This post, Part #2 of this 101 Guide focuses on the essential part of the hardware: The Workstation.

The previous post might be interesting for you if you are seeking out advice on tabletts and pen-displays as input devices.

The workstation, regardless which brand you chose, should be a reliable and scalable workhorse, in the following points, I´ll guide you through the main differences and what you should keep in mind when buying or better said; investing in one.

#1: Mac vs. PC:


The endless discussion seems to continue, but eventually, with the new Mac Pro, the discussion finally comes to an end. With it´s recent development, the Mac gets back to creative people and is more interesting than ever. With  the late 2015 models, 10Bit support, 5k resolution and silent PCIE-SSD´s, the iMac is where it should have been all the time. The thing that Apple is better at than most PC manufacturer is the hardware and accompanied software support for it´s own built in features.


Conclusion: There is no real difference anymore, it has become a matter of taste.

#2: Ultrabook or Macbook?


That is the first reason, why Apple isn´t quite necessary anymore, PC-Manufacturer have established a notebook standard and from several brands there are "Ultrabooks" available, what´s up with that?



The Ultrabooks often look similar to Macbook Pro´s from Apple and they meet certain criteria to get the label Ultrabook such as; portability, battery-life, power consumption, power and speed.
Actually always a bit lower priced than any Macbook you can lose a big chunk ov money on a high-end Ultrabook as well.

For working with digital painting or digital illustration I´d give some thoughts to the following before you invest in such a portable computer for your work:

• Are you often on the move? If yes, such a "Notebook" can be  a good investment
• Notebooks don´t have much space for capable graphics cards
• Notebooks get hot when used for a long time -hence they reduce GHz bandwidth to reduce heat
• Macbooks and Ultrabooks have reduced slots for Ram, making upgrades expensive and limited(Macbook configurations are especially limited in recent models, which makes an upgrade later impossible)

HP z820 inside

9 Slots for DIMM-Socket RAM Memory alone and a well thought through- cooling system, combined with hardware like SSD or Kepler GPU´s will pay off the costs faster than you can watch. Power consumption is getting lower while SSD-drives get faster while consuming less power too. The durability and system stability are key factors that can ideally justify the investment into such a beast. Following some general info and overview about the different brands. Even if the Mac Pro can be count as a workstation also, they are so special in every regard that I can´t put it in the list of workstations, especially since the release of the 2013 model, which is less upgradeable than previous models. Ever since the Macintosh is powered by Intel processors, there´s no reason to go to Apple for a workstation anymore.

There is a paper from Intel about the difference between Desktop-PC and Workstation (PDF) that may additionally help you to decide for one or the other.

HP:

The HP Z820 is a very good choice, but be advised that no NVidia GeForce card will work, only Quadros or AMD FirePro. It is watercooled and I´d suggest getting one as a barebone, means just the case with mainboard and probably processor and fit the rest in, matching to the specs of the connectivity. With room up to 512GB RAM you shouldn´t run out of memory ever. A 6-Core XEON processor should also last very long with this machine. Get more info here.





DELL:

The DELL Precision t7610, similar to the HP z820 has everything you´d ever need as a Photoshop professional. A mid-range Quadro k2000 card from NVidia and a 4-6 Core XEON Processor plus a Samsung 840 Pro SSD should do the trick. Ordering one Dell Case with Mainboard and processor only cost around: which is still affordable, More info here.
While DELL seems as good as the HP, problem might be that it can be more difficult to get a configuration without anything except processor, mainboard and case.

ADK:

A very interesting thing is when workstation enthusiasts tweak and find the best hardware to put it together, ADK is about that. More aimed towards video-editing, their workstations are also great for any photographer or digital painter working in 2D and 3D tools. More info here.









BOXX:

BOXX is around quite a while and prices range between the 2k and 3,5k mark like the other brands for a decent, not too shabby Photoshop workstation. More info here. Configuration and research is key here.

As with all computer related investments, research is due for any of these recommendation. Time flies and a good recommendation now is worthless in 6 month from now and so on.

However, some brands like ADK keep you up-to-date with a configuration as much as most of the manufacturer configuration web-tools too.


So it is up to the user to decide which kind of graphics card you need for your workload, which Processor, how much RAM and which Harddrive. What might be of interest is that Adobe CS6/CC as also blender makes use of CUDA, a core-technology developed by NVidia, programms that make use of this extra-processors can benefit from a card that uses it.

Another big advantage of workstations is warranty. Usually you have warranty claim from one dealer/manufacturer, not many opposed to the self-built Desktop PC´s. And in this regard the higher cost include a free service repair or interchange service -next-day, which can come in handy if you have to get work done.