Linux, Windows or Mac for Maya?

# 1 02-03-2012 , 07:11 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2011

Posts: 24

Who can tell me which operating system is best for Maya?

Linux, Windows or Mac?

Quote

# 2 02-03-2012 , 07:19 PM

Technical Director
Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,988

Sorry, but this question is flawed. It's no better on any OS than others. Anyone who says one is better than the other is biased towards one operating system over another.

Each OS has different caveats, and workarounds. On OS X you don't run into as many hardware problems, as they're standard; but it doesn't have as many plugins as Windows.

It's a matter of personal preference.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Quote

# 3 02-03-2012 , 07:42 PM

EduSciVis-er
Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Toronto

Posts: 3,374

Unfortunately you can't get trial versions on Linux last I checked, so I don't know how you'd verify it'll work on a particular distro before you buy.

-stwert

Website - Blog - YouTube - Vimeo - Facebook - Twitter

-->How to Effectively Ask Questions on Forums<--

Quote

# 4 02-03-2012 , 07:49 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2011

Posts: 24

Thank You for the response,

I suppose the adjective better is not appropriate. I should be saying what are the disadvantages between operating systmes?

The reason why I ask is because I am considering Linux as the operating system.

The purpose of Maya is of couse end result 3D graphics and animation. But the means to that end is experimentation.

Experimentation with color, lighting texturing, rendering etc., etc., etc.

With Macs there is no experimenting with the OS because of heavy proprietary structure. And that goes fot the hardware as well. You get what you pay for.

With Windows not much with the OS as well but you can experiment with the different graphics cards and the opengl platform easily.

With Linux I may be able to run experiments cause the OS is open source.

These are just my newbie thoughts. And because I want to build a dedicated computer to work on Maya generated 3D files, if I could get some advice from professionals that would be most helpful.

My default OS is Windows 7 64 bit.

Windows 8 is untested and buying a Mac is not really pragmatic for me.

On the otherhand, the question posed before me is, what are the pros and cons of a Linux Distribution and does anyone in the field have any thoughts. user added image

Quote

# 5 02-03-2012 , 07:54 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2011

Posts: 24

Unfortunately you can't get trial versions on Linux last I checked, so I don't know how you'd verify it'll work on a particular distro before you buy.

Originally Posted by stwert

Thanks stwert,

That is an issue. No trial version means I am stuck with it no matter what.

Quote

# 6 02-03-2012 , 07:55 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2011

Posts: 24

Off Topic,

This is an awesome forum! user added image

Quote

# 7 03-03-2012 , 03:36 AM

Technical Director
Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,988

I've used Maya on both Windows and Mac, but not Linux. Even if Maya worked better on Linux, have you ever used it before? There is a very steep learning curve that goes along with it. If you're afraid of going into the command line, definitely stay away.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Quote

# 8 04-03-2012 , 02:21 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2011

Posts: 24

I consider myself intermediate linux enthusiast. And i am comfotable with the shell.

I have been doiing some reading and I believe that a qualified linux machine could out render on a mass basis. But when you are just constructing and color and texturing i dont believe speed is as important as accuracy.

There is a concept of purpose built machine that are only used for a specialized phase of a project and it seems to make sense.

That is why I am not ready to count out Linux.

But I will probably start with a quad 600 with a Windows 7 as my first Maya computer.

I am starting to believe pure visual artists arent interested in Linux if it is to complicated to set up.

I am not as visually artistic as the average user and am more programming oriented but I love Maya and everything I see about it. user added image

Quote

# 9 04-03-2012 , 04:30 AM

Technical Director
Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,988

Awesome, welcome aboard!

Also, if you're going to be working with textures, Mac or PC is the way to go. Else you have to use... dare I say it... The GIMP. *shudder*

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Quote

# 10 29-05-2012 , 01:24 PM

Subscriber
Join Date: Apr 2012

Posts: 187

I know this is a slightly old thread, but if you want you could always create a dual boot. I use Arch linux as my main distro with maya and mudbox installed and they both work great, but you might run into problems when updating certain packages and have to find a fix but thats all part of the linux experience lol.
I say try linux, you have nothing to lose!

Quote

Linux, Windows or Mac for Maya?

Posting Rules Forum Rules

Similar Threads

Topics

Free Courses

Full Courses

VFX News