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Upgrading my iMac - what should I switch to?

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#1

I’m using a late 2009 27" iMac with ZBrush but it seems the video card lacks the horsepower I need for 3D work.

Should I try to upgrade the video card? It seems possible on an iMac depending on who you talk to.

I also have an old MacBook pro that’s on its last legs. Is there a new MBP that would have the power I need for modeling and rendering? I thought I might replace both machines with a new laptop so I have horsepower plus portability but I’m not sure if the new MBPs will be sufficient.

Lastly, there’s the option of going with a new tower. That would certainly have the power I need but the cost is pretty scary.

What’s your experience been? What would you suggest if you had to set up a new Mac for 3D work?

#2

Depends on what software packages you plan on using.

#3

I’m currently running the latest versions of ZBrush, Modo and Adobe Creative Suite.

#4

You won’t see a big increase from those list of programs (modo may be an exception). You’ll see better improvement from processor and RAM upgrades than from the video card. I wouldn’t upgrade the video card on an iMac, at least not manually. If they offer an upgrade at the time of purchase then that’s different.

#5

I’ve maxed out the ram on the iMac from 4 to 16 gigs but there was no noticeable improvement. I thought that a more powerful video card would speed the processing and rendering time. Or is it a matter of improving everything?

When I bought my current Macs 3+ years ago I was only doing web design work and these machines were more than adequate. Now that I’m trying to do 3D work I’m finding things to be pretty slow.

I seem to upgrade my machines every 5 years but I can’t do 3D work on this iMac for 2 more years - it’s just too slow. I know I’m going to be doing more 3D work and I know I’ll be on the Mac OS but I need some advice as to what would give me the biggest bang for my buck.

#6

My advice would be to wait if you’re planning on getting a mac.

Here’s a very useful website: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

They keep track of how often apple products get updates and they also post the latest news, etc… From this information they let you know if it would be better to buy now or wait. Currently it looks like iMac and the Pros are due for an update (new release) very soon.

For 3D work the Mac Pros would be very good. Not sure about the laptops, Macbook Pro. The graphics card is mainly going to influence the real time rendering or screen of your program. The processing is done by the primary processor on your motherboard. They are starting to use the video card for additional processing with things like CUDA. So unless the software is designed to use it you won’t see an improvement on rendering and processing speed with a video card.

iMacs are just standard home computers. If you’re real serious about 3D and need the power go with a Mac Pro. Of course you’ll also need to buy a monitor as well. If it’s just a hobby for now I’d stick with iMac or a Macbook (but only if you really need the portability). If it’s for work then you should be able to do a tax write off as well.

Either way now would be a better time to wait for the next release, as per the website listed above.

#7

MentalFrog - thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

#8

You’d probably be better off selling the iMac now before the ivy bridge macs come out and getting one of those in a few months. You’d get the usual good price for an iMac. It would not be worth it/possible to upgrade the card. It’s the processors that would make more difference, the current 3.4GHz i7 iMac does hyper threading and has 4 cores so that would give you 8 virtual cores, and it has a 2GB upgrade for the 6970 video card.