Workstations

The difference lies not in speed but in the choice of components. A workstation has:

The right components — for the software used by the user and the tasks the user wishes to perform. Knowledge of how software works is therefore crucial to building good workstations. Software manufacturers publish ‘Hardware requirements’ for this purpose. This provides a good indication, but software makers are almost always two to three generations behind in terms of hardware. These requirements must be translated into the latest components to ensure the new machine performs excellently.

Certified components — motherboards and GPUs that have been tested and approved by software suppliers. SolidWorks, Revit and Siemens NX require specific hardware for full support.

Longer lifespan — components selected for availability and stability, not the latest benchmark score. A workstation must last for years without you being unable to source parts.

Excellent cooling — a workstation sits on your desk or in your studio, not in a server room. Noise levels are a serious design requirement, not an afterthought. To make a computer quiet, it needs better cooling, and better cooling means a longer lifespan.

Expandability — enough PCIe slots, enough memory slots and enough power capacity to expand later if your work demands it. Good planning is therefore an advantage, extending the machine’s lifespan.

AM5 / X870 — the starting point

An AMD Ryzen 9 9950X on an X870 motherboard is an excellent workstation for most professionals. 16 cores, high clock speed, 2 memory channels (128GB max), and 24 PCIe lanes. That’s enough for:

• A powerful GPU on x16
• Two NVMe SSDs
• Most CAD, video and 3D software

TRX50 / Threadripper — when you need more

The Threadripper platform becomes relevant when you hit the limits of AM5:

• More memory: 4 channels instead of 2 — that’s double the bandwidth. This makes a noticeable difference for After Effects, Houdini simulations, large datasets or virtualisation.
• More memory capacity: up to 512GB, whereas AM5 stops at 192GB.
• More PCIe lanes: 88 instead of 24. You can run a GPU, four NVMe SSDs, a 10GbE card and an HBA simultaneously without compromise.
• More cores: up to 96 cores for heavy multi-threaded workloads such as CPU rendering, simulation or compilation.
• More bandwidth: The Threadripper platform has significantly more bandwidth, and Threadripper Pro nearly doubles that (240–453 GB/s); for large datasets and files, Threadripper is the choice.

The transition is not linear

Threadripper is not “a faster Ryzen 9”. The single-thread speed is comparable or sometimes slightly lower. The advantage lies in parallelism, bandwidth and scalability. If your workflow does not hit those limits, AM5 is the better platform — faster per core and considerably cheaper.

The rule of thumb (for a new machine)

Go for double what you’re currently using. If your current system regularly uses 48GB of the 64GB available, configure 128GB. Memory is relatively cheap compared to the productivity you lose when your system has to swap to disk.

64GB — sufficient for most CAD workloads, photo editing, video up to 4K, software development.

128GB — required for: video editing with 8K or RAW footage, After Effects with large compositions, 3D rendering with complex scenes, multiple heavy applications running simultaneously.

256GB and above — for: Houdini simulations, scientific datasets, virtualisation with multiple VMs, AI training with large datasets in memory.

Speed vs capacity

In practice, the difference between DDR5-5600 and DDR5-6400 is 3–5% for most workloads. The difference between 64GB and 128GB can be the difference between a project that runs smoothly and one that crashes. Always opt for more capacity first.

ECC — Error-Correcting Code

For workstations performing lengthy calculations or working with large datasets, we recommend ECC memory. It automatically corrects single-bit errors that inevitably occur during prolonged use. The platform must support ECC — AM5 Pro, Threadripper and EPYC do this as standard.

The problem

Standard coolers are designed to dissipate heat at the lowest possible cost. They use small, high-speed fans that move a lot of air but also produce a lot of noise. At 40+ dB(A), a computer is audibly noticeable in an office or studio — and that is exactly where workstations are located.

Our approach

We use large coolers with slow-spinning fans — 120mm or 140mm instead of 80mm or 92mm. Larger fans move the same volume of air at lower speeds, which produces significantly less noise.

For the casing, we choose cases with sound insulation and optimised airflow. The trick is to keep the system cool without the fans having to run faster than necessary.

What this achieves

Under normal load, our workstations operate at 19–21 dB(A) — quieter than an average office. Under heavy load, this rises slightly. During the rendering phase, the computer makes slightly more noise.

Custom fan curves

Every system comes with custom fan curves in the BIOS. The standard fan curves on motherboards are almost always too aggressive — they ramp up the fans at temperatures that are perfectly acceptable. We set the curves based on the actual thermal limits of the installed components.

Single-threaded vs multi-threaded

CAD software such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD and Revit is predominantly single-threaded. The speed of a single core determines how quickly your model is recalculated. Having many cores doesn’t help here — a high clock speed does.

Rendering software such as V-Ray CPU, Blender Cycles and Arnold, on the other hand, scales linearly with the number of cores. Here, Threadripper with 64 cores convincingly outperforms a Ryzen 9 with 16.

GPU-dependent vs CPU-dependent

DaVinci Resolve, Redshift and Octane are heavily GPU-dependent. The CPU just needs to keep up. Here, you invest your budget in the GPU, not the processor.

Houdini simulations and scientific calculations are CPU-dependent. The GPU does little to nothing. Here, you turn the tables.

ISV certification

Some software requires ISV-certified hardware for full support. SolidWorks sometimes refuses to investigate bugs if your GPU isn’t on their hardware compatibility list. In such cases, we recommend NVidia RTX Pro cards — not because they’re faster, but because they’re certified.

We test what we build

Every workstation is tested with the software it is intended for. Not just a benchmark, but a realistic project: a SolidWorks assembly, a DaVinci Resolve timeline, a Blender render. That way, we — and you — know that the system does what it’s supposed to do.