PC Hardware Articles
One of the core values of Puget Systems is transparency
We detest hype in the midst of an industry that is full of it. Our mission is to provide the highest quality hardware and consultation services to our customers, and to back up our decisions by freely sharing what we've learned along the way. To earn a place in our product line, a computer component undergoes rigorous testing. We apply the results of our testing, along with our years of experience in learning reliability trends and manufacturer characteristics, to make prudent decisions about what we can put our name behind, whether that's an individual part or an entire computer. With the following articles, we are writing up the results of these internal processes and discussions, and taking them public. We feel we can take this on with a unique perspective as we evaluate each topic with the experience, resources, and objectivity of a system builder. If there is a topic you'd like us to write about, email us at !DaVinci Resolve 14 GPU Scaling Analysis (1-4x Titan Xp)
Written on October 13, 2017 by Matt BachDaVinci Resolve has long been known to greatly benefit from multiple GPUs, but is this still true or has the recent launch of Resolve 14 changed things?
DaVinci Resolve 14 CPU Performance: Skylake-X vs Threadripper
Written on October 13, 2017 by Matt BachWhile GPU performance is often the first thing that comes up when configuring a DaVinci Resolve workstation, the CPU is in many ways even more important. Modern CPUs from Intel and AMD can have up to 18 cores, but can DaVinci Resolve actually make use of them all?
SOLIDWORKS 2017: Coffee Lake CPU Comparison (i7 8700K, i5 8600K, i3 8350K)
Written on October 13, 2017 by William GeorgeThe latest Core processors from Intel have launched: the 8th generation of this series, code named "Coffee Lake". This brings with it the first six-core CPUs in Intel's mainstream processor line, so we are taking a look at how they perform in Solidworks 2017. For comparison, we also have results from our previous recommendation for modeling and CAD: the Core i7 7700K "Kaby Lake" chip.
V-Ray RT 3.6 Hybrid Mode with AMD Threadripper 1950X and NVIDIA Titan Xp
Written on October 13, 2017 by William GeorgeWe've previously tested the new Hybrid Mode in V-Ray RT 3.6, which combines CPUs and GPUs in order to speed up rendering, on Intel's Skylake X processors. This time around we are going to test on AMD's Threadripper 1950X, and use even more powerful GPUs than before. We also take a look at GeForce GTX 1080 Ti vs Titan Xp performance.
Premiere Pro CC 2017.1.2 CPU Performance: Core i7 8700K, i5 8600K, i3 8350K
Written on October 6, 2017 by Matt BachAlongside a small frequency bump, the new Coffee Lake-S 8th Gen CPUs from Intel have also received a 50-100% increase in core count. On paper, this makes the new Core i7 8700K, i5 8600K, i3 8350K, and other 8th Gen CPUs much more powerful than their predecessors, but will this translate to improved performance for real-world Premiere Pro workloads?
Revit 2018: Coffee Lake CPU Comparison
Written on October 5, 2017 by William GeorgeIntel has launched their 8th generation of Core processors, code named "Coffee Lake". This includes the first step beyond quad-core CPUs for Intel's mainstream processor line. We are taking a look at how these new CPUs perform in Autodesk Revit 2018, compared to the previous 7th generation "Kaby Lake" Core i7 7700K and a couple of AMD's Ryzen 7 chips.
After Effects CC 2017.2 CPU Performance: Core i7 8700K, i5 8600K, i3 8350K
Written on October 5, 2017 by Matt BachFor years, After Effects has struggled to utilize high CPU core counts to the point that a quad core CPU was the best you could get for raw performance. The new Coffee Lake-S 8th Gen CPUs from Intel have seen an increase in core count, but the question is whether After Effects will actually be able to make use of them.
Lightroom CC 2015.12 CPU Performance: Core i7 8700K, i5 8600K, i3 8350K
Written on October 5, 2017 by Matt BachLightroom contains a few tasks that can utilize a higher number of CPU cores, but much of the application can only take advantage of a couple of cores. With the new Coffee Lake 8th Gen CPUs seeing an increase in core count, will Lightroom see a significant benefit?
Photoshop CC 2017.1.1 CPU Performance: Core i7 8700K, i5 8600K, i3 8350K
Written on October 5, 2017 by Matt BachWith two more cores over the previous generation, the new Coffee Lake 8th Gen CPUs perform extremely well in certain applications. However, Photoshop has historically struggled with higher core counts so will the new CPUs actually be any faster?
