Linux ( Ubuntu Studio ) and Window XP Rendering Competition is here
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=97426
I have a dual core AMD X2 3600+ (1.9 ghz) overclocked to 2.8 ghz on air (sweet!). This system benchmarks similarly to a Core2Duo E6600 in synthetic benches.
I downloaded the test.blend from http://www.eofw.org/bench/ and ran it in XP / Vista and Linux 64 bit. I ran optimized versions in XP/Vista.
The two fastest runs of mine are numbers 35 and 44 on the list (currently).
XP 32 bit - 1min 1 sec
LInux 64bit - 55 sec
So, the move to Linux does save on render time. The time for my system with the official builds was close to 2 minutes. So, you don’t have to move to Linux to get a great improvement in render times. An optimized build in Windows will get you 90+% of the way there.
So, the move to Linux does save on render time
No, the change from 32 bit windows to 64 bit linux saved time. You’d need to run both at 32 or 64 to compare properly.
Oh calamity … poor ol’ JDM71 just wanted to share his switch and suddenly many are jumping up-and-down :rolleyes:
Well, I think it’s cool anyways, I just made the switch to Ubuntu Studio and am rather impressed as well. Each to his or her own I say.
PhilBo:Is that with nice values?
I find nice values can improve rendering times
Rig:
Kubuntu 6.10(Rendering not done through command line)
Blender 2.43(From the repositories)
AMD Sempron 1800 1.5Ghz
1GB DDR RAM 400MHz
Nice value: 0,
Time: 6:21:20 (min:sec:milli)
Nice value: -20,
Time:6:21:02
The lower the Nice value the more resources go to a particular program. It would be interesting to see other peoples results with the use of nice values.
It’s most likely if you optimize Linux and remove all system resources not required(GUI’s etc), and rendered through the command line, Linux would be the fastest at rendering, but not many folk will go that far.
For me I couldn’t really bother how quickly it rendered as long as I could still use the machine while it renders, which I feel I cant do with Windows.
OnTopic:
Good Luck on using Ubuntu! It’s a very nice distro. 
My intentions were not to start an “OS War”. I was not attempting to bash anybody in a negative way as I have had no major problems with Windows in general, with the exception of one (Millenium Edition). I had one of two options, upgrade or move to something different. I chose something different because I own two computers, one of which will either have to be upgraded or replaced in the near future (the wifes, who will not deviate from Windows) and mine. Originally, I built mine for gaming, but since I bought a 360, I rarely game on the PC any more. I needed something fresh, easy to use, and cost effective. UBUNTU gave me everything. I am not a professional artist, I don’t need $3000-10,000 software to do my job. I’m just an average Joe with an average job, happily married (with children). I have a hobby and open sourced software keeps me interested and makes my wife happy because I’m not spending a ton of money on my hobby. And I am a firm believer that software, no matter how expensive or how “fully functional” it may be, is only as good as the person using it is.
Cheers
My Brother we are not fighting. We are just discussing which one is better. We may use both. For myself, If rendering is fast in UBUNTOO STUDIO, I will load Ubuntoo stuido in one partition of my PC and do the rendering, I have already got one commercial Audio Video mxing software, for XP, I will use that also. We are not going to firhgt for OS. We are going to use both for different purposes.
In my own set of tests on my Core2 Q6600 (4 cores running at 2.4ghz) I found Linux to lag behind XP by about 5% on an identical render using identical versions of blender (2.43 - release). I used 32bit versions of both OS and for Linux I used Ubuntoo. Even given the small loss of performance I would still use the Unix based system due to the other advantages you get.
On a side note I don’t think blenders rendering engine is a great way of benchmarking because it relays too heavily on the user to tweak it to make it faster. My system spanned from high 20’s with an SEE build and 45-41 with a stock 2.44. The more parts did seam to help a lot.
64 bit linux is the only way we can use the 64bit blender.
I need lots of ram for my scenes, and sculptures.
You cant do that on windows or mac right now
I was thinking about getting a linux as dualboot with Xp (currently I have 2k). If I buy 4gigs of Ram, I doubt it’s going to be much use if I don’t have a 64-bit OS. And I can run Windows inside Linux if I need it. Good for you JDM71. 
