"Stefan Viljoen" <rylan@<deletehis> wrote in message
news:40b38da4@news.povray.org...
> It seems that Windows has nicer programs (Moray for example) for designing
> scenes, but is not so hot on high-demand traces (big operating system
> memory/cpu time footprint - you cannot "switch off" the GUI).

If you have two (or more) computers, you can use Windows XP (or 2000)
to run GUI-Based design tools such as <insert your favorite here>, and use
a slave computer to do the very long renders.

> In
> comparison, Linux seems to offer more CPU cycles (run it in text mode for
> tracing, kill processes you don't need) and more stability (I've seen
Linux
> systems stay up for weeks under a heavy PovRay load).

I find it not true. Both give you roughly 99% of the CPU when
rendering at lower than normal priority. Just make sure you have
plenty of RAM. Photons and radiosity need lots of memory. Get
1G of ram (or more.) Run PovRay at maximum nice level (on Linux)
or lowest priority (on windows) and you'll be happy :)

As for raw rendering power, both versions (windows and linux) of
PovRay are roughly equivalent. The CPU you'll be using is the key
factor, not the OS/PovRay combination.

> What do you use? It seems to me the best combination is design in Windows,
> final render in Linux. Anybody else do it this way?

I do. I have a slave-box running linux 2.4, 2GHz Athlon XP 2400
CPU + 1G of ram. Works fine with me.

> I've had frequent problems using PovRay 3.5 under Win98SE and have
regularly
> left an overnight trace running only to check in the morning and find that
> Windows had crashed. Are the newer Windows operating systems more stable
> for POV?

XP is about as stable as Linux, as far as I can tell. I have no rogue
drivers causing random blue-screen-o'-death, and the computer runs
for months between reboots. Having a few G of RAM as helps plenty.
The Linux box also runs for months.

Ah, of course, I have UPSes to be safe from random
power failures :p They're not that expensive, you should
definitely get one if you plan to do renders that take
days/weeks/months.


Best,

    S.


>
> Thanks!
> -- 
> Stefan Viljoen
> Software Support Technician
> Polar Design Solutions

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