Earning a Customer
Written on March 24, 2019 by Brett NordquistI took my Honda Odyssey into have its oil changed last week. Within a mile, I have a choice of no less than five quick lube and oil shops. My selection often comes down to which shop has the shortest wait time.
Big Enough
Written on March 3, 2019 by Brett NordquistDuring a recent discussion with an engineer who was considering having us build him a workstation, he made a comment about our company: "You're big enough, but not too big."
OctaneBench 2019 Performance Preview
Written on February 18, 2019 by William GeorgeOTOY is nearing completion of OctaneBench 2019, the first version of their OctaneRender benchmark to support the new RTX technology in NVIDIA's Turing-based GeForce and Quadro video cards. We will do a full performance roundup when OB 2019 is finished, but for now I wanted to put out a quick preview of the performance increase that RTX tech can bring to GPU rendering.
Intels Core Xperiment i9 9990XE
Written on February 12, 2019 by William GeorgeIntel launched a new processor in their Core X series recently, and it is novel in many ways. It combines a fairly high core count with very high clock speeds, at the cost of power consumption and high heat output. It also is very limited in availability, being offered only to select system integrators via a private auction. We got our hands on one in the first auction, and have been putting it through several rounds of benchmarking to see if it is worth the price and hassle, as well as to determine if we will be offering it in our workstations.
Creating vs. Consuming
Written on February 10, 2019 by Brett NordquistOne benefit that computers and the internet have brought to us is that they have made it easier than ever before to be creators.
Making a Connection with your Customer
Written on January 25, 2019 by Brett NordquistAround Thanksgiving last year, I decided to take advantage of a sale at a popular online gaming company. After researching various titles I might enjoy, I settled on a game and purchased it through the store. The game installed fine, but wouldn't allow me to start a new game. I don't have a lot of patience when it comes to troubleshooting games. Games should be a break from work. I enjoy a good RPG such as Diablo that I can play with my sons or daughters. When this new game wouldn't launch, I searched Google for help, but after a few hours, I hadn't made any progress.
NVIDIA RTX Graphics Card Cooling Issues
Written on January 11, 2019 by William GeorgeWith the RTX series of GPUs, NVIDIA has moved to using dual fans as the standard cooling layout on their GeForce and Titan video cards. This is a big change from past generations and has even bigger implications for using NVIDIA graphics cards in multi-GPU workstations. Let's look at what changed, what it impacts, and what can be done to work around it.
My 5 Favorite Tech Accessories of 2018
Written on December 30, 2018 by Brett NordquistFor the past five years, I've worked from home. At the end of each year, I like to go through my home office and clean and organize it to begin the new year. This is the time I clean out my computer, wipe down my monitors, and organize my desk and filing cabinet.
Graphite Pads vs. Thermal Paste: Which Is Better?
Written on December 3, 2018 by Matt BachRather than applying from a tube like thermal paste, graphite pads are sheets of material that you simply set on top of the CPU and throw on the heatsink. They work great, but unfortunately we found that they have issues if you try to reuse them multiple times.
High Expectations
Written on November 4, 2018 by Brett NordquistA couple of years ago, a new restaurant opened for business in town. For anyone traveling into St. George from Las Vegas or Zion National Park, it is hard to miss because it's situated the ledge which overlooks the town.
Intel Announces New 9th Gen Core CPU Series
Written on October 8, 2018 by William GeorgeToday Intel has officially announced the launch of new mainstream desktop processors, including the first Core i9 branded chip for this market segment. We are testing these processors now, and are excited about what we have found so far, but cannot publish performance data until October 19th.
Not Just for Gaming: NVIDIA GeForce RTX Will Improve Workflows
Written on September 20, 2018 by Kelly ShipmanNVIDIAs new GeForce RTX video cards have been all the talk lately. There is a lot of debate on the value that real time ray tracing brings to games, and some questions on how useful these cards will be to traditional ray traced renderers. With these cards becoming available for testing, and reviews starting to come in, many of these questions will be answered. However, there is an aspect to these cards that is often being overlooked: how the advances in real time ray tracing will dramatically cut down on production time before the rendering stage.
