CompuServe Thread

#Info for PPC users

3 messages in this thread
#1968From: Charles BandlaNov 21, 1994 8:07 PM
I'm looking to migrate from the Amiga to either a Pentium based or Power PC mac based system. I'd like to hear from Animation:Master users that are running on the power mac. I'm mostly interested in how stable the software/hardware combination is. Is it a productive environment? Is the screen up dates in the various modules fast enough to work with (they were very slow, to the point of frustration on the Amiga)? I've got the money together to make the move, but I've become paralized trying to decide which system to go with. Any info would be very helpful.
#1987From: Adam DiGleriaNov 22, 1994 10:46 AM
Charles, That is a loaded question…. duck and cover. <g> As a developer and product manager for a PC based program, I would recommend a pentium 90 with as much ram as possible. It is fast, and there is more software available for the intel machines than Macs. Note of course that everyone is biased toward the machine they sunk $2,000 into. (Well, if you're a Mac user, I guess that would be more like $3,000 or $4,000 <BG>) If you are coming from the Amiga world, then you know what I mean. :} Good luck, AD
#2011From: Jim JonahNov 22, 1994 10:44 PM
Charles, I'm a PowerMac user who also owns some 486s. A:M is fast on both platforms! Its screen redraw is interuptable and the way it works when zooming or rotating by only drawing the points, not the lines, is unique and a GREAT feature. The PowerMac version is pretty stable, for me anyway. <G> The real answer is a question, what else do you want to do with the computer? According to the Ziff publications, Photoshop on the PowerMac is 2-3 fasters than all other platforms. Cosa After Effects is a VERY cool video compositing app (see the Nickelodian trailers on Nike at Night…). etc… The rendering time on the PowerMac is respectable, although the DOS version has less overhead (No background multi-tasking) so on the P90, the DOS version should be faster (Ouch!! that hurts to admit) BUT, Ken Baer said that he is thinking of adding something to let the Mac renderer take control of the Machine (quit the Macs "Finder", so there is no multi-tasking), which would DRAMATICALLY speed up the render times! (I hope he does it!!) Anyway, a faster machine just leads to more complex scenes <G>, so you will probably need several machines for rendering to make short deadlines. My choice is a PowerMac 8100 for development, PCs for rendering. Hope this helps, and remember, this is just MY opinion (Please, OS wars guys!!!!) Jim Jonah