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This article first appeared in Issue 361 ofPC Pro.

Workstations are the most powerful desktop PCs around, but budgetary constraints still apply.

A person at a workstation.

you gotta choose your components wisely and that means focusing your money on the workloads you generally perform.

Processor

Processors have moved on a generation since our last workstation Labs.

Most significantly for higher-end workstations, the non-Pro AMD Ryzen Threadripper is back, having skipped the 5000 series.

Intel hasnt increased the number of cores with the 14th generation.

Theyre both manufactured using the 7nm-equivalent Intel 7 process.

However, you’ve got the option to now choose between the Threadripper and its Pro variant.

Memory

Last year, we were still at the tail end of the transition from DDR4 to DDR5.

But now all the latest CPUs support DDR5 memory, which theoretically provides at least twice the bandwidth.

This month, only two system came with just this amount, and the rest had more.

Both Intel Core and AMD Ryzen processors offer dual-channel memory, so DIMMs should be installed in matched pairs.

Motherboards for these processors will usually have four DIMM slots, although some mini-ITX boards only have two.

Similarly, with Threadripper Pros eight-channel support, eight matching DIMMs are required to initiate the full bandwidth available.

Graphics acceleration

Most content creation will require live rendering ofdesignwork.

However, professional graphics card ranges generally have longer warranties and come with specific support for professional software.

They will also be optimized for this software.

A particularly telling example is Siemens NX, which runs very slowly on consumer-grade GPUs with gaming drivers.

It can beat the Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada Generation in some tests.

Theres no definitive overall answer to the question whether AMD or Nvidia are better choices for professional graphics.

However, the incredible power of GPUs is increasingly being harnessed for other activities.

But they also have a part to play in the current AI revolution.

If you work with massive video files, you will still want a lot of capacity.

Even the quickest SATA conventional hard disks will provide around 40 times lower throughput.

Archiving and retrieval may take a little time, but your workflow will be rapid on the system itself.

Chassis

There isnt a bad chassis in evidence this month.

These have an unassuming appearance but are well made.

Armaris case provides easy-fit caddies for this, making it particularly well endowed in this area.

Power supply

The final component to consider for a workstation is the power supply.

A 750W supply is a bare minimum in these days of power-hungry CPUs and GPUs.

For a Threadripper system, we recommend over 1,000W.

Also take note of efficiency.

At least Gold is essential, and Platinum even better.

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