Transitioning to mac and need help

News & General Discussion
1

Ok, I’ve been an avid PC user for years and never really got into Macs. The last experience I had with a Mac was soured years ago during a web design gig I had. The GPU made me cringe, and the one button mouse and tiny keyboard weren’t too exciting.
Fast forward a few years and I came upon Unity, the first app that made me want to get a Mac. I was comparing Unity against Beyond Virtual, and I must say it beats it hands down (with acception with features like realtime shadowing), the community here is much more interesting, the docs on Unity are second to none, and the support is encouraging.
So I did some research for a few hours on the new intel Macs, namely because there’s some apps on Windoze that I still need. For instance this is my current pipeline for my studio

  • C4D (exclusively, so I know it works well with Unity)
  • Maya
  • Zbrush
  • Mudbox (will replace Zbrush once available, and currently only runs on PC)
  • Photoshop
  • Flash/Dreamweaver
  • Beyond Virtual (which will change to Unity)

And that’s about it, now I look at it, I can pretty much use an Intel Mac primarily hmmm.
The Mac OS X is simply amazing and my wife would get a kick out of using it for sure.

Anyhoo what I need help on is choosing one of these lil beasts, I’m a total Mac noob and have no idea what is what really. Both the iMac and Mac mini are amazing space savers and with this macOS Sonoma - Apple I can have a great setup going. One thing tho is that Macs are pricy lil things much like the Ipods sheesh! Apples marketing is superb is that respect. Anyhoo, so I would like some help deciding what’s best price/value wise, and I’m not into buying it off e-bay especially electronics :stuck_out_tongue: So take into consideration I was about to buy a new dual core PC next week:

Here are things I would look for

  • Dual core CPU
  • Capable graphic card (I’m currently using a GeForce FX 5900 Ultra on my PC, so something to match or better that)
  • minimum 2gigs of ram
  • decent HDD space
  • No logitech support which is a shame, so I guess a Mighty Mouse
  • I love my M$ Natural Keyboard
  • Dual Screens are a must (but how would that work with A KVM?

In all honesty, I’m really impressed with what I seen with the latest Macs and the new OS X (Vista looks like the same crap all over again to me :roll:) and the new Mac ads are hilarious and so true :? heh.

Anyhoo, any help would be greatly appreciated, cause it looks like I’m about to drop some serious coin. It’s too bad I can’t demo the engine somehow or even watch a video of someone using it before a purchase… but the long and short of it is, I’ll at least have a Mac :slight_smile: which gives me access to apps like Final Cut Pro and Shake! And oh I’m in CA…NA…DA

Cheers!

2

Not sure what you mean by “no logitech support” every logitech mouse works with a Mac just fine. The few that don’t have drivers for all there special features can be used together with USB Overdrive and have practicaly full funcionality.

As far as what I’m seeing in your pipeline your a graphics guy. So your going to want as much power as you can get. There is a very good chance that the Mac Pros (the Power Mac G5 replacment) will be anounced/released next week so it might be worth it to sit tite for a week and see what new things come out at WWDC. I would sugest getting a Mac Pro, they are rather pricy but its well worth it. Oh and welcome to the comunity!! Jeff

3

I’d say get an iMac. It’s got a dual core CPU, X1600 graphics card, and you can get a decent amount of RAM and hard drive space. (But don’t get RAM from Apple; they overcharge ludicrously. Go Newegg or something for that.) Certainly there is Logitech support; you can use whatever USB mice and keyboards are out there. They all “just work,” as they say. Toss the Mighty Mouse in a drawer just so you have a backup mouse in case yours dies. :wink: But if you want to customize controls more than OS X lets you, there are programs like USB Overdrive that let you tweak everything. (Which has the advantage of working with all devices, not just those from a certain manufacturer.) Not really sure how dual screens work with a KVM since I haven’t tried that.

Either that or wait to see about the Mac Pros, but I have some doubts that they’d be available any time soon. Maybe.

I spent around US$3000 on my dual 2.5 G5 Power Mac close to 2 years ago, and it was worth every dime. Once upon a time I wouldn’t have considered getting a Mac, in the pre-OS X days. I’ve had plenty of experience with OS 9 and earlier and “bleah” is all I can say. Some of the hardware left something to be desired too. But this G5 is great…it doesn’t feel the least bit “old” yet, which is amazing considering that 2 years is like FOREVER in computer terms…

As far as Unity goes, don’t worry about not being able to demo it on Windows. Seriously, it’s everything you could expect and then some. But careful…if you’re like me, your progress will be slow just because Unity is so slick and fun to play around with that it’s way too easy to get distracted by all the nifty stuff you can do. :wink:

–Eric

4

Yes, I’ve got several Logitech devices on my Mac–multi-button trackball and gamepad. They work fully without needing any driver software–but Logitech does have software (for many models, not all) that adds additional options if you need them. Logitech makes some Mac-specific stuff too, which is nice because the keys are labeled a little different, but most of their stuff works in Mac and Windows both. Same with Microsoft, Kensington, Saitek, Belkin, etc. (In fact, most USB devices that do NOT say Mac-compatible actually are.)

I suggest waiting until August 7 when the new pro towers will most likely be announced, and very likely for sale then or soon after. Core 2 Duo, and maybe other improvements. Then decide between that and an iMac (which can span to a second display–but you can’t use its OWN display for an external computer–there’s no input that does that).

You’d probably need 2 KVMs if you had two displays, unless someone makes a dual switch. Or let one machine do without the extra screen.

I would also look very seriously at a MacBook Pro. About the same power as an iMac, but portability is great. Mac OS X AND Windows AND all your projects and apps… everywhere you go. If you’ve never been portable, maybe this is the time :slight_smile: I love it.

