After Day Mac OS
Windows vs Mac in Blender
Disclaimer:
Which Mac operating system is the best is a topic of numerous debates among Apple fans. Since the mission of this blog is to refute myths and legends around Macs, it’s time for me to provide my 2 cents about the issue on hand. While everything below is just my opinion, as a long-time Mac user and v. What Is Mac OS X El Capitan. El Capitan, the last edition known as Mac OS X 10.11.6, is an operating system between Yosemite and macOS Sierra, released on July 18, 2015. Here is a list of new features that Mac OS X 10.11.6 brings to most old Mac OS X users. And you may feel like downloading and installing the system on your Macs: Support multitask. Mac won't turn on after macOS Big Sur update. The newest major release of Mac operating system is macOS 11 Big Sur, which now is in beta version. Up to now, known boot issues of macOS Big Sur Beta include the following, or more. If you updated to macOS Big Sur 11.0 but not the newest vesion that has fixed existing bugs.
I don’t do photorealistic art, nor animations. Just modeling and simple texturing. Blender is a recreation for me, like therapy.
This article is about Mac OS side by side with Windows and Blender. Also I will be comparing AMD only systems vs Intel vs Intel+Nvidia. I will also explain why I love Mac OS and why Windows could be better for Profesional use.
Intro:
For years I used Windows PCs running 3DS MAX, Corel Draw and Sony Vegas (video editing).
Then I got my first MacBook and I had to change a lot. No more 3ds Max nor Sony Vegas or Corel Draw.
After failing to understand Maya 3D I was pointed by the Mac OS community towards -> Blender.
WOW! Fell in love with the software and the community. It makes a lot of sense for me as a non-profit user.
And as Blender grows, I grow. It feels that I am more connected (maybe it sounds lame but look at OpenOffice or GIMP… is the same for many, many years… But Blender is dynamic! Maybe too much for professional use)
So just like that Blender became the best thing in my life (from an artistic point of view).
Combine that perfect tool with very capable hardware and I hated to do Catia at work and waited to get home and explore my creativity on Blender, on Mac OS.
Then in 2019 - 2 things happened:
- Lightroom (photo editor) got really slow on my 2016 Mac and I wanted less response time on the Full Frame photos;
- Blender 2.80 came and ruined my experience on my Mac;
What is Mac OS (from 2010 to fall 2019) for me
- Best OS to be used without a mouse because -> multi-gestures. You have to test them to understand. Just drag files, select stuff, copy and paste a lot and then you will find Windows QWERTY as old as Windows 95. It all sounds basic but is so great on Mac OS, still. I wish these gestures would come on Windows.
- Best OS to be used on the couch/plane/train/coffee etc. What I mean is that besides the great trackpad and the UI, well you have notifications that actually work. I can zoom into the model, pan, select, do basic modeling and leave the details for later when I get at the desk. And when you are tired, you still have battery left to watch something on Youtube.
- Best apps for productivity for non-professionals Notes/Documents/Spreadsheets/Presentations all that is for free with the hardware (if you are ok with the spending). Also using apps like Magnet, Tyme 2, Astropad or Dual Screen can turn your Blender experience from laptop to desktop just like that and all can fit in a small bag without a charger.
- Most expensive OS – you need to buy the laptop/system
- Way to elegant for the times we live in -> most people buy them for the looks (even in 2019) and is sad. Should put also a plastic Macbook for people who love the OS.
- Perfect ecosystem ( Mac + iPhone great for e-social life and sharing stuff and Mac + iPad best second screen that has touch input (that works on Mac OS))
- Final Cut Pro is not bad and you pay once in life (at least so far) so you can enjoy even if you make zero money out of it
- Best recognition of other devices such as Printers/Piano/Mix decks for Video, Photo and Audio edit. Just plug them and get the most out of them.
- Best battery for a laptop – writing, Blendering, surfing the internet and some Soundcloud. Maybe Mac OSX from 2016 to 2019 is great at energy consumption.
- Best with wireless air pods – is a small thing but is so great if you can experience it
- Their OS just works on their hardware -> just read about Windows Surface line-up…
- Worst OS at school for mechanical engineers – you need CAD/CAM/AI/Labs -> most likely those programs run only on Windows so Bootcamp for Mac OS owners.
- Most papers I had to give were .doc so I had to send them as .pdf and explain that I don’t have the Mac OS Office and LibreOffice is not great at retaining the strict formatting.
- Worst for Blender… (to be honest, is the only reason I went 100% to Windows, so I don’t miss the other 13 points). It might get great again in 3-4 years with the help of AMD developers but Apple will be faster at ruining stuff. And then who will have money just to try something.
What is Windows for me (from ‘95 to 2019)
- Very good for all the things that can be done using Windows (and you can write a book on that… not a list). I mean if there is a software you need, most likely is made for Windows. If not, then you can find it on iOS or Android. So you will not miss Mac OS. Numbers, Pages, Keynote and Mail are ok because they are free… but Office is everywhere so I know it deeper and better. So I don’t miss the Mac OS alternatives and wow Outlook is the king.
- Best for Gaming – if there is a game non-existent try your phone or a console. Don’t look at Mac OS you won’t find anything there to peak interest.
