Buyer’s guide: six things to look for in a workstation
It’s tempting to shout for more, more, more when specifying a workstation, but if you’re on a budget then you need to focus your cash where it makes the most difference
A workstation aimed at content creation and other high-end 3D-focused activities is the pinnacle of PC performance. It warrants the very best components at every level – fast CPU with as many cores as possible, lots of RAM, high-end professional graphics, and speedy, capacious storage. But few buyers can afford the best possible components in every category, so here are the main six features to consider when specifying your perfect workstation.
1. Processor
Whatever kind of content creation work you do, you will benefit from as many cores as you can afford.
Luckily, these days more cores don’t mean taking a hit on single-core frequency, thanks to turbo modes bumping up individual cores when the rest aren’t being highly utilised. With the arrival of the AMD Ryzen 9, you also don’t need the expense of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper platform for 12 or 16 cores: the Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X provide these core counts respectively. The Ryzen 9 lacks some of the features of the Threadripper, primarily because it only offers dual-channel memory. But with the 5900X delivering a base 3.7GHz clock and 4.8GHz boost, while the 5950X provides 3.4GHz and 4.9GHz, these are potent and flexible processors.
If you want more than 16 cores, meet the Ryzen Threadripper. The 16core version has been discontinued in favour of the Ryzen 9 5950X, but with 24, 32, and 64-core versions, there are Threadripper core counts for every budget. AMD has yet another option, two examples of which we see this month: the Threadripper Pro. This provides higher memory bandwidth and a higher maximum allocation alongside hardware security, making it the platform of choice for the high end of content creation or scientific visualisation workloads.
If you don’t plan on doing frequent rendering that will take advantage of lots of cores, you don’t need to spend the extra money for a processor with a high core density, but if you do, you won’t lose anything for singlethreaded applications that prefer faster clock frequencies by opting for a processor with more cores. Even the 64-core Threadripper 3990x has a 4.3GHz turbo mode. Unfortunately for Intel, right now you will get a lot more for your money with an AMD processor.
2. Memory
These days, a bare minimum of 32GB of memory should be specified for a workstation. But all content-creation applications love memory, so the more you have, the better. When you’re dealing with large 3D models, or editing high-resolution photos and 4K video, having lots of memory really helps. More of the content you’re working on can be held in main RAM, so your workflow will be faster. With a system sporting lots of cores, a large amount of
RAM means you can have more tasks operating at once – such as a background render whilst you carry on with design work. All but one system this month has opted for more than 32GB for this reason. We would recommend 64GB.
The speed of the memory is important, but the frequency of an individual DIMM will be massively outweighed by the number of channels, and all the current AMD processor contenders support 3,200MHz memory as standard. The AMD Ryzen 9 offers dual-channel memory, but the Ryzen Threadripper ups this to quad-channel, while the Ryzen Threadripper Pro offers eightchannel memory. For applications that really need fast memory, you will get a benefit here. For example, video encoding will receive a notable boost.
3. Graphics acceleration
You might be tempted to opt for consumer-grade graphics, looking at the difference in price compared to professional-grade GPUs. For some content-creation tasks, such as game design, this might make sense. Both 3ds Max and Maya run well with consumer-grade graphics too. However, there are certain applications where this is a false economy. Engineering software, particularly Siemens NX, runs much
“When you’re dealing with large 3D models, or editing high-resolution photos and 4K video, having lots of memory really helps”
more smoothly with professional graphics acceleration. You will also miss out on professional levels of support if you encounter a problem.
Although AMD keeps improving the performance of its professional graphics, it isn’t having as much success here as it has been in the consumer-grade gaming market. All but one manufacturer this month has opted for Nvidia’s latest Amperebased Quadros. These are hugely powerful cards that raise the bar still further in performance and memory capacity. The Quadro RTX A4000 doubles memory from 8GB of GDDR6 in the RTX 4000 to 16GB, and more than doubles CUDA cores from 2,304 to 6,144. Memory bandwidth has increased slightly from 416GB/sec to 448GB/sec.
The Nvidia Quad Quadro RTX A5000 is a similarly huge upgrade over the RTX 5000, with 24GB of GDDR6 memory instead of 16GB, improving bandwidth from 448GB/sec to 768GB/sec. The number of CUDA c cores has burgeoned from 3,072 to 8,192. Finally, th the Nvidia Quadro RTX A6000 A6000, which has been supplied by one manufacturer this month, sports a whopping 48GB of GDDR6 memory, where the previous RTX 6000 “only” had 24GB. Bandwidth is the same 768GB/sec as the A5000, up from 672GB/sec. There’s a huge leap in CUDA cores again, though, with 10,752 for the Quadro RTX A6000 versus 4,608 for its predecessor, and the higher-end RTX 8000.
Every single one of these cards will deliver smooth everyday professional 3D performance. Your main reasons to go beyond the Nvidia Quadro RTX A4000 is if you need even more than 16GB of frame buffer or will be making extensive use of GPU-accelerated rendering.
4. Storage
We used d to see a boot SSD and data a hard disk configuration from most workstations, but times have changed ( see “View from the Labs” on
p93). It helps that the cost of SSDs is dropping faster than hard disks: at the time of our last workstation Labs, a 4TB SATA SSD was around £500, but ut now it’s more like £280, whereas a 4TB hard disk is barely any cheaper.
If you don’t need to work with really huge assets such as video, a
1TB of 2TB NVMe-based drive for operating system, applications and assets could be enough. Also, in our last Labs, AMD had introduced support for PCI Express 4, including NVMe drives, and although these cost more they are currently twice as quick as their PCI Express 3 alternatives ( see
our guide to PCI Express on p42). If you need more capacity, it’s still just about viable to consider a conventional hard disk, but a SATA SSD will provide twice the sustained throughput, faster random access and lower power consumption, as well as produce less noise.
5. Chassis
Another benefit of the rise of SSDs is that there’s now less need for large chassis with lots of drive bays, but you’re still better off having a few of the latter in case you need to expand storage.
Another reason to specify a reasonably sized chassis is processor cooling. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper has a feature called Precision Boost Overdrive, which means that you can have more cores running at a higher frequency at the same time with better cooling. Although one or two manufacturers this month have opted for powerful air cooling in their workstations, a water-cooling system with three 120mm fans will get the most out of your processor – and you need a chassis big enough for this.
6. Power supply
High-performance components also draw lots of watts, which is why you need a top-quality supply with a workstation. A 650W PSU is a bare minimum, and most manufacturers in this month’s Labs have gone for 750W, 850W or even more.
Although a nominal power budget for a set of components might fit into a supply’s rating, you need to remember that no supply is 100% efficient, and there may also be spikes in consumption. That means you will want plenty of headroom to cope with this, because otherwise your computer could become unstable. Choosing a supply with at least 80 Plus Gold efficiency will also ensure minimal power wastage from the
PSU itself.
“A water-cooling system with three 120mm fans will get the most out of your processor – you need a chassis big enough for this”