topic Re: Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 in 3ds Max Forum

Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 15:25:30 GMT

Looks like I am going to have to upgrade. Which version has the least problems? I suspect 2020 is not a good choice as it's new and will need patches throughout the coming year. ??

2016 has been working pretty well but I need to install a copy onto my extra computer (but not run it) for networking rendering and I cannot access 2016 from the autodesk site anymore because it's now 4 versions back 😞

Re: Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 15:29:01 GMT

I am far from being an advanced user, but have nothing but praise for 3ds Max 2020.

I have used the 4 versions that you mentioned.

I am specially satisfied that now with 2020 am able to import SolidWorks models from any year.

-RFH

Re: Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 09:52:44 GMT

3dsmax 2020 already got two updates.For me 2020.2 is the most stable 3dsmax version ever.However looking into the forum threads, you will still find threads about 2020.2 crashing and freezing. Does this mean, it`s an unstable, buggy release?

The only objective data for stability of a specific version can be provided by the 3dsmax development/quality engineering team, as they have the statistics about categorized crash-reports through CER.

Everything else is the subjective experience of user(s) with a specific configuration/usage. 2016 might have worked for you, but i got constant crashes with it, and i never really found the root cause for it. Might be a script,plugin, driver whatever. So for me it was one of the worst versions ever.

Most 3dsmax installations rely heavily on 3rd-party plugins,scripts that can cause all kind of issues. I still get crashes from time to time with old scenes containing a specific plugin.

Also, i can`t even tell how much i was burned by a 3rd Party Layer Manager tool, that i used ages ago.

And then there are the constant Windows 10 updates changing user permissions.Then things aren`t written to a specific file, screwing up 3dsmax config files and what not. I had .FBX import no longer working correctly after a Win10 update. After resetting UserSettings everything went back to normal.

Re: Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 11:23:26 GMT

One of the best features of Autodesk software is this: nothing prevents you from running several versions simultaneously.

In one of my work PCs, I was running 2019 and 2020. No need anymore, 2020 has been performing flawlessly so I removed 2019.

In my home PC, which I use for personal projects, I still have both versions because a project was delivered which relies on 2019. I run 2019 only to open that one file.

Re: Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

DarrenP — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 13:43:05 GMT

you would have to test each version using your workflow to see which one seems more stable for you

thats the only to determine which version is more stable

Re: Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

jon.bell — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 19:17:08 GMT

Hi Firehawk,

Thanks for your question. Did the information posted here help?

In our testing, 3ds Max 2020 has received fewer logged CER (customer error reports) than any other previous version of 3ds Max, and 2021 is even better. No software is perfect, but I would recommend updating to the latest version of Max! 🙂

Re: Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

hawk911 — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 17:36:11 GMT

Thank you Jon. That is good to hear actual data from Autodesk as us end-users have varied experiences but Autodesk would most likely have a pretty grasp on overall number of problems by having the data

Re: Which Max is most stable now? 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 13:54:24 GMT

Please don't get me started with windows 10 updates. Especially special is win10_ ver. 2004. I almost lost my sanity after that debacle .....