Out of Ideas
Written on August 31, 2018 by Brett NordquistA close friend recently had a defibrillator successfully placed in his chest. I was surprised when he explained how the doctors had him under light sedation where he didn't feel pain, but could hear the doctors converse during the four-hour surgery.
Feel the power of VR at Pacific Science Center this summer!
Written on August 22, 2018 byTransform into a tree or experience a billion years in just 10 minutes! No matter the experience you choose, you will be going back for more.
What Does the Launch of the GeForce RTX 20 Series Mean for the Future?
Written on August 20, 2018 by William GeorgeLike many of you, I was glued to my computer screen this morning during NVIDIA's live-stream of the GeForce RTX 20 series launch. But what exactly was shown today, and what does it mean for the future of gaming, virtual reality, and other GPU-based applications?
Exactly What I Need
Written on August 4, 2018 by Brett NordquistLast week my daughter got pulled over by a policewoman just after midnight for having a light out over the back license plate. After a short reminder that she shouldn't be driving past midnight because she's not 18-years old yet, the policewoman let her off without a citation or warning if she promised to replace the light.
Puget Systems Packaging Withstands Stolen FedEx Truck
Written on July 23, 2018 byWhat's your worst nightmare when shipping out your most precious cargo? Raise your hand if taking a shipment for a joyride was your answer. Didn't think so! But, it happened to us.
The Nordstrom Way
Written on June 8, 2018 by Brett NordquistI recently finished reading the book, The Nordstrom Way to Customer Experience Excellence: Creating a Values-Driven Service Culture. The book is a lot more compelling than that ridiculously long title. It includes a lot of inspirational stories, but I wanted to share one story with you along with the one rule found in the employee handbook.
2nd Gen AMD Ryzen Supported RAM Speeds
Written on June 6, 2018 by Matt BachJust like the original Ryzen CPUs, the 2nd Gen Ryzen processors from AMD support a range of different RAM speeds depending on a number of factors. This information is not easily accessible to the public, however, so we decided to put together a quick post with the information we received from our contacts at AMD.
Selling vs. Problem Solving
Written on May 18, 2018 by Brett Nordquist"I don't know where to begin." That's what I told Beth, who was working the counter at my local auto parts store. I sheepishly placed a sleek can refrigerant on the counter and began to explain my predicament. I purchased a refill because I already owned a pressure gauge, I assumed it was compatible with any can. I found out that isn't the case when I tightened the gauge and heard the stem pop.
How to Use Cinebench to Predict Cinema 4D Performance
Written on April 3, 2018 by William GeorgeHere at Puget Systems, it is our goal to perform realistic testing on the software packages we tailor our workstations toward. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it is harder... and sometimes a software maker already provides their own benchmark tool. That is the case with Maxon, makers of Cinema 4D, as well as the free benchmark, took Cinebench. To determine whether we should use it, though, we have to ask some questions. Is Cinebench really a good benchmark for Cinema 4D? How do the tests it runs relate to real-world performance?
The Storm That Is Fortnite
Written on March 16, 2018 by Brett NordquistIt's been a few years since a game caught the interest of my family. I worked in sales at Puget Systems when I began hearing customers mention a game called Minecraft. The simple, blocky nature of the game carried over to the hardware requirements. Minecraft didn't require a high-end gaming rig. My three oldest couldn't get enough of building homes, trying to stay alive and setting anything they could find on fire with lava.
The thin line between stress testing and hardware abuse
Written on January 30, 2018 by Matt BachAs a part of our testing, we want to cause hardware to fail if it is close to doing so. However, stress testing for an excessive amount of time could potentially shorten the lifespan of the system. Is there a line where hardware testing becomes hardware abuse?
Event Schedule For 2018
Written on January 22, 2018 by Eric BrownIn 2018, our goal is to get out there where our customers are to learn more about them, learn more about their workflow, and find out what more we can do to optimize our systems and experience to those exact needs. Are there any events that we should attend that aren't on this list? Let us know!
Data Encryption
Written on January 18, 2018 by Beth SmasalA break-down of data encryption, what it's used for, and why your data could be at risk (oh no!)