Every time I try to loop-select with alt-right click a Ubuntu menu pops up, but I found a thread on the web on how to disable it:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-panel/+question/2520
Just in case it helps someone.
My windows system just took a flying leap, so I’m back under slackware. 4 hours isn’t bad for a complete system reset. (From putting the first install disc in, to writing this message, with all functioning. Including blender.)
You are windows-free?
So, your place only got doors?
Air circulation good?
By the way, due to the quirks of my system, (Underpowered toshiba laptop.) and that the Linux drivers are more up to date than the windows drivers, a scene with particle hair, and AO, takes about 9-10 minutes. In linux, it takes 3-4. Pure quirk, as I don’t see as drastic a boost on other systems. (If memory serves, it was trivial on my desktop before it got fried.)
Just goes to show, that your mileage truly will vary.
Dude … you should come to Africa, it’s amazing to see how some people live:p
Mmph!: I was running XP Pro x64 before I made the switch and it is supposedly capable of up to 14GB’s of RAM. A buddy of mine showed me a new motherboard that could hold 2 dual/quad core processors and and if my memory serves, between 10-14GB of RAM. Very expensive right now, but I will get the name of it from him Monday.
Falgor: For virtualization, VirtualBox works exceptionally well. I have it installed and ran the EDUBUNTU Live CD. I never installed due to the fact the keyboard functions are different than normal and I could get a grip on it right on the get go. If you use 64 bit OS, you won’t be able to use it, but VMWare is capable of 64 and I guess is easy to use.
tedi: Padded walls and everything. :evilgrin: Nah, just kidding, the windows are open to keep the fresh air in.
And finally, Kannon/anybody who can answer this: I have an older Compaq Presario 2100 Laptop, originally had 40gb HDD and 256 mb of RAM . I received it free from a buddy of mine (one of those if you can fix it, you can have it deals). So I bought a new HDD and upped the RAM to its max capacity (1024 mb). Got it running UBUNTU. Needless to say, he’s ticked off about it now that it works:eyebrowlift: I attemped to d/l Blender from the repository but when I opened it, everything on it was broken up (visually broken). I d/l from blender.org and same thing. Then I saw one for “MESA STATIC” and that one worked. My question is, what is “mesa” when it comes to computers and why wouldn’t the regular blender downloads work?
Mesa is what most stock graphics drivers (I.E, not those from a hardware vendor) use. Most later drivers have a pretty up to date version of the MesaGL (OpenGL implementation). I’m guessing your computer didn’t, so instead of having it dynamically linked to the libraries on your computer, it had to use static links to a set that came with blender.
Also, on that laptop, did you ever get DRI (type glxinfo into a console, near the top should be a “direct rendering: yes” or no line. If it’s yes, it’s working. if it’s no, it’s using only software rendering. Most of the time, fixing up DRI will un-break the Mesa implementation. A google search for the laptop model name + DRI + (Since you’re using ubuntu) Ubuntu will turn up what you need to know. If not, shoot me a PM, maybe I can help.
In theory we can access up to 16 tera bytes with a 64 bit processor.
The highest mother board I have seen so far was 32 gigs on Zbrush Central .
If you’re in a reading kinda mood, you can gleam some more information from:
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/dri-howto.xml?style=printable
http://www.mesa3d.org/faq.html
Also, I took a look around, and it appears that the Presario 2100s use the ATI Radeon Mobility chipset for graphics, which means you’re probably going to have to install the ATI drivers if you want hardware acceleration. I don’t have any experience with ATI’s drivers, but I’m sure there are folks around here who do. There are also open source ATI drivers, but I really haven’t a clue how complete they are.
Oh, last thing… that glxinfo readout is a little easier to read if you do this
glxinfo | less
That thing in the middle is a pipe (it’s on the same key as backslash). In Unix, pipe is your friend. It takes the output of one program, and jams into the next… in this case less which is handy for reading long text files.
This is a bit off topic, but I really want to switch to Linux, maybe ubuntu studio, and I was wondering whether it was possible to have the same text editor such as word, and be able to print from it. I’ve heard of Open Office, but I don’t know if Ubuntu Studio has it. Any help would be appreciated.