V-Ray RT 3.6 Hybrid Mode: Combining CPU and GPUs for Rendering
Written on October 4, 2017 by William GeorgeNew in V-Ray RT 3.6, Chaos Group has added Hybrid Rendering: the option to combine CPUs and GPUs in order to render images and animations even faster. We give an overview of how this works, and then explore the impact it can have on rendering speeds.
Z370 vs Z270: What is the Difference?
Written on September 29, 2017 by Matt BachWith the announcement of the first Coffee Lake-S CPUs, Intel has also released details for the the new Z370 chipset. But what makes it different from the old Z270 chipset?
Arnold for Maya CPU Comparison: New 14, 16, and 18-core Skylake-X Processors
Written on September 25, 2017 by William GeorgeIntel has launched new, higher core count Skylake-X processors. Can they take back the performance crown from AMD's Threadripper in Arnold?
Premiere Pro CC 2017.1.2 CPU Performance: Core i9 7940X, 7960X, 7980XE
Written on September 25, 2017 by Matt BachWith up to 18 physical cores, Intel's new Skylake-X CPUs are very impressive from a technological perspective. Can Premiere Pro put all those cores to use, or would you be better off with a lower cost processor with fewer cores?
After Effects CC 2017.2 CPU Performance: Core i9 7940X, 7960X, 7980XE
Written on September 25, 2017 by Matt BachFor years, After Effects has struggled to utilize high core count CPUs effectively. Will this hold true for the new 14, 16, and 18 core Intel CPUs, or will they give us a surprise?
Cinema 4D CPU Rendering Comparison: New 14, 16, and 18-core Skylake-X Processors
Written on September 25, 2017 by William GeorgeIntel has launched new, higher core count Skylake-X processors. Can they take back the performance crown from AMD's Threadripper in Cinebench?
Photoshop CC 2017.1.1 CPU Performance: Core i9 7940X, 7960X, 7980XE
Written on September 25, 2017 by Matt BachPhotoshop may not be the best use case for these new 14, 16, and 18 core CPUs from Intel, but just how much worse are they compared to their lower core count counterparts?
Lightroom CC 2015.12 CPU Performance: Core i9 7940X, 7960X, 7980XE
Written on September 25, 2017 by Matt BachLightroom contains a number of tasks that can utilize a decent number of CPU cores, but with Intel's new CPUs you can now have up to 18 physical cores on a single consumer CPU. Can Lightroom actually make use of all these additional cores?
V-Ray CPU Comparison: New 14, 16, and 18-core Skylake-X Processors
Written on September 25, 2017 by William GeorgeIntel has launched new, higher core count Skylake-X processors. Can they take back the performance crown from AMD's Threadripper in V-Ray?
KeyShot 7 CPU Comparison: New 14, 16, and 18-core Skylake-X Processors
Written on September 25, 2017 by William GeorgeIntel has launched new, higher core count Skylake-X processors. Can they take back the performance crown from AMD's Threadripper in Keyshot?
ReMake 2017 CPU Comparison
Written on September 19, 2017 by William GeorgePerformance testing on a wide range of Intel and AMD processor options to see how they compare in Autodesk ReMake. Comparison to "online" (cloud) processing and a look at system memory usage are also included.
Core i7 7820X vs Core i9 7900X: Do PCI-E Lanes Matter For GPU Rendering?
Written on September 11, 2017 by William GeorgeBenchmark results demonstrating that PCI-Express x8 vs x16 speeds don't impact GPU rendering performance.
Revit 2018 CPU Comparison
Written on September 8, 2017 by William GeorgeIntel Core and AMD Ryzen processor performance in Autodesk Revit 2018, including both general modeling and rendering performance.
OctaneRender GPU Platform Comparison: Skylake X, Xeon W, and Threadripper
Written on September 6, 2017 by William GeorgeThis article looks at several motherboard chipsets, including X299 and X399, comparing how well they handle performance scaling across multiple GPUs in OctaneBench 3.06.2.
V-Ray GPU Rendering Platform Comparison: Skylake X, Xeon W, and Threadripper
Written on September 6, 2017 by William GeorgeThis article looks at several motherboard chipsets, including X299 and X399, comparing how well they handle performance scaling across multiple GPUs in V-Ray 3.57.01.
FurryBall GPU Rendering Platform Comparison: Skylake X, Xeon W, and Threadripper
Written on September 6, 2017 by William GeorgeThis article looks at several motherboard chipsets, including X299 and X399, comparing how well they handle performance scaling across multiple GPUs in the FurryBall RT benchmark.