CompuServe Thread

>> As a complete beginner in 3D animation, I was >>wondering if a Mac is worth considering (is >>there anything comparable on the Mac to 3DS?), I'm not sure, but I think Electric Image and Form-Z (when combined) can do a pretty competent job of animation and modeling on the Mac. The software will be pretty expensive, and a Mac that it will run well on will cost a fair piece too. Say, seven grand for software and at least five for hardware. >>or should I stick to a PC. Asking that in this forum is like asking a Corvette maniac/owner if there's anything comparable to a Vette from, say, Subaru… I mean, it's a choice we all pondered at some point in the past, and our decision was 3D Studio – that's why we're here. We love it! I've yet to see a 'buyer's remorse' type letter in this forum or anywhere about 3DS. >>If so, what are the min requirements to run 3DS on a PC? Do it right. Spend about four grand and get a robust Pentium 90 with at least 16MB ram. Budget ~$2800 or so for 3DS r4 and $600 (in a few months) for some IPAS goodies. Then you'll be a very happy camper. I can't say enough about how great 3DS software is. If you're going to do pro animation, the decision is easy! Jim

I have used both Mac and PC 3D systems a good deal. The Mac programs I used, (MacroModel, Director 3-D, Showplace, Renderman, etc.), all work well but are fairly slow (I was using Quadra 950s). They crashed a lot (and I mean a lot), frustrating the hell out of me. Renderman image quality is excellent but special f/x are difficult at best. My main gripes with Macs is that the operating system eats up tons of memory and bogs all programs down. I think, though, that Power PC native programs are supposed to deal with that. 3D Studio has been wonderful. It creates great looks and I have yet to have it crash (knock on wood). Its documentation and tutorials are infinitely better than any of the Mac programs I used. Running under DOS, it's much more efficient at utilizing the system's speed. Hardware and software support is tremendous – look at this forum. With a Pentium 90 selling for $2,500-3,000 well configured and 3DS for about the same, you would have a complete system for only slightly more than the comparable Mac hardware alone. To me the choice is clear. Cheers, John