I read in a few threads that the Linux version is faster.
How much faster are we talking about - specifically for POPs and DOPs? My current system is quad core, 8 gigs of RAM, Windows XP Pro x64. Is it worth the trouble of going dual boot and having to hunt for a bunch of libraries (not necessarily because of Linux). I am trying to decide not just for the free Apprentice, but also which version of Apprentice HD to buy when the time comes to render for my demo reel.

Thanks.

I think that if your hostname and ethernet card are the same under linux and windows (which they probably are) you could run both the windows and the linux version on your dual boot machine. So no need to worry about which version of HD you should buy (in fact, if i am not mistaken, you just buy a license and then download whatever version of HD you want).

You could test which one is faster, i bet it is linux. It handles memory a bit better than windows for starters (plus you don't need al the antivirus stuff etc which uses a lot of cpu cycles).

Thanks.
With my system specs will I notice the difference?

AFAIK you cannot install the same license on two partitions on the same machine, unless this was changed recently.

As far as which is faster, I would argue that with a *lean* windows install(meaning it's not loaded down with a huge number of apps, utilities, P2P clients, games, IM clients, spyware, adware…you get the picture ), you will probably not notice a huge difference between Linux and Windows until you start to push the machine near the memory threshold. You should really use one of the two OSs based on other needs unless you're setting up a grid and you really need to push the machines hard.

The reason most people run Windows is for the application choice and the familiarity. I would use those reasons to make a choice. If you're comfortable working with the apps that Linux offers and are really interested in getting your feet wet in that world, I strongly encourage it. I'd argue the same if you like to have lots of apps and services running in Windows - it's the registry, services and general proliferation of adware/spyware/etc. out there that kills cpu cycles. Out of the box, Linux has also been adding more and more services(like evil Beagle - a stupid MS-like search service), so linux supporters can't get too smug about it. However, as a rule, Linux tends to run ‘cleaner’, and I've always found it's memory and process management to be superior to MS.

Cheers,

J.C.

Thanks, John.
I went dual boot and was wondering why 9.1.179 would not start in Fedora 8 -
invalid license server key error - probably i have to uninstall Houdini from my XP x64 partition…