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Why We Switched From PCs to Macs for 3D
Mac or PC? For 3D artists, the answer isn't always as simple as picking a side. In Episode 4 of Behind the Render, Nick and Chad compare their setups, talk through their journeys between Mac and PC, and explore how a hybrid workflow can give you the best of both worlds.
For Episode 4 of Behind the Render, Nick and Chad take a break from talking about renders and get into a question that has sparked countless debates in the 3D world: Mac or PC?
Nick talks about his journey from Mac to PC, and eventually back to Mac. When powerful NVIDIA GPUs became essential for his 3D work, he made the switch to a PC and loved the speed, especially when working with GPU renderers. The problem? Everything else about using Windows felt unfamiliar after years of working on a Mac.
That eventually led Nick to a hybrid setup: using a Mac for his everyday work while remotely accessing a powerful PC when he needed the extra rendering horsepower. As Apple Silicon became more powerful, though, the balance started to shift. Nick found that he could do more and more of his Cinema 4D work directly on a Mac while still sending heavy renders to other machines.
Chad has landed somewhere in a similar place, working primarily from a MacBook while keeping a powerful PC nearby for longer renders. His setup lets him work from the same laptop at his desk or at home, then send heavier sequences over to the PC when he needs the extra horsepower.
The conversation eventually gets into the render farm Chad has built from his older machines, including multiple Mac Minis, a Mac Studio, and a powerful PC. They compare performance, power consumption, cost, and the practical realities of keeping multiple machines working together. They also get into the less glamorous side of the setup: network issues, software updates, syncing files, and the occasional computer problem that makes you question every decision that led you there.
But that's what makes this episode of Behind the Render fun. It's not really about declaring a winner in the Mac vs. PC debate. It's about finding the setup that fits how you actually work and seeing how two artists have arrived at very different solutions after years of making 3D.
And, naturally, there are plenty of stories, opinions, and computer-related frustrations along the way. If you've ever found yourself wondering whether you should be on a Mac, a PC, or some strange combination of both, you'll want to hear Chad and Nick's take.