Hi all!
I am in need of advice. I have been rendering on SketchUp for years using Windows, but recently thought about switching to a Mac. Does anyone have some input on this? I am rendering interior and exterior spaces for interior design purposes and have a Pro license. I am wanting to upgrade and start using V Ray. Which would be better for my needs?
That’s like asking, Which is better? Coke or Pepsi? 
There isn’t a correct answer.
Gotcha. I’m not tech savvy at all, so I’m curious and researching like crazy before I spend $1000+ on software. Do you know if there’d be much of a difference in the rendering time? I’ve read some processors take over a day to render in V Ray while others take five minutes.
Rendering time will depend on a number of factors. Model complexity, the textures you use, the number of lights and how you’ve set them to render, etc. The hardware comes into play so things like processor speed will be important but both platforms can have processors that are fast enough to do what you want.
I would suggest looking at what the various rendering applications recommend for system requirements and work from there.
If you opt for a Windows machine and especially if you are thinking of a desktop machine, you might consider having something built. You can get better components for a lower dollar investment and they tend to be upgradeable.
Both operating systems have their pluses and minuses. I use SketchUp on both and prefer the user interface on the PC over that of the Mac. Some people like the Mac UI better.
Hi Moriah
I am along time Mac user and use VRay for the same use cases as you.
IMHO if Vray rendering is your specific reason for switching, I would stay on Windows.
Rendering speeds are no different between platforms BUT there is a difference with GPU rendering.
Due to the ongoing issues between Apple and Nvidia, CUDA GPU rendering is currently not supported on MacOS under Vray Next (as Vray ONLY uses GPU accelerated rendering on Nvidia cards) as there are no official Nvidia drivers available for MacOS under Mojave for current cards.
You see my posts on the issue here.
However, with the rise of cloud rendering services (I use the new Chaos Cloud service) there is an argument that local rendering capability becomes less essential, apart for smaller, lower quality look development and scene development.
If it isn’t your specific reason for switching and are looking at a wider change to your workflow, thats different discussion.
I hope this helps.
Cheers
Rob
I should have added the following:
As far as running SketchUp is concerned, fast CPUs are good but it only uses a single core of the processor so multi-core CPUs are no big deal. Rendering programs that use the CPU can often multi-thread so they can use multiple cores to improve rendering speed.
The other big consideration for SketchUp is the graphics card. Avoid integrated graphics. Nvidia graphics cards have proven over the years to have the best track record with SketchUp so my first choice would be a machine with Nvidia GTX graphics card(s).
Because all new Macs have AMD GPUs, I would say for this specific need, a Windows machine would be better, specifically one with an NVIDIA card, as that is what VRay likes for rendering. Otherwise, macOS is far superior in pretty much every way to Windows.
that’s pure fanboy talk and you know that.
The official answer is, “SketchUp runs on either, so use the OS that you prefer.”
If you have other software that you want to use that works with one OS over another, then that should help make your decision.
Yes, but… SU runs differently on the two platforms so if you have been using the program for a while and are accustomed to some features of the UI (custom toolbars,color picker) then it’s worth researching the difference in the two user interfaces so that you can avoid being unpleasantly suprised.
I wonder if there exists a thorough explanation of the differences.
We get this question a lot.
I always grab some pics from the web:
Windows:
High Clockspeed, you need to know what buttons to press.
Mac:
Lower Clockspeed, continiously controlled running smoothly
(but not controlled by you)
and tell them things like:
If you are not that savy, you’ll probably:
can learn to hate Windows,
But if you are tech-savy,
You might begin to love the way Mac handles things
Both work fine with Sketchup. I use a PC and when I present typically joke a little about the superiority of PC over MAC! At the last basecamp, a few folks were having some issues with there MACs during a training. I told them that outside the rooms were a bunch of tall round containers were they could permanently store them. Five minutes later my PC crashed live! Pay backs a ■■■■■!
Why do people write Mac in all caps?
Force of habit. No reason.
I use iMac Pro and it handles SU and VRAY easily. If GPU increases render times then I wouldn’t know. Ignorance is bliss I guess. But it’s more than just render time. And as mentioned earlier, cloud rendering may make this less relevant. The nice thing about Mac is that you can always run a PC on a bootcamp partition if needed whereas you cna’t do that on PC.
My questions on the subject is really what OS do you want to spend your time in all day and how much budget do you have available?
As someone who uses both Windows and macOS daily, and have for decades, I’d prefer macOS. Overall it provides a much more powerful and streamlined file handling, and there’s no denying how smooth and slick it is. I’m often baffled by how complicated something is to do in Windows compared to macOS.
I had an iMac and I often baffled by how much does it limit me. I ended up to install Windows on it…
I have a MacBookPro. Sometimes I think SketchUp and rendering MUST (MUST!) be better on a PC. Hoping to compare sometime soon. I know the texture window is better on a PC.
To produce Mac there is Windows necessarily😉
https://www.geek.com/apple/apple-uses-windows-on-mac-pro-production-line-1596141/
That makes sense, because a lot of really obscure machine software was made for Windows. It’s not so much that Apple needs Windows to make Macs, it’s more that a Windows app is used to handle a production line process element. But to argue that Windows is used to design Macs is patently not true.
