Graphics Workstation Buyers Guide
How to choose a graphics workstation
Graphics workstations provide a high performance and stable platform for designers, artists, engineers and scientists using content creation applications. Graphics workstations are available in a huge variety of configurations. This is both a strength, in that you have a lot of choice over how much you can spend but has a weakness because so many choices can seem overwhelming. This page will guide you through what to consider when choosing a graphics workstation, broken down into three easy steps.
A TRUSTED BRAND > OPTIMISED PERFORMANCE > USER EXPERIENCE >Scan 3XS Graphics Workstations
There are multiple brands of graphics workstation available in the market, and it’s an important decision to get right to make sure you receive a professionally assembled system, built from high quality branded components, it’s competitively priced, and is provided with excellent customer service in case you need support.
Key Features
3XS Systems has been designing and building PCs for more than 20 years, so we have a huge amount of experience in building highly reliable systems that deliver the most performance for your budget. Here are the key reasons to buy a 3XS graphics workstation.
Next-day delivery
3XS Graphics Workstations are pre-built and tested in our factory to be delivered next-day.
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3 years warranty
3XS Pro Graphics Workstations include a three-year warranty, so if anything goes faulty we’ll repair or replace it.
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30 Day return Policy
If you’re not totally satisfied with your 3XS Pro Graphics Workstations you can return it up to 30 days after delivery.
FIND OUT MOREQuality Components
3XS Systems gaming PCs are built using high-quality branded components from market leading brands.
Optimised Performance
Every carefully chosen component in a 3XS graphics workstation has an important role to play in the performance of the system. This section highlights the capabilities of the most important components, giving you insight into why our graphics workstations are ideally suited for content creators.
NVIDIA Professional RTX Graphics
The professional NVIDIA RTX graphics card or GPU is undoubtedly one of the most important components in a graphics workstation. The vast majority of content creation applications are visual in nature, and so need a powerful GPU to provide responsive performance. What’s more, the GPU can be also used to accelerate many compute- intensive tasks such as rendering, completing such tasks far quicker than a CPU alone, meaning you can get more done in less time.
Why Buy an NVIDIA Professional GPU?
NVIDIA professional GPU cards feature a whole host of attributes that makes them best placed to
install in graphics workstations and.
Certified Drivers
Hundreds of ISVs such as Autodesk, ANSYS, Dassault Systèmes, PTC, Siemens certify their applications with NVIDIA professional GPUs. Using certified drivers ensures optimal stability and enterprise-class customer support if you do run into any issues.
Enterprise Class
NVIDIA professional GPUs are constructed from enterprise-class components ensuring better reliability and resiliency. Failure rates of professional GPU cards are considerably lower especially when used at full load for longer periods of time.
ECC Memory
Many of the models of NVIDIA professional GPUs feature error correcting code (ECC) memory. This acts to protect data from corruption so any errors are eradicated prior to them affecting the workload being processed.
Extended Memory
NVIDIA professional GPUs feature considerably larger onboard frame buffers than consumer GPUs, enabling larger and more complex renders and compute simulations to be processed.
Security
NVIDIA professional GPUs offer higher security - for instance USB C ports on professional cards can be disabled, a critical feature if they’re deployed in secure environments or if they contain sensitive information.
Extended Warranty
NVIDIA professional GPU cards offer enhanced warranty cover. The standard warranty provides cover for 3 years in professional environments and can be extended to total of 5 years upon request.
The table below rates the performance out of 10 for the NVIDIA Professional graphics cards we use in our 3XS Graphics Workstations.
| A800 | RTX 6000 Ada | RTX 5000 Ada | RTX 4500 Ada | RTX A5500 | RTX 4000 Ada | RTX 4000 SFF Ada | RTX A4000 | RTX 2000 ADA | RTX 2000E ADA | RTX A2000 | RTX A1000 | RTX A400 | T1000 | T400 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PERFORMANCE & CAPABILITIES | ||||||||||||||||
|
VISUALISATION
(X/10) |
N/A | 10 | 9.5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5.5 | 5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| DOUBLE PRECISION / FP64 (TFLOPS) | 9.7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| SINGLE PRECISION / FP32 (TFLOPS) | 16.5 | 91 | 65.3 | 39.6 | 34.1 | 26.7 | 19.2 | 19.2 | 12 | 8.9 | 8 | 6.7 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.1 | |
| HALF PRECISION / FP16 (TFLOPS) | 623.8 | 1457 | 1044.4 | 634 | 272.8 | 327.6 | 306.8 | 153.4 | 191.9 | 71 | 63.9 | 53.8 | 21.7 | N/A | N/A | |
| Ray Tracing | Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
No |
No |
|
| VR Ready | No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
| NVLink | Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
If you’d like to learn more about NVIDIA graphics cards you can read our NVIDIA PROFESSIONAL CARD BUYERS GUIDE.
