Hi,
I’m thinking about upgrading my old M1 MacBook Pro to a new workstation Mac mini m4 pro, however I am unsure about how my workflow with Keyshot will improve, as there still is no GPU access with Apple Silicon. Is the CPU performance a big upgrade from m1? And will GPU be accessible in the near future on Apple Silicon? - Are there any plans on incorporating the GPU in the feature?
Thanks
I think the cpu is a big step up, but you could check geekbench to see how big the performance gain will be.
I never suggest any creative to keep using Apple as creative but that’s normally not what they like to hear. The new Mac Mini’s are incredible powerful machines if it’s about CPU. What a lot of Apple users completely missed is that past 5-10 years more and more software got accelerated by GPU.
Really all kinds of software but especially those used by creatives, 2D imaging, 3D, Render Audio and AI. While some software is Apple only or does support some form of GPU accelerating the huge amount of software will need a Nvidia GPU for either CUDA or Optix.
And the GPU acceleration is most of the time more than some 1x/3x faster but more like 50x/100x/200x faster compared to same tasks with CPU.
In the end it will really depend on what software you use but if you would mainly use KeyShot it makes no sense to buy an Apple computer. That doesn’t mean they aren’t great little machines, they are. Just not for creatives in my opinion. Might be a bit different if you use Apple only software since it has more chance being optimized. If you use very diverse programs, I think a PC with a fast (and expensive) GPU would be a better pick. And you don’t really need a 4090 with cheaper cards you can also already in a lot of time == money.
Agreed Marten – it would great to hear Keyshot’s official stance on the future of supporting Apple GPU. I can share with you that upgraded to a new MacBook Pro in December and have noticed a big improvement over my previous setup. I went from a 2019 iMac Pro with 3.6GHz 8-core, 8GB GPU, and 64 GB RAM, to the M4 Max 16-core, 40 core GPU, and 128 GB RAM. Anecdotally I would say it has been a 5-20x increase in speed, but as Oscar points out it is really just a CPU/RAM bump. As I travel for work and also do a bit of video and motion graphics, the new machine is perfect. BUT, it would be really nice if I could take advantage of the GPU as well in Keyshot.
So, Keyshot, what do you say? Are you going to support Apple fully in the near future?
Hi @adam.lenio even if KS would fully support the M4 GPU part I don’t think you would be happy rendering on a MacBook or actually any laptop. You could for example render some test scenes from Blender in Blender with Cycles to see how your MacBook behaves while rendering but in my experience with laptops it can be pretty loud and hot.
Depending on how busy you are and what your hourly rate is I think it pays of if you have some PC connected to the internet with a fast GPU and when you need a render you just use remote desktop to put the PC to work. That way you can keep using your MacBook while the PC is rendering.
Another option can be to send renders to a render farm. Especially if you don’t have a lot of renders that can be a nice option.
Last, be aware of videos like the one below where they compare M4 vs. Nvidia and the outcome is they are pretty close. In reality they are not. Doesn’t matter too much if you render stills and have to wait a few extra minutes but especially with animation it’s easily hours.
What’s really wrong in this video is that he uses CUDA to render on a 4080 while he should use Optix which uses hardware raytracing like KS does as well. But his numbers and his graphs are nothing close to reality and I think that kind of misinformation helps nobody.
misleading video:
How good are the Apple M4 chips when rendering in Blender? - YouTube
If you have some scene and would like to see how fast it would render on a 4090 for example. feel free to send me a KSP. Gives you maybe an idea if a PC in some dark corner might work well for your kind of renders.
I was introduced to Keyshot Farms (3dotp.com) years ago and have been utilizing them for all product, application and animation output. My machine is for setup mostly when it comes to 3D, so the system is working pretty well. And the 3D rendering is really to support the rest of my design work, which falls into product launch and branding, so the 3D is a tool and not the primary focus of my business.
I’ve been an “Apple guy” since ~1980, so I’m a bit entrenched. PC’s have never really made sense to me, which I know is a bit silly to say, but it all comes down to the cost of transition – cost in dollars, time to learn, and down time from actual work. As such I can’t justify the switch. I do have some contractors in my network that are PC based too, so I do have that option to lean on when needed. But I will keep your offer in mind – nice work on Behance!
Thanks! I really should put more things on Behance, but I run a bit from experiment to experiment. I’ve also been using Macs for around 20 years at the advertising agency I worked for and before at a prepress company, so I know the feeling.
These days I think all software is the same and well an OS is just an OS but I do get it if people feel more confident with MacOS. And while Macs are expensive a fast GPU these days is not cheap either.
Like you I also do very diverse things and renders are just a part, I’m currently trying to learn myself a bit more about 3D animation and motion graphics. These are great times where you can do so much with the computer at your desk, never a dull moment and always something to learn.