Creator and workstation
Machines that earntheir keep by lunchtime.
A workstation is specified backwards from the software, which is why we ask what you run before we quote anything. The parts that matter for an editor are not the parts that matter for a render node, and paying for the wrong half is the usual mistake.
Four kinds of work,four different machines.
These are the briefs we see most often. The figures are where each one tends to start, not a fixed price, because the specification follows the software.
Video editing and colour
Timeline scrubbing is a memory and storage problem long before it is a graphics problem. We specify plenty of fast memory, a scratch drive separate from the project drive, and a card chosen for the codecs your editor actually accelerates.
Typically from £1,1493D, rendering and simulation
Render times scale with cores, and with memory on the graphics card if you render on the card. We will ask which engine you use before recommending anything, because the right answer for one is the wrong answer for another.
Typically from £1,899CAD and engineering
Large assemblies reward single core speed and certified drivers rather than raw graphics power. These builds are usually quieter and less expensive than people expect, because the money goes somewhere less obvious.
Typically from £1,149Streaming and capture
Encoding a stream while a game runs needs cores to spare and a drive layout that keeps captured footage off the game disk. We size the machine for both jobs at once rather than for whichever is loudest.
Typically from £1,149
How we quote one
Tell us the software,not the budget.
Send us the applications you use daily, the size of the files you work on and the deadline pressure you are under. We will come back with a specification, the reasoning for each part, and a clear statement of where spending more would buy you nothing you would notice. Every workstation carries the same 18 month warranty and the same full day on test as the gaming machines.