iMac 3ds max performance in parallels/fusion?

[metabo]

Wow, you're fast. I'm not going for the low end, but iMacs are still more expensive for me. I suspect it's because they use notebook parts, but have to compete with desktops.
Anyway, if 3ds max ran on it, I'll buy one in an instant since the value of having mac os x is worth it to me. You may not be anti-windows, but I am :P

[metabo]

I went ahead and bought an iMac anyway. Just in case anyone out there is thinking of doing the same thing, I'll post some info.

Windows XP SP2 (100GB boot camp partition) running in parallels desktop 3
Default Parallels virtual machine configuration (512MB RAM, 16MB VRAM
3DS Max 9
software rendering mode

Real system specs
iMac 24 inch
C2D 2.8GHz
4GB RAM
500GB HDD
nVidia 8800GS 512MB VRAM
Mac OS X 10.5.1

I opened a ~100k poly file, and it managed around 8 fps according to Max. Can definitely feel a bit of lag, but much better than I expected. I've yet to fiddle with the parallels settings nor install more software in windows, though.

The file I opened is rigged and textured, but the texture links are broken (aka did't show up in viewport) because I was too lazy to re-set up the paths :P

That said, using 3DS Max through parallels does have its disadvantages. I have to keep press the fn keys to access F1-F4, which is a drag. I know I could change the preferences on the mac side, but I'm reluctant to. There are many other cases of the wrong OS responding to your key commands, which is kind of jarring. Also, I had to open on screen keyboard in windows just to get numlock on? Or am I missing something obvious? (Is there an option for parallels to capture all your keystrokes when you're using it?)

Finally, I'll just like to add that while I'm still trying to figure everything out, it's insanely mind blowing to be working in Max while enjoying everything else Mac OS X has to offer at the same time.

[Viro]

Originally Posted by metabo

I opened a ~100k poly file, and it managed around 8 fps according to Max.

What does it do normally?

At work, I use VMWare a lot for product testing and debugging. As a result, I've come to really really hate VMs.

[metabo]

Originally Posted by Viro

What does it do normally?

I just boot camped into windows, and I had to duplicate that model 6 times before it felt about the same as parallels. Moreover, I had fixed the texture links this time so the model in the view port is fully textured. About 650k poly total (versus ~100k poly in parallels.) Of course, since the models are copies you could argue that that makes it less intensive on the system.

For the heck of it, I also created boxes and went crazy with turbo smoothing (turning them into spheres ) and could manage 833k+ polys while still maintaining a smooth 30+ fps.

Max was running in Direct 3D mode all along (it was software render in parallels)

All in all, I guess parallels gives me roughly 1/7 of the performance of boot camp, depending on what you're doing. It's actually good enough for my needs, just that when I'm working in Max, I keep pressing the mac shortcut keys and Mac OS X keeps interrupting. Any way to make parallels capture all your keystrokes and prevent Mac OS from interrupting?