Return-Path: Received: from omr7.networksolutionsemail.com ([205.178.146.57] verified) by media-motion.tv (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 4.2.10) with ESMTP-TLS id 4682833 for AE-List@media-motion.tv; Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:37:02 +0200 Received: from cm-omr5 (mail.networksolutionsemail.com [205.178.146.50]) by omr7.networksolutionsemail.com (8.13.8/8.13.8) with ESMTP id q3BNbjJc019583 for ; Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:37:45 -0400 Authentication-Results: cm-omr5 smtp.user=chris@chriszwar.com; auth=pass (LOGIN) X-Authenticated-UID: chris@chriszwar.com Received: from [58.104.24.187] ([58.104.24.187:49315] helo=[10.1.1.5]) by cm-omr5 (envelope-from ) (ecelerity 2.2.2.41 r(31179/31189)) with ESMTPA id 33/BC-14453-8C5168F4; Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:37:45 -0400 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v1084) Subject: Re: [AE] iMac and AE From: Chris Zwar In-Reply-To: Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:37:41 +1000 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: <68A2D415-24C1-4D00-98F7-1E44A15E5564@chriszwar.com> References: To: "After Effects Mail List" X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.1084) I've mentioned this a few times in the past. Basically, if you have an = AE-only workflow then iMacs are brilliant. This is mainly because AE is = so poor at multiprocessing. The price difference between an iMac and a = MacPro is certainly much bigger than the performance difference you will = see between them, simply because AE isn't able to extract every drop of = performance from a souped up MacPro. In terms of the everyday process = of sitting in front of the computer and working, they are basically = identical, even if the render times expose some level of difference. = This isn't because iMacs are awesome machines, but because AE is a poor = multi-processor application. As soon as you include other apps which are more multi-processor aware = then you will start to se the weaknesses of an iMac - specifically = Cinema 4D and Maya. 3D programs are able to scale their performance = with additional processors almost perfectly, and the iMac range of = graphics cards is limited if you use Premiere Pro. A few months ago I suggested that you could buy a 27" iMac and 5 Mac = Minis to use as a render farm for the same price as a MacPro. If you = only use AE then that's not as crazy as it sounds, and if you have a = bunch of older Macs lying around you can build up a pretty useful render = farm quite easily. -Chris On 12/04/2012, at 7:43 AM, Rob Birnholz wrote: > I am also interested in this question. My MacPro 2.1, while a = workhorse, is showing its age and is ready to slide down to the #2 spot = in my workflow. But with no new pro offerings from Apple, I'm wondering = if a top end 27" iMac will fill the bill. My biggest concerns are with = heavy duty AE rendering and to a lesser extent no CUDA capability. >=20 > I hope to have a better idea of where things are headed after next = week. >=20 > Rob Birnholz > Absolute Motion Graphics, Inc.=20 > Longwood, Florida > www.absolutemotiongraphics.com >=20 > (sent from a mobile device) >=20 > On Apr 11, 2012, at 4:18 PM, joe cafe wrote: >=20 >> Is anyone using AE on an iMac, and is it to be recommended for = broadcast motion design? >=20 > +---End of message---+ > To unsubscribe send any message to >=20