Video Workstations for
Assimilate Scratch

Understand Assimilate Scratches hardware requirements and pick the perfect 3XS Systems graphics workstation for your project

What is Assimilate Scratch?

Assimilate Scratch is a colour grading and finishing application that combines editing, visual effects, motion graphics and compositing tools in for use with footage in HD, 4K, 8K, HDR and VR. It also features both node-based and video layer architecture for unlimited creativity.

What makes the best system for Assimilate Scratch?

There is no one ideal system configuration for Assimilate Scratch, as users will have different video resolutions to edit and make different use of the software. Whilst Assimilate Scratch makes use of both CPU cores and higher clock speeds, it is often more heavily reliant on GPU performance depending on what type of media you are working with.

What CPU should I choose for Assimilate Scratch?

As explained above, a system that will be used for a mixture of Assimilate Scratch functions needs to strike a good balance between CPU and GPU(s). Like most digital content creation (DCC) applications Assimilate Scratch performs best on a CPU with a high frequency and at least eight cores, although more cores can be beneficial in some processes. We recommend starting with an AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7, upgrading to Ryzen 9 or Core i9 if budget allows. If you’re also going to be generating higher resolution video content then an AMD Threadripper PRO or Intel Xeon W is a good choice as these CPUs have more PCIe lanes, enabling the system to support multiple GPUs and other devices such as capture cards and faster network interfaces.

What GPU(s) do I need for Assimilate Scratch?

A fast GPU is crucial for a responsive DCC experience in Assimilate Scratch, with more powerful models providing a more noticeable benefit when working with complex and high resolution video. We recommend the NVIDIA RTX GPUs as a good starting point in the NVIDIA range, adding in more GPUs if budget allows and your workloads scale well. If not, choose a single RTX GPU, but with larger memory.

If you are considering a dedicated workstation for Assimilate Scratch then we recommend consumer-grade NVIDIA GeForce RTX cards thanks to their outstanding value for money. However, if you’re also planning other intensive workloads on the same workstation then it’s worth considering a professional-grade NVIDIA RTX GPU thanks to their larger memory buffer and certified drivers.

How much RAM is recommended for Assimilate Scratch?

The minimum RAM that we recommend for Assimilate Scratch is 32GB for HD projects, upgrading to 64GB for 4K and 128GB or more for 6K or 8K footage.

What storage does Assimilate Scratch need?

We always recommend using an SSD for the boot drive that will host your OS, Assimilate Scratch itself, and any active projects you are working on. The high speed of SSDs allows your system to boot, launch applications, and load files many times faster than any traditional hard drive. We would also recommend a second SSD or even an NVMe SSD - depending on your budget - for active Assimilate Scratch projects files. If files are large or numerous several secondary SSDs can be added in RAID configurations to protect data integrity. An alternative solution for high capacity SSD active storage or cheaper HDD archiving could be to employ an external NAS device allowing both sharing and RAID protection.

When it comes to deciding on drive capacity, this will very much depend on your number of files and the project sizes. You should also consider the space required by other applications and their associated files too.

Recommended Assimilate Scratch Workstation Specifications

Workstation specifications
	High-End (8K)	Mid-Range (4K)	Entry-Level (HD)
CPU	AMD Threadripper PRO / Intel Xeon W	AMD Ryzen 9 / Intel Core i9	AMD Ryzen 7 / Intel Core i7
RAM	128GB	64GB	32GB
GPU	2x NVIDIA RTX	NVIDIA GeForce RTX	NVIDIA GeForce RTX