Mac or PC

[mphillips0007]

I know this is a pretty general question but I really wanted the communities feedback.  I am currently a C4D user and using Arnold for my render.   I do not only work in 3D, I work in Davinci Resolve and Adobe Suite and prefer the MAC. I have recently ordered the MAC studio with M1 Ultra.  I was told Arnold will work in Rosetta on Apples new M1 Ultra.   I wanted to know is there anyone using M1 to render and what is how is that experience?   I specifically want to improved render times.  I am debating on canceling my Apple order and switching to PC.  I was told Autodesk will add support for M1 so I do not know if I am just being impatient or is it a better to use PC if Arnold is my preferred render?

[shawn]

Unfortunately, the Arnold team and Autodesk aren't providing a timeline as to when an Apple Silicon-native version of Arnold will be released. One month? Six months? A year? Who knows?

In April I received a Mac Studio with the beefiest M1 Ultra chip I could get in the hopes of being able to do all of my 3D work on it in the near future. This Mac Studio replaced a 10-year-old Mac Pro. Benchmarks indicate the M1 Ultra should greatly outperform the dual-Xeon HP workstation I've been using for the past 4-5 years for the majority of my 3D work.

And though I've grown used to working on the PC, I'm weary of having to constantly switch between systems. I'd really like to be able to do all of my work on this brand new Mac.

There's also the CPU/GPU rendering thing. I never really experimented with Arnold's GPU rendering as I've just always been used to a CPU workflow. It sounds like GPU rendering is the way of the future, but the Arnold team is flat out stating that there will never be Arnold GPU rendering on a Mac unless Apple and Nvidia work out a way to get Nvidia drivers to work on Apple Silicon. This is a weak excuse, IMO. Redshift and Octane have had Apple Silicon-native versions of their renderers working for months now.

I guess you'll have to decide how much you can tolerate working on a PC, how patient you can be for the Arnold team to finish their work, and how important GPU rendering is for you.

Personally, I'm going to start playing around with Redshift to see how it compares to Arnold.

Good luck!

Shawn

[peter.fagerberg]

Yep, unfortunately I have to second Shawn's opinion. I'm in exactly the same situation, and I've been forced to start using Redshift for client work. Turns out it's a pretty good renderer on Mac by the way! And if you already know Arnold it's pretty easy to work with as well.

The 1.5 years of silence from Autodesk is just mind-boggling. And the reference to SEC shareholder disclosure rules doesn't really cut it in my book. There's definitely a possibility for up-to-date transparent communication with your customers.

And don't put your hopes on Apple and Nvidia co-operation. People have been asking (demanding!) the companies to work things out for years now. I think almost everyone has realized that it's not going to happen in the foreseeable future.

Also, be aware that Arnold doesn't work with version S26 of Cinema 4D, you have to stick with S25 and run everything under Rosetta.

Short update: I should also say that the state of the situation makes me sad. Arnold is an excellent renderer and the team behind it is just fantastic! I really hope that Autodesk can resolve this unfortunate situation quickly so that we Mac users can continue to enjoy the easy workflow and the beautiful results that Arnold provides.

[mphillips0007]

@shawn 

Thank you for comment and your opinion.  Have you tried running any Arnold renders on the MAC with M1?  Curious how it works with Rosetta 2.  

[mphillips0007]

@peter.fagerberg Thank you for your response.  I am glad to hear that you do not think going from Arnold to Redshift was not a large learning curve.  Also, was unaware about the issue with R26.  I was afraid if I have any issues I would either need to run Arnold on PC or start learning Redshift.  

[shawn]

Hi:

I haven't tried running Arnold at all on this Mac Studio. It would have to run on an Intel version of C4D, and I just don't want to despoil my new machine like that. I'm still using this HP z640 workstation for any work I do that requires Arnold, and it works adequately. I'd just really like to be doing everything on a single computer. The other issue I'm having with this M1 Mac are the Trapcode plugins I use. I'd been buying perpetual licenses for those for nearly 20 years, but now they're subscription-only, and Maxon REALLY gouges you to get those. So I'm considering alternatives for those, too. If I was to switch to Redshift a Maxon One subscription bundle would cover everything, C4D, Redshift, and all of these AE plugins (most of which I'd probably never touch). That would be more economically viable than just subscribing to C4D and the Red Giant Suite. So many variables.