I’ve only started using TouchDesigner recently, but am already itching to upgrade my 2015 iMac to something with better graphics capabilities so I can handle more complex projects. I’m looking at the current gen of 21" models and see that they have the option to upgrade to the Vega Pro 20 from the Radeon 560X graphics card, but don’t have a good sense of how big of an improvement that is in terms of TD performance.
The YouTube benchmarks I’ve found show that depending on what program is using the cards, the Vega 20 gives anywhere from 0 to 50% improvement.
Any chance somebody has some experience with this and/or access to both systems to check this out?
If you really want to take TouchDesigner seriuos, Mac is the wrong platform. NVIDIA is the way to go, so better build yourself a propper desktop (you could even build yourself a nice HackinTosh if you really are in need of MacOS). LinusTechTips has some really great videos about how to tackle that topic.
Yeah, that’s what I’ve gathered from what I’ve read so far. I don’t have any strict requirements in terms of operating system, however what’s driving me to the iMac is that I plan to use this computer in a live setting, so having a good build quality and a physically compact solution that’s easy to transport but also has a good sized display are some of my top priorities… so my thinking is that I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of power to achieve those goals.
Perhaps asking for a compact, well-built all-in-one computer with large screen and ability to run TD well is an unrealistic ask, but my search for led me to no capable PC’s and the closest think I could find was an iMac.
I’d definitely love any additional input on other options tho!
Why not building your own compact PC (had this discussion in the facebookgroup just now) and a nice portable screen (touchscreen even?) or buying a Zotac Magnus? If with Screen and PC seperate, with this small formfactor its not more complicated then a unhandy AIO iMac (which brings complete seperate problems with itself. More prone to damage and stuff like that)
Hmmm, I’d disagree that an AIO iMac is “unhandy”, but one issue is that I want to output to 2 projectors and then have a screen for editing / control… does that Magnus or any other compact PC’s have that?
I you go on tour, iMac is not really easy to pack and very difficult to maintain in case of failure.
With zotac magnus 1080 you have four video output, directly with HDMI and DP (not tiny USB-C needing adaptators…). I think the better touring machine is a rack mounted Dell (choice of nVidia GPU) with a 25" screen carefully packed in the case.
After doing some testing on a 2019 iMac with the Radeon 560X and only getting 12 FPS on an an instancing tutorial file, I’m settling into the fact that a PC is the way to go. I found the Lenovo Legion line and really like that in terms of portability. I won’t be going on tour with the gear, more just around town to different venues, so the simple handle on the Legion seems like a good fit.
I’m currently trying to decide which model to go with though… any thoughts on the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti vs the GeForce RTX 2070? I really don’t have much fo a baseline for what a proper card can handle, so any input would be great.