But Mac Book Pros should ALSO be getting Core 2 Duo soon (within 2 months?) so that’s something to keep in mind. Right now they are Core Duo like the iMac. I would guess that the MB Pro will get Core 2 Duo before the iMac does. But it’s all guesswork. On August 7 and in the days to follow, we may know more.

Do get a GB of RAM (or more) total. Sometimes Apple RAM is cheaper (because they subtract the smaller module instead of making you take it out and waste it). Sometimes it’s cheaper to self-install, which is easy.

Also not that Macs do have two-button (well, 4-button + scrollball) mice now. I don’t like the “invisible” right-button myself. Or keep using whatever USB mouse you already own.

Be sure to check http://versiontracker.com for useful apps to download.

5

Heya Tito, as far as i know you can also just run mac OS X ontop of windows (via pear pc or somthing similar) and run unity on that, with the power of a pc (argh… please… no flamin… argh… ^^ ) though the fact that you have 2 os’s running at the same time may take quite a bit of system resources (havnt tried it yet though so dunno)

6

Nope, that wouldn’t work. PearPC is a PowerPC emulator, so it would be slow, and like all emulators like this, it doesn’t have hardware 3D acceleration, making it virtually useless for Unity even if you could put up with the slowness.

–Eric

7

You can do the reverse, though, run Windows on top of OS X, with Parallels. No GPU currently (Boot Camp is needed for that at the moment–modeling, gaming, antything that needs fast 3D). But good speed otherwise–and the convenience of drag-and-drop between all your apps. Run what you want when you want, whether it’s OS X or Windows, and run them at the same time. Parallels (or other virtualization solution) is also good for security from Windows viruses. (Though Boot Camp ain’t bad either.)

And no flames needed re power of a PC vs. a Mac… Macs now use the fastest x86 chips there are :slight_smile:

8

well… pc still has 64 so… ^^ (atlest mine has now) but, ya mac is catching up… finally =)

9

Even though you can use all your Windows software, there is certainly something very clean and pure feeling about doing everything os x.

10

Definitely wait unitl WWDC on August 7th, even if you aren’t going to buy the new Mac Pro. Prices will drop, and if you wait long enough, you can buy a new mac with Leopard (Mac OS 10.5) pre-installed. If I were you, I would (without a doubt) buy the new Mac Pro. You sound like you could use the horsepower with FinalCut Pro, C4D, Maya, and of course, Unity. The only problem I see with that is the $$$, and building a game with a X1900 GPU could be difficult. You might become too used to your new blazing fast computer, and make games that are unplayable on even 1 yr old computers :lol: Just my thoughts. Oh, and welcome to the world of macs. You will enjoy your stay :wink:

11

Here’s a thought–I suppose some game devs do this? Put two graphics boards in your tower, one really low-end and one high-end. Connect two displays or a switch. Then test your game on either screen at will.

(BTW, PowerMacs have been 64-bit for years–and will continue to be with Core 2 Duo next week. Macs portable CPU–the G4–has lagged behind since the Pentium M came out. But desktop Macs are another story–they have been great performers even compared to Pentium 4s. Until IBM slowed G5 development and Intel finally abandoned the Pentium 4 and moved on to something more efficient. Then the choice to go to Intel made good sense for the first time.)

12

Awesome feedback, much appreciated! But please don’t turn this into a Mac debate :wink:
The more I see it, I think it’s best to wait for ‘WWDC’(no clue what it is, but I’ll take your word ;))even if it’s to see a price drop on the dual core Imacs, which I will get because there’s no doubt the Mac Pro will be frickin pricy. The dual COre Imac would be good enough for my uses atm since believe it or not I’m running on a 5yr old box! An AMD athlon XP 1800+ 1.5ghz, and yes it’s showing its age :slight_smile:

Also to bad Pear PC won’t work, I was about to try it. Ah well, I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.

As for the logitech thing, I was apparently showing my lack of knowledge with Macs, I completely forgot they use USB ports very much the same way :stuck_out_tongue:

I can’t wait to get the Mac and start creating!

Cheers

13

Yeah, I didn’t think about that…the iMac has fewer RAM slots than the Power Mac, so that’s something to keep in mind. I just added on and kept the smaller modules, and I can still add more without pulling any existing modules if I ever feel the need. The only way I’d have to waste the smaller modules is if I wanted 8GB, but I don’t see that happening. :wink:

–Eric

14

WWDC is the World Wide Developer Conference where a bunch of mac geeks get together to learn more, and to drool over the new hardware that is usually released.

Glad I could help.

15

Apple badly needs a cheap tower/minitower… something above an iMac, below a PowerMac. Something with a removable GPU and no built-in display. Oh well, we can dream.

16

If I had a nickle for every time I heard that…I’d have several copies of Unity Pro. Plus Maya Unlimited. :wink: Maybe one of these days…

–Eric

17

There’s always hope :slight_smile: Once upon a time, a low-end headless Mac was unthinkable. But now there’s the Mac Mini.

18

My logitech started to work with 10.4.6. Before that version it wasn’t working no matter if i used logitech drivers or not…so my advice would be to check with the newest osx version.

Mighty Mouse is well…not much to say about Apple and mices… ;O)

19

Like anything unusual, it does take some getting used to, namely the fact that you can’t click both the right and mouse button simultaneously. But it’s also elegant and has an unquestionably innovative scroll ball.

20

And like most of the unusual stuff from Apple it isn’t thought out 100% like you’ve mentioned with the doubleclick, no third button and no ergonomical design. My hands feel much more comfortable on a asymetric logitech.