Autodesk Maya 2008 Extension 2 /
Autodesk Maya 2008 Service Pack 1

Graphics Hardware Qualification - Macintosh Platform

Last updated: Last updated: March 3rd 2008

Contents of this document

• Readme First (important information about hardware qualification)
• Mac Version Tested
• Workstations & Laptops
• Graphics cards and drivers
• General notes on graphics cards on Mac Workstations
• Compiler requirements
• Tested graphics cards
• Legacy graphics cards
• Dual monitor support
• Caveats & Limitations
• Compiler requirements

Workstations and graphics cards have been tested on MAC OS X 10.5.2 with Leopard Graphics Update 1.0.

To tell which version of Mac OS X is installed, select "About this Mac" in the Apple menu. The general OS version number will be just below the logo; e.g., Version 10.5.2 To find the precise build number, click the version text. It will change to the build number; e.g., Build 9C31. (Occasionally Apple will release slightly different Versions with the same version number but which may behave differently. It may only be possible to identify the OS version by the build number.)

G3 and G4 based workstations and laptops are no longer tested, though it's possible to continue to use Maya with these machines. See General Disclaimer note in the Readme First.

• Autodesk Maya 2008 Extension 2/SP1 is qualified on any of the systems identified below using the version of Mac OS X specified above. Do not assume that newer versions of Mac OS X will be suitable for use with Maya.
• You may need to refer to Apple's Support site to identify your system.
• If you intend to run dual monitors, see note below
• Any Mac with built in Intel GMA 950 or GMA x3100 Graphics is not tested and will not be supported.

Legend

Qualified   Un-tested.

Note: All Macs with built in Flat Panels (iMacs and PowerBooks) are limited to built-in screen resolutions. These resolutions may limit the use of Maya; for example, menu bars may not be fully drawn and windows may need screen resolution that is not available. Using an external monitor and setting the resolution to 1280 x 1024 allows full use of Maya menus and windows.

All qualifications are performed using only the official Apple default drivers that are included with a particular version of an OS (e.g. 10.5) or OS update (e.g. 10.5.2). Drivers acquired by any other means; e.g., directly from a graphics vendor, are considered unsupported and therefore not qualified. We cannot guarantee the stability of Maya using unsupported drivers. We have received numerous reports of problems with drivers other than those released by Apple as part of the OS.

To verify which version of a video driver is installed on your Mac OS X system, In a Finder window, navigate to /System/Library/Extensions/(vendor extension file). With this file selected, choose File -> Info to view the version information. For example, to determine the version of the video driver installed for the Nvidia GeForce FX 6800 Ultra, select the /System/Library/Extensions/NVDANV40Hals.kext file and then choose File -> Info.

Legend

Qualified
Qualified with caveats (refer to caveat list)
Qualification planned. Results coming shortly
Qualification failed due to serious problems.

Models	Status
NVIDIA
Quadro FX 4500
Quadro FX 5600
GeForce 7300 GT
GeForce 7600 GT
GeForce 8600M GT
GeForce 6800 GT	(1,2)
GeForce 7800 GT	(1)
ATI
Radeon X2600 HD	(3,4)
Radeon X1600
Radeon 9600 Pro

Legacy Graphics card

Cards not listed in the chart above are no longer tested. However, these cards may still be acceptable for use with Maya. Please refer to earlier Maya for OS X qualification charts to evaluate a particular card's previous use in Maya. While you may continue to use one of these cards, please note that we may not be able to provide support for any issues you encounter.

Apple systems can be run in Dual Monitor configuration by using a single graphics card which supports dual output (e.g. Nvidia GeForce 6800 or ATI Radeon x850xt).

• The texture placement manipulator may not display. The manipulator can be forced to display by clicking the middle mouse button anywhere in the same window.
• The Alpha Gain Slider in the attribute editor for an image plane does not alter the transparency of the image plane, or the alpha gain is displayed incorrectly.
• The outline of the Paint Effects brushes or artisan brushes (e.g. sculpt) may remain on screen on the completion of a stroke, or may not be drawn at all, or may draw incorrectly.
• Refresh of scenes containing Paint Effects can be very slow, or may 'flash' during redraw.
• Hardware shadows cannot be displayed (Lighting->Shadows in pane menus).
• On ATI cards, scenes with non- power of two textures will hang Maya when enabling the High Quality viewport. This can be turned off in the Hardware Renderer settings.

If you are building plug-ins for Maya, note that the Maya API requires a specific compiler and linker, on each of the platforms Autodesk supports in order to build compatible plug-ins. Autodesk Maya 2008 is built on: Mac OS X 10.4 with the XCode version 2.4.1 using the gcc 4.0.1 (Apple Computer, inc. build 5367 ) compiler. Using this compiler will guarantee binary compatibility when building plug-ins.