Are you using Windows 7 or 10?

[marksmanguy]

Hi everyone, in your experience (with 3ds max and Vray) which do you think is better at the moment?

I am building a new workstation next week (addition to 3 render nodes). I have always used windows 7 and my rebel side never allowed me to upgrade to 10 because of the aggressive push by Microsoft. Now that I have a chance to pause and restructure, is the jump to 10 worth it or just stay at 7?

Thanks a lot!

[cheerioboy]

I'm still on Windows 7. But it seems to get harder and harder to keep with it as I think there were issues with activation last time I did a fresh install. I also had a license + license for an upgrade which was not easy to jump through. I'd possibly jump to Windows 10 if I disabled everything and strip it to the basics.

[allemyr]

I think it's very hard to get a copy of Windows 7 right now, Microsoft doesn't sell it anymore. I use GPUs for rendering, so I went with Windows 8.1 instead. I've used Windows 7 for a long time and was aiming for that but new sales is discontinued and update/support is ending 2 years from now. In fact i miss some features when browsing folders from 3ds Max in 8.1 compared to 10 when looking after textures and models, there are some new shortcuts in Windows 10 which I appriciate and got used to. I've a dualboot PC right now, and do all the rendering in 8.1.

[anthonyh]

Clinging on to Windows 7 still as I don`t really like Windows 10 more `mobile` style and general intrusiveness. I know you can turn it off but it makes installing render slaves an extra chore. We`ll eventually have to cave I suppose probably due to the security thingy which happened recently. I think we`ll going to go Win10 for any new machines though.

[glorybound]

Windows 10 since beta. There are still some things that bug me, but nothing major.

[Neilg]

I just built a new pc at home and got windows 7 on it. It was an absolute pain in the ass to install. it 'doesn't include chip set drivers for newer motherboards' which meant usb wouldn't work. had our IT bake the drivers into the installer, whatever that means.

My windows 10 laptop is so frustrating to use. Too many updates which take it out of action, dont really like the chunky UI etc. In comparison windows 7 is so clean. starts in a hot second from hitting the power button, the interface and the fact it is 'windows' is basically invisible.
I guess the difference to me is that using 10 constantly reminds me that I am using my computer through a piece of software, whereas 7 feels like I am directly using the things I have on the computer. if that makes sense.

[marksmanguy]

Thanks a lot for the insight! This stuff is really helpful to know.

But in terms of 3ds Max and Vray, are there significant differences or is it just a bother to migrate?

I just realized that I missed the free upgrade to 10... so it would have be to like $450 dollars to upgrade all my machines... Is it safe to assume it's not THAT worth it? Or correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks

[glorybound]

Thanks a lot for the insight! This stuff is really helpful to know.

But in terms of 3ds Max and Vray, are there significant differences or is it just a bother to migrate?

I just realized that I missed the free upgrade to 10... so it would have be to like $450 dollars to upgrade all my machines... Is it safe to assume it's not THAT worth it? Or correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks

You'll eventually have to update. For me, there really isn't a reason to upgrade or not, other than being able to upgrade for free. Windows 10 messes up V-Ray some, but nothing the Chaos Group hasn't kept on top of.

[francomanko]

is everyone on win7 and 10 professional or can you get away with home?

[Morne]

is everyone on win7 and 10 professional or can you get away with home?

I doubt it will install on home. Required spec says Pro
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/suppo...-Max-2018.html

[vlado]

I had a nasty surprise recently that the nvidia drivers for Titan V only have a version for Windows 10. I assume this will only get worse with time.

Best regards,
Vlado

[dean_dmoo]

On 10 here for the WS and rendernodes(3x). The main issue I have/had is the auto updates, but I've somewhat fixed it by only allowing them during inactive hours. Which I have set to during the day to not have the "pleasant" surprise of renders not being done overnight because MS decided to update my pc's during the night! ( You can also turn the updates off completely but I prefer not to.)

I've found setting up the network to be easier than on prevouis versions, Other than that it's all a bit the same for me.

I think the biggest issue is for GPU rendering as win10 reserves a lot more of the GPU ram than win7. Not sure if it's fixed yet as I don't use gpu.

[Companioncube]

I use windows 10 Pro (did the free upgrade from 7). I work on my own on a single machine and it's not been a problem for me but i wonder what it's like for small to large studios who have to deal with networking and updating software.

[anthonyh]

My other issue with Win10 is that I just don`t know it as well as 7. Also Win 10 seems to `know better` and make decisions for you that you just wouldn`t make yourself, updates is a prime example. They make sense as a base for a mobile platform or casual home-use pc but not for a workstation. I`m sure I could turn all that off and get it to a point where I`m more in control but doing that for 10pcs+ is time consuming. (Unless someone has made a script that does it all for you ? That would help ease the transition.) I`m aware it`ll happen fairly soon as our current workstations are getting a bit old now. Any new workstation from now though I`d build with Win10 even though I don`t really like it, it just makes sense to future proof at this point.
The Vray Win10 issues give me a little pause though. To be fair we just built a Threadripper 1950x with Win10 as a slave and no issues so far. Although I`ve yet to benchmark it properly, render times waver between 2x and 5x as quick as our core i7 3930k, average is about 3x as fast.

[marksmanguy]

These were very helpful. Thank you.

I'm upgrading one of my nodes right now to test it out.

Just so you all know, the upgrade was free for me just now! I was under the impression that it was over.