off the IBM ppc to the intel x86
A apple computer IS A "PC "

it uses the x86 type CPU


now
Apple VS Microsoft

that is a different question

and really should be Apple VS Linux

But  for rendering

laptops are just NOT meant for that kind of work

you would not take a porsche 911  to "HomeDepot" or "Lowes" or any DYI store to get 2x4's and drywall

you would use a ford 250 truck

a desktop with 16 to 64 gig of ram and a high end nvidia card
and a i7 or if you have the cash a dual xeon cpu ( workstation) 



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Madman
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« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2015, 09:30:25 PM »

Hi Tom,

Welcome to fractalforums!

I can't tell you if Mac or a Windows based PC is better for M3D, but you do need CPU power. M3D does not use the GPU, so the graphics card is less important. Since M3D is 32 bit, you don't need more than 4 GB of memory. Jesse programmed for Windows-PC's. I don't know if there is a speed impact for the "translation" to MAC-OS.
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