From time to time I get asked what hardware and GPU I’m using for my 3D adventures, including video games. Rather than typing it out every time, I thought I’d make a handy post that I can refer interested parties to, and update as my configuration changes.
This is that post.
It may contain more information than necessary, but I thought I’d add it all here, including a bit of history on how this setup came to be and what it cost. I keep this page updated as my configuration and workflow changes.
TL;DR
These are the main systems that I use for work and play. They run the Adobe Creative Cloud, games, 3D apps. Most systems are CAT-5 wired with a 1000Mbps connection.
Main Workstation / Presentation PC
- HP Z840 Workstation
- 2x Xeon E5-2670 CPUs (48 threads)
- 48GB of DDR-4 RAM
- 2x RTX 2080 GPUs
Streaming PC
- HP Z600 Workstation (Rev B)
- 2x Xeon x5675 CPUs (24 threads)
- 24GB of DDR-3 RAM
- RTX 3060 GPU
- Elgato HD60 Pro HDMI capture card
Render Node 1
- HP Z800 Workstation
- 2x Xeon x5675 CPUs at 3.07 GHz (24 threads)
- 48GB of DDR-3 RAM
- 2x GTX 970 GPUs
Render Node 2
- HP Z600 Workstation (Rev A)
- 2x Xeon x5560 – 2.80 GHz CPUs (16 threads)
- 20 GB of DDR3 RAM
- GTX 970 GPU
Email / Coding / Chat PC
- Apple MacMini 2012 Server Edition
- Intel Core i7CPU at 2.3 GHz
- 16GB of DDR-3 RAM
- Intel HD 4000 GPU with 1.5GB of RAM
The Longer Story
Most visitors are probably content with the info above. However, if you’re interested in how all this equipment came to be, and how I’m using it in my home/office, read on below. I’ll tell you how I acquired most of the parts and how I’ve built them from older technology that still packs quite a punch.
Workflow
I use my main Z840 Workstation for anything from 3D work, Premiere editing, playing video games and anything that requires high processing power. I use my other Z600 workstations as either render nodes or streaming PCs, depending on what’s necessary at any given point. I don’t have email installed on them, so most of the communication stuff I do on my Mac.
I use my Mac for all kinds of text related tasks like email and web administration, video editing and a bit of Photoshop, as well as coding and web development. It’s still running High Sierra due to its compatibility with 32 bit apps. While not suitable for 3D intense tasks, it’s a very reliable source of communication for me. I prefer typing on a Mac, because it’s less laggy than Windows. I also use this machine for editing my bike videos in iMovie and for editing audio books in Premiere Pro.
The monitor situation is a little limited, due to the size of my relatively small desk. I only have a single monitor hooked up on my Z840 on the left, and a very large Thunderbolt Display on the right that’s attached to my Mac. Both of them run off the same keyboard/mouse combination, a Logitech Craft / MX Master 2S combination. Thanks to some Logitech magic, I also have full copy/paste functionality between two different operating systems, thanks to a helpful piece of software called Logitech Options. In addition to the mouse, I also have a Magic Trackpad next to my Mac. Sometimes I prefer that when I do Mac things, it depends on the task.
The remote nodes don’t have monitors attached. I administer them using a tool called No Machine. It’s the only one that will let Blender startup in GUI mode from a remote connection. When I render animations, I split them across all systems and have each node render a part of the sequence. The resulting image sequence is saved into a shared folder that is accessible from everywhere, so I can even have cloud machines contribute at times.
While some softwares have a master/slave or “render node” concept, in which one machine takes control of the other computers and makes them render what is necessary, I don’t tend to use those. Some of these features are unreliable, or cost money to activate, and I find it more convenient to keep a list of which node needs to render what frames instead.
Studio A vs Studio C
I used to work in TV for over 20 years, and in my head I refer to each “desk setup” as a studio. We have three in total:
- Studio A: my main desk with the Z840 / MacMini Setup
- Studio B: my wife’s desk next to me
- Studio C: my main desk’s off-shoot in the walk-in closet
The latter came to be when the COVID-19 crisis hit hard. Julia started working from home had often has spontaneous meetings, which means I can’t use my main desk for screen recordings or streams. I ran several long wires across our apartment and built myself a remote island that can access both the Z840 main presentation PC and my streaming PC via NoMachine. So technically it’s the same hardware that I’m using, but I’m accessing it with a different mouse/trackball/keyboard/game controller combination.
How those systems came to be
I’ve been using a (rather old) HP Z800 workstation for most of what I did. This series was introduced by HP as far back as 2009 for a cost of over $10k, depending on configuration. Back then it would have been unaffordable. There have been several updates to the Z series, the most current one being the Z8.
However, as technology goes, I picked mine up for a song (about $180) after my first Z600 appeared to fail, but it wasn’t anything serious and I could fix it, hence I still have it. In fact, I replaced it in 2019 with another Z600, and liked the idea of a render farm so much that I currently have FOUR such HP Z workstations. Although vintage, they’re spectacular bang for your buck.
I first got into this type of hardware in 2016, after a discussion with Jonstark on the Carrara Forums. My Mac Mini was too limiting for anything that required a GPU, and I bought the first Z600 specifically to use with DAZ Studio’s Iray engine, which required a GPU for any meaningful results.
You can read more about how I built the Z600 system here.
Other Devices
Aside from the above, I also use the following equipment:
- a quad Mac Mini 2012 (on my desk)
- 27″ Thunderbolt Display (on my desk)
- two quad core Mac Minis 2012 (in Las Vegas)
- Microsoft Surface Pro (First Generation, often on my desk)
- 4x GoPro cameras (HERO 4 Silver, 2x HERO 5 Black, 1x HERO 8 Black)
- Blue Yeti microphone
- 2x Zaffiro Desktop USB Mics
- Logitech C930e Web Cam (main)
- Logitech C922 Pro Stream Web Cam (secondary)
- 3x Elgato Stream Decks (one physical, two via software)
- various iOS devices
- various lapel microphones
- Bose Soundlink II Speaker
- 2x 27″ Acer S271HL Monitors (one for me, one for my wife’s desk)
- a MacBook Pro 2011 when I’m out and about
- a Samsung Q330 Laptop and NCV10 NetBook for Linux experiments
Z840 Workstation
In spring 2021 I invested into a replacement/backup system for my main Z800 desktop PC. I wanted to stay with the HP Workstation rage and found a fantastic deal on eBay for $650. It was so good I bought two of those, but sadly one had an issue with its main PCIe slot so I returned it. Much like I did with my previous workstations, I’ve invested into faster/better parts and replaced the CPUs and RAM.
When I tried adding my current RTX 2080 GPUs, I realised that the PCIe slots are closer together than they are in my Z800, so I couldn’t fit my two side-cooled GPUs in the new case. After a bit of fiddling I was able to install a PCIe riser cable that would allow me to use both GPUs in the new case, although it means that the case is now permanently open and one of the cards sits next to it on the floor. It did wonders to the internal temperatures though, which dropped from the mid 80 degrees C under load to about 50C. Result!
I will keep this list updated if/when I add new things to this setup. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask below.