AMD and Intel Processors
The CPU or processor is the second most important component in a graphics workstation as it plays a key role alongside the graphics card in determining overall system performance in content creation applications. Consideration should be given to the number of cores, memory capabilities and expandability in the form of PCIe lanes as this determines how many GPUs, SSDs and network cards can be used in the system. Both AMD and Intel have numerous CPU options suitable for workstations.
AMD Processors
To ensure responsive performance we only use the fastest AMD Ryzen processors in our 3XS graphics workstations. Ryzen 5 processors represent a basic workstation CPU, providing entry-level performance at a low price, with Ryzen 7 processors striking a good balance between performance and cost. The premium Ryzen 9 processors provide higher performance in demanding applications, with the most specialist workstations using Threadripper and Threadripper PRO CPUs.
The below table gives some indication of relative performance expected from each CPU family for a variety of tasks - perhaps unsurprisingly the better the workstation, the better a gaming and streaming machine it makes too.
|
Ryzen
Threadripper PRO |
Ryzen
Threadripper |
Ryzen 9 | Ryzen 7 | Ryzen 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaming | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Streaming | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Content Creation | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
| Multitasking | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
You can learn more about AMD Ryzen and Threadripper CPUs by reading our AMD DESKTOP CPU BUYERS GUIDE
Fast and Reliable Memory
While having sufficient memory on the graphics card is important, system performance will be crippled without adequate system memory. We use Corsair Vengeance RAM in our 3XS graphics workstations, with a minimum of 16GB on entry-level systems and more memory in high-end systems, ensuring optimum performance.
Ultra-Responsive Storage
There’s no point in having the fastest and most powerful graphics card, processor and system memory if they are starved for data. We use the latest high performance NVMe SSDs in our 3XS graphics workstations, as these are around eight times faster than a SATA SSD and an incredible 25 times faster than a traditional HDD. That said, we recognise that you may need to store old projects and documents on your system, and an HDD is ideal for this use as they are very cost effective.
User Experience
The graphics card, processor, memory and storage all contribute to the overall performance of your 3XS graphics workstation here’s what else goes into making for a great content creation experience.
Connectivity
2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A
4 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A
1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C
3 x DisplayPort 1.4a
2 x HDMI 2.1
Intel Gigabit LAN
Realtek Gigabit LAN
It’s very rare during content creation that you don’t need to import and export assets or the final project to another device. Recognising how important this is 3XS graphics workstations are equipped with best-in-class connectivity, including ultra-fast USB Type C ports conventionally located on the front of the system, high-speed LAN ports and plenty of DisplayPort outputs for connecting multiple monitors.
Cooling and Power
High performance graphics card and processors can consume a lot of power, so 3XS graphics workstations are engineered to stay cool and quiet, even when running the most demanding renders. We also equip our PCs with high-quality 80PLUS Gold power supplies, ensuring a reliable and efficient power source for the system.
Professional Monitors
We stock a wide range of professional-grade colour-calibrated monitors to complement your workstation. Choosing the right monitor is not only critical to ensure that what your creating is colour accurate, but a higher resolution monitor or multiple screens can boost your productivity.
Read our
MONITOR BUYERS GUIDE
to find out how to pick the perfect monitor(s) for your workstation.
Graphics Tablets & Professional Mice
In addition to standard keyboards and mice we also stock a wide range of graphics tablets and professional mice for controlling your favourite applications.
Read our
GRAPHICS TABLET AND PROFESSIONAL MOUSE BUYERS GUIDE
to find out how to pick the perfect peripherals for your workstation.
3XS Graphics Workstations
Click the links below to view the range of graphics workstations built by 3XS Systems. We offer pre-configured systems that are ready to go or can custom build a system to your preferred specification.
There you have it, everything you need to know when choosing a graphics workstation. We hope you've found this buyer’s guide helpful. Don't hesitate to contact one of our friendly advisors for more advice if you still have questions on how to select the perfect system.
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