Hi everyone,
I think I have finally reached the end of life with my current workstation, at least where real-time projects are concerned. I need some advice on which machine to purchase. I am considering the MacBook Pro M2 Max and the Mac Studio M2 Ultra.
My current workstation specifications are as follows, Ryzen 3900x, 64GB RAM, GTX 1080. At the moment, I can get by with my vfx character work, albeit slowly. Real-time creation is ok as well, but the look development and rendering process is virtually impossible because of my gpu. It's not as simple as slapping a new GPU in the machine, as it will require a new case, power supply, etc. I prefer Mac OS to Windows, and nearly all the software I use, (Maya, Houdini, Mudbox, zBrush, Marvelous Designer, Marmoset Toolbag, Unreal Engine, Arnold, Redshift, Substance Suite), runs on Apple Silicon, aside from Mari. I will likely delegate the current machine for Mari use only.
I'm a bit lost because I can technically do all of the asset creation on my M2 MacBook Air with 24GB of RAM. For example, I can do high resolution facial sculpting in Mudbox, applying Texturing XYZ VFACE to the sculpture, advanced character and creature grooming with XGEN or Houdini, cloth tailoring with Marvelous or Houdini is fine. Hell, I can even texture in Substance Painter MORE smoothly than my workstation with the 1080. I can barely open Painter with the 1080, let alone paint UDIMS. The MacBook Air can't handle any of the rendering for the VFX work as it takes too much time and memory to load, but it appears that it can for real-time. At least as a laptop, not being plugged into a monitor.
So here's my question, would a MacBook Pro M2 Max 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU with 96GB of RAM be a significant upgrade over my current workstation? Or would we be sitting in a similar realm of power, but just a bit better? The reason why I am wondering about the MacBook Pro is because the Air is quite powerful. It can outperform my current workstation in some areas.
That being said, would a MacBook Pro be a substantial upgrade at this point? I was planning to wait on the Studio until M3 comes around next year, but it looks like I need to upgrade now. As far as the M2 Ultra, I was considering maxing the RAM at 192GB, but unsure on the 60-core GPU vs the 76-core GPU.
Hope I was clear with the situation and my questions. Thank you and I look forward to any insight into this matter.
I think I have finally reached the end of life with my current workstation, at least where real-time projects are concerned. I need some advice on which machine to purchase. I am considering the MacBook Pro M2 Max and the Mac Studio M2 Ultra.
My current workstation specifications are as follows, Ryzen 3900x, 64GB RAM, GTX 1080. At the moment, I can get by with my vfx character work, albeit slowly. Real-time creation is ok as well, but the look development and rendering process is virtually impossible because of my gpu. It's not as simple as slapping a new GPU in the machine, as it will require a new case, power supply, etc. I prefer Mac OS to Windows, and nearly all the software I use, (Maya, Houdini, Mudbox, zBrush, Marvelous Designer, Marmoset Toolbag, Unreal Engine, Arnold, Redshift, Substance Suite), runs on Apple Silicon, aside from Mari. I will likely delegate the current machine for Mari use only.
I'm a bit lost because I can technically do all of the asset creation on my M2 MacBook Air with 24GB of RAM. For example, I can do high resolution facial sculpting in Mudbox, applying Texturing XYZ VFACE to the sculpture, advanced character and creature grooming with XGEN or Houdini, cloth tailoring with Marvelous or Houdini is fine. Hell, I can even texture in Substance Painter MORE smoothly than my workstation with the 1080. I can barely open Painter with the 1080, let alone paint UDIMS. The MacBook Air can't handle any of the rendering for the VFX work as it takes too much time and memory to load, but it appears that it can for real-time. At least as a laptop, not being plugged into a monitor.
So here's my question, would a MacBook Pro M2 Max 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU with 96GB of RAM be a significant upgrade over my current workstation? Or would we be sitting in a similar realm of power, but just a bit better? The reason why I am wondering about the MacBook Pro is because the Air is quite powerful. It can outperform my current workstation in some areas.
That being said, would a MacBook Pro be a substantial upgrade at this point? I was planning to wait on the Studio until M3 comes around next year, but it looks like I need to upgrade now. As far as the M2 Ultra, I was considering maxing the RAM at 192GB, but unsure on the 60-core GPU vs the 76-core GPU.
Hope I was clear with the situation and my questions. Thank you and I look forward to any insight into this matter.