Real world benchmarks are about more than just competing for big numbers
Written on November 8, 2019 by Matt BachOver the last year, we have been hard at work improving, polishing, and making our internal benchmarks available to the general public. But why are we spending so much effort on this project? After all, this kind of development takes a significant amount of time, and is often much harder to do than you might realize since most applications are not made to be used in this manner.
Will Artificial Intelligence End up Replacing Creatives?
Written on November 5, 2019 by Matt BachAt events like Adobe MAX, NAB, or SIGGRAPH, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is always a hot topic. Creatives love what it is already doing to speed up or enhance their work, but there is almost always an underlying fear that one day, AI will replace them. Is that a valid worry, or is AI just a fad that will pass?
Samsung SSD Speed Comparison
Written on October 29, 2019 by William GeorgeOur systems have moved to almost entirely to solid-state drives (SSDs) for primary storage, making our old video looking at hard drive vs SSD boot times rather outdated. But are all of the SSDs we use equal, or are there benefits to one over another for typical computer usage? We compared four of the Samsung models we carry to see how they compare in boot up, file copy, and application launch times.
Rethinking SaaS
Written on October 25, 2019 by Brett NordquistI had an experience with Office 365 that's made me reconsider how I feel about the SaaS (software as a service) model. When Microsoft began offering Office as a subscription, I jumped at the opportunity. The idea of paying a reasonable monthly fee in exchange for the latest version and features seemed like a great deal.
Windows 10 Training Options
Written on September 22, 2019 by Brett NordquistI spend a good portion of my time speaking with customers. Many times, they just recently took delivery of their new computer, and they are getting acquainted with it. For some, this is their first experience with Windows 10 because they came from the Mac or an older version of Windows. One question I get asked often is: Where can I find good training on Windows 10?
Spending More
Written on August 30, 2019 by Brett Nordquist"What do I get if I spend more?" This question comes up quite frequently when I'm speaking with customers, especially if they are considering upgrading from an older computer. I believe most people are referring to "more" performance, but that's not always the case.
RSS is Still Alive
Written on August 9, 2019 by Brett NordquistIf you stick around long enough, you'll recognize that many technologies come and go without a lot of fanfare. That has certainly been t he case when it comes to online news consumption.
How Customer Feedback Makes Us Better
Written on June 3, 2019 by Brett NordquistAt Puget Systems, we have both formal and informal avenues by which we collect feedback from our customers. In terms of informal feedback, customers speak to sales and support staff on a daily basis and often share their experiences about our people and products. Feedback like this might be shared with the team or escalated to a manager if there's an issue to which we need to react.
New Photogrammetry Benchmarks
Written on May 3, 2019 by William GeorgeWe have published three new benchmarks for photogrammetry applications. Whether you use Pix4D, Metashape (formerly PhotoScan), or RealityCapture we now have a utility you can use to measure and compare system performance. These benchmarks will be featured in upcoming articles from our Labs department, so check them out and see how your workstation stacks up!
However Long It Takes
Written on April 26, 2019 by Brett NordquistFresh out of college, I entered the workforce with a lot of enthusiasm, energy and the assumption that my education had taught me everything I needed to succeed. It didn't take long for me to realize I had a lot to learn, and that began one morning when my first manager called me into his office.
Puget Systems' Production Process
Written on April 4, 2019 by AshleyHave you ever wondered happens during our Production process? I'm here to give you a high-level overview of what we do!
When a deal is not a deal
Written on March 30, 2019 by Jeff StubbersDuring a recent computer component purchase, I learned that purchasing isn't just about acquiring a product. You are creating relationships. Even if they may be micro-relationships, they are relationships all the same. So you just have to determine which type you wish to have.
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.