- Most jobs use Windows so probably is the best known OS so easy to get around and get lost
- Only way to enjoy Laptop + Tablet in one device (as of 2019)
- Only way to get NVidia GPU or eGPU (as of late 2018 to 2019. Maybe this will change in the future)
- Best choice of keyboards/screens/form factors/colors/materials/experiences – no more Apple wants that for you -> you can pick the color, the type, the sound, the power… everything. Windows runs on everything that can be produced with a chip inside and a screen. (for small stuff Android is the twin)
- Has best laptops money can buy (in my opinion) – Microsoft Book 2 with Nvidia 1060, tablet mode and etc – Picture this: you start on the couch with the tablet mode and a small keyboard next to you to be used from time to time. And when things get serious just go to the desk and work the details. Except when Microsoft forgets to run updates on their own products
- The only OS that offers little surprises -> some old software or newer ones work even on old computers. On Mac OS, after an update, a crucial app might not work. So there is waiting time after the developers
- Windows and Blender are great together, but not because of performance but because you can use also Adobe products and some free programs to fast edit photos. Those don’t exist on Ubuntu so the extra power of that OS does not justify for me to give up on Windows.
- Everything for which Mac OS is great for, Windows is not so good…
Mac OS (with examples) vs Blender – the examples.
Blender before version 2.80 was the best tool to use after my day job. If I did not use Quadro workstations at work, every day for 8h minimum, I would not even know Windows exists anymore. (I exaggerate but I will prove a point soon).
The following scene is for my own website and was a struggle to work on it on Mac OS:
That wave has this material:
The image below is shown in LOK DEV Blender 2.81:
- iMac 2019 21,5” Radeon 560X without Intel integrated graphics -> Lok DEV 1 FPS (almost)
- Macbook Pro 13” 2018 only Integrated graphics Intel -> Lok DEV 16-20 FPS
- Dell INSPIRON 7000 series 2019 integrated graphics -> Lok DEV 25-30 FPS
- Lenovo ThinkPad with Quadro M1000M -> first time load is very long but then I get around 30 FPS and more
- HP OMEN 17” Nvidia GTX 1070 -> Lok DEV 59 FPS or more…
Mac OS screenshot:
Windows DELL and HP OMEN and Lenovo ThinkPad
1 FPS on iMac is not acceptable and on the small MacBook is also not that great as the scene is very simple…
This is the same scene in Cycles Preview…
So Macbook 13 inch or HP Omen with Nvidia is the same for me when it comes to Cycles. If I want high speed to render I will not complain that my laptop is 3 kg and more…
So Cycles rendering I do not mind to be slow, I don’t work during that time.
Here is the same scene in the Blender that I felt in love with -> prior to 2.8 (2.79b is showcased)
See how transparent materials are actually transparent? Wow right?
iMac + 13' MacBook + Dell 2 in 1 = max refresh rate of the screen , no lag. Is as if you look at the scene with no colors at all.
Why Blender Devs took out GLSL option… I don’t understand (but I read).
Should have just let it go along side with Lok DEV.
Here is another example:
This is a huge file. Every tile on that house is made as a separate object. I have 99% simple Diffuse and one big Glass surface.
Here is the same scene in Blender Lok DEV on Mac OS:
5-10 FPS on iMAC – is like rendering with Cycles…
12-15 FPS on Macbook Pro 13” - bad for working
15-18 FPS on Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 – not that great for working
59 FPS on HP Omen GTX 1070 Nvidia – best to work
20-30 on Lenovo ThinkPad – it depends if you wait a bit to load… after that is fast enough to work
Here is the magical same scene in Blender 2.79b with GLSL Material
Full FPS on all laptops no matter the OS…
Conclusion:
As of Blender 2.80 and 81:
Transparent materials ask LokDEV the help on Nvidia
Tons of objects (thousands) need also Nvidia in LokDEV
GLSL Material render present until 2.79b works as great on Nvidia as in MacBook Air 11” i5 (had one at work) if you have the RAM.
Then what about the final render and the people who use EEVEE as a final Render.
Well… I do not mind waiting 1 hour or 4 hours for a final render.
But for working purposes, speed is crucial.
Hope you find this article useful.
My iMac was rock stable, right up until I installed Mountain Lion on it. Then, at random times, it would suddenly reboot. Fortunately, most of it seemed to happen at night – I’d get up in the morning and find my Mac had rebooted.
Weird.
After Day Mac Os Download
So, I finally got around to investigating the problem – I had’t seen any good blog posts on it (most of them were things like take it to a Mac Genius). Finally, I found a hint buried in an Apple forum: the problem stems from Spotlight. The indexes for Spotlight get corrupted, and that causes the reboot. Ah-ha! So the solution is pretty simple – have Spotlight dump all it’s current stuff, and build up again from new. Of course, there’s not an obviously marked way to do this 🙂
Go into System Preference, and select Spotlight. Click on the Privacy tab. There probably isn’t anything listed under “Prevent Spotlight from searching these locations:” We’re going to add one. Hit the “+” at the bottom, and select your Mac’s hard drive, and click Choose. It’s now in the list.
Close System Preferences, and reboot your Mac once. Then, go back into System Preferences -> Spotlight -> Privacy, and remove the drive you added. Just click on the drive in the list, then click “-” at the bottom of the list.
After that, everything had been going great! 🙂 No more random reboots for me 🙂
After Day Mac Os X
One additional bit: Having Mountain Lion randomly reboot is a lot less painful than when versions older than Lion would reboot. Most of the apps I use are state aware, so for the most part when the iMac comes back up restores all my workspaces to what it was before 🙂