Question about Maya

DBoz699

DBoz699

Veteran
I was reading through Alias's website..they got some kick ass programs.

So anyways..i came accross Maya 6.5 Unlimited..and since i wanted to start getting into some CGI..i want to download the trial or maybe buy it.
So then i was reading through the System Requirements. I meet the requirements software wise...but hardware..im not to sure about.
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Hardware Requirements:

At a minimum, Maya requires a system with:
Windows: Intel® Pentium® III or higher, AMD Athlon™ processor

Macintosh: Power Mac® G4 and G5

512 MB RAM

CD-ROM Drive

Hardware-Accelerated OpenGL® graphics card

3-button mouse with mouse driver software

450 MB of hard disk space
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Can someone explain to me what the Hardware-Accelerated OpenGL Graphics card is??

And do you really need a 3-button mouse? Whats the purpose of it?
 
Alias | Wavefront is cool. My brother left me with his Silicon Graphics workstation with a fully licensed version of Maya when back in '98 and it was fab! That computer was worth like, well, a lot, at the time. I have the coolest older brother on earth. He's helped me out in so many ways and I just feel like bragging on him a bit this morning. ;)
 
If you go to www.newegg.com and drill down like this in the left side menu:

Computer Hardware > Video Cards > Video Cards & Related Devices

then put OpenGL in as a search keyword, you'll get close 1000 results.

No idea about the quality of any of them....but I'd assume the $1100 one is pretty good. :laugh:

Dan
 
Coffee..yes i changed my mind..im not gonna buy a Mac...because its gonna be tooo crazy for me to change between the two opposite systems and NLEs and what not.

Im stickin with PC.


well i jus checked out my video card's boxes a few min. ago...and it says it supports OpenGL....so im safe with that....but i duno about the 3 button mouse...whats that whole deal?..whats the point of the 3 button mouse?
 
blckhawk542 said:
Coffee..yes i changed my mind..im not gonna buy a Mac...because its gonna be tooo crazy for me to change between the two opposite systems and NLEs and what not.

Im stickin with PC.


well i jus checked out my video card's boxes a few min. ago...and it says it supports OpenGL....so im safe with that....but i duno about the 3 button mouse...whats that whole deal?..whats the point of the 3 button mouse?
Click to expand...


yeah makes sense. I actually never used any NLE before so buying a mac and getting into FCP was overwhelming but I'm getting the hang of it now.
 
blckhawk542 said:
well i jus checked out my video card's boxes a few min. ago...and it says it supports OpenGL....so im safe with that....
Click to expand...

Maybe. Maybe not.

The reason they said hardware acceleation, I assume, is that there will be some intensive graphics calculations & drawing going on. Software OpenGL might choke or, at least, slow down unacceptably.

You can certainly try it....but think about getting a new card down the line if it doesn't work to your satisfaction.

Dan
 
I downloaded the demo of Maya 6.5...it works pretty good so far...its hard as balls to make a model though. And it seems to support my video cards. Because I'm not slowing down...i checked the box for one of my graphics card..it says it has 32 MB of memory for heavy duty graphics. hm....I'm no computer genius...but wat does the MB in the video card do?
 
A 32 MB card isn't that powerful by today's standards. As you make a more and more complex model then you'll really be hurting in performance. I've never used Maya, but I've used other 3d programs out there. Most of them want Nvidia Quadro cards or ATI Fire cards. The entry level Quadro is the FX500 and is a $200 card. I'm not sure what the ATI's run. If you're using Maya a lot then I'd recommend something like the Quadro FX1400 which is $750 ish. That's a good midrange Quadro. You can go higher.

When using a "workstation" graphics card like this almost all of them require a PCI Express x16 slot instead of an 8x AGP slot that most PCs have.

Hope that helps.

Chris
 
Oh, and on the 3 button mouse issue, the 3D programs that I've used allow you to use the third button (or clicking the scrollwheel, which counts as a third button) for extra functionality. Menu access, moving the model, things like that. Not *required* exactly, but if you really start modeling then you wouldn't want to live without it.

Chris
 
542 I am making the video for this guys and they want the video smiilar to starwars . you think maybe " maya " can help me for it ? they have 2 package one of them is 6900$.
I am confuse I never done any work like that.
 
OMFG!! I jus started up Maya today...and i was using it...and i previewed an animation..and holy ****...i think i broke my video card or something...cuz one of my monitors isnt working ne more..**** **** ****!!! FREAKIN MAYA!!!..someone who knows madd good about computers...help me!!!
 
suck

suck

I think maya is suck because i try to watch the tutorial and I spend 2 hours and couldn't see any thing now broke your graphic card . :angry: I am going with 3d max :thumbsup:
 
You know Maya Unlimited is $7599 - 8999, right? And no, you couldn't break your video card by using it. And 3-button mouse is any mouse with scrollwheel...
 
I fixed it..somewat..the error blacked out my monitor....so then i went to system properties on my other screen and reset the screen settings and i clicked something..and it reset my monitors...now i have two monitors that show the same thing. and one regular......oh boy
 
Good grief, this is such a computer novice thread. If you guys were anywhere else, the nerds would have torn you to shreds by now, fortunately I'm the cool guy.:thumbsup:

Okay, for Maya or any other 3D modeling program, you WILL need a better graphics card. The best you can afford basically. It sounds to me like you're either using a cheap card (at least by today's standards) that was put in there or you're using onboard video. Both are bad for 3D modeling on today's software. Your best bets are:

- nVidia Geforce 6800 Ultra AGP or PCI Express versions (most likely you have AGP, PCI Express came out big time this year)

- ATI Radeon X700 to Radeon X800XT PCI Express (AGP if you can find it)

- nVidia Quadro series based card with minimum of 128mb of RAM (they go up to 512mb or 1gb of RAM if I'm not mistaken)

- ATI FireGL series with minimum of 128mb of RAM

Out of all of those, your best bets for 3D Modeling would be the Quadro's or the FireGL's since those cards are meant for 3D stuff. The 6800 and X800 series of cards are mostly meant for games. Judging from what your graphics card is, I'd say you have just a regular Dell or other brand name computer so maybe you could list the specs and brand of your machine so we can make further recommendations?

Also, the monitor going black on you is probably from a resolution change or graphics card related issue. You should be able to set your monitor orientation back to the way it was by going into your display properties and fiddling around under the Settings tab and possibly under Advanced options. If you're seriously considering purchasing Maya, I would recommend that you examine your computer first and see if you should upgrade first. I'm not saying go for the best of the best, but just an additional hard drive here and a little extra RAM there wouldn't hurt. Also, your video performance would also increase with the upgrades needed for 3D modeling. Well, good luck with it! :)
 
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