Workstation Vs. Desktop

jengy

Stupid question, I apologize in advance. Wasn't my first stupid question, won't be my last.

Has anyone seen a big advantage to using a workstation vs. a desktop for their work? 

Comparing the price for these two things, I just wanted to know if anyone has noticed a major difference with using a workstation like this (https://www.pugetsystems.com/nav/genesis/I/customize.php) vs a desktop like this (https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/VR-Ready-Deal-GTX-1070-Ti)

I'm interested in buying a new computer soon so any advice or insight would be great. 

Thanks.

throttlekitty

There's not really any difference between workstation vs desktop, it's more a mentality and the parts inside. The big difference between the two here is that Puget is building with a Skylake X processor and favors high quality parts. I've never bought from them, but it's a solid build if you were looking into getting really heavy with large scenes, simulations or cpu-based rendering. But most the 3d software we use favors having per-core performance over lots of less powerful cores (though skylake x is nothing to scoff at). But it's pricey and really depends on what your daily tasks are. Plus they have a lot of options on almost every piece going in, so for a high price you could have a box that can pretty much do everything, but probably overkill.

Cyberpower's offering is ugly as fuck with that keyboard and mouse but with a more sensible price tag; it's basically a gamer pc. The 8700k is a great chip for most of what we do, personally i'd bump the RAM from 16 to 32 gigs. From what's there now, I'd swap out the generic PSU with a notable brand and swap the water cooling on the CPU with an air one.

jengy

Great insight!

Yeah, as much as I'd like to have a Ferrari to drive to my mailbox, it's sensible to probably just get something that handles Substance and Zbrush well for me. And games. Always games.

Thanks again!