JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2023 | AECMAG.

COM

Workstation
special report
for CAD, BIM, visualisation and beyond

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Super portab
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Exclusive
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THE BATTLE OF THE CPUs MINI WORKSTATIONS INTEL ARC PRO

13th Gen Intel Core versus Powerful machines, pretty What do Intel’s long
AMD Ryzen 7000 for on your desktop or hidden awaited discrete GPUs
CAD-centric workflows behind a display mean for CAD and viz?

WS01_AEC_JANFEB23_Cover.indd 1 25/01/2023 17:00

 workstation special report

We need to talk about energy

No one wants their workstation to go slower. But in a world obsessed
with bigger, better, faster, should we be paying more attention to how
much energy they consume? asks Greg Corke

It feels a little hypocritical to kick off this For the CPU, expect to see 100% usage workstation provider if that’s an option.
Workstation Special Report with some when rendering. In CAD, it’s much lower, The temptation when speccing out
advice on how to save energy. After all, as fewer cores are used. For the GPU, real- a workstation is to go for as powerful
I’ve spent the last two months testing time visualisation and GPU rendering will components as you can afford. With ray
workstations with some of the most also use 100% of GPU resources – again, tracing, more performance generally
demanding design and visualisation this is usually much less for CAD. means lower render times, so there’s a
tools. The fastest processors get lauded, All processors have a sweet spot where tangible benefit. However, for real time 3D
but they are almost always the biggest they run most efficiently. After that point there is a danger of paying for performance
consumers of electricity. there are diminishing returns, and you’ll you simply don’t need. If your viz datasets
We all know we need to use less energy need to pump a lot more power into the aren’t that complex and you can smoothly
to protect the environment, but there’s chip to increase frequency and therefore navigate your scene with a 70W GPU
nothing like a global energy crisis to performance. As a result, running CPUs at like the Nvidia RTX A2000, do you really
focus the mind. The fact is that the energy slightly lower frequencies can save power need the 200W Nvidia RTX A4500? Your
consumption of processors has been rising without slowing things down too much. workstation will consume more power and
steadily. Today we have mainstream CPUs Windows has built in power settings you probably won’t notice a difference.
that draw over 250W at peak and high- to control how much the CPU boosts. To Another tip is don’t waste compute
end GPUs that hit 450W. explore the impact of this resources. Some viz tools will continue to
And even though we’ve had we rendered an 8K scene render the viewport when idle, so switch
the coldest snowy December in KeyShot. With a high- them off when not required. This includes
in years, you can still warm performance power plan on Unreal Engine (GPU), Twinmotion
a home office with a few a Dell Precision 5470 mobile (GPU), KeyShot (CPU / GPU), Solidworks
high-performance machines. workstation with the 45W Visualize (CPU / GPU) and others.
Thank goodness we didn’t Intel Core i7-12800H CPU Also ask yourself some questions:
do the Workstation Special (see page WS28) it consumed does your render really need that many
Report this summer! 0.025 kWh and took 18 passes? Do you really have to have it back
Performance per watt has mins 18 secs. The same scene so quickly? Could you render at a lower

‘‘
always been a metric for rendered with an energy resolution? Could you use AI denoising?
workstations, but how many saving power plan used Finally, hybrid renderers can use both
of us have really purchased a Don’t waste 0.022 kWh and took 24 mins GPU and CPU resources, but because the
machine with that in mind? compute 32 secs. Halving the number code is generally optimised for the GPU,
We buy our light bulbs and of cores had the opposite the contribution of the CPU can be quite
appliances based on energy
resources. effect, increasing power small. It can still use lots of energy though,
efficiency, run our washing Some viz tools usage to 0.033 kWh and so disable it in the settings.
machines in eco mode. Some will continue taking 36 mins 31 secs.
of us even drive our cars at to render the Of course, some processors Final thoughts
56 mph — if the authorities are more power hungry than With new technology, pushing components
have cleared the snow. viewport when others and the new 125W+ to their limits seems a natural thing to do.
To learn how to save energy, idle, so switch Intel Core i9-13900K (see But this not only increases energy usage of
we first need to understand them off when page WS04) is one of the the workstation but can also have a knock-
how much our workstation
consumes. The easiest way to
not required hungriest. The Boxx Apexx
4, for example (see page
on effect on our working environment. This
winter, the heat given out by the powerful
do this is with a power meter.
Simply plug it into a mains ’’ WS17), used 0.042 kWh
to render the same scene,
socket, then plug your workstation directly although it did this in 6 mins 09 secs.
machines tested for this report was
certainly welcome. In summer, less so. It’s
not only your workstation fans that need to
into that. It measures how much energy But wouldn’t be nice if we could have our work harder, it’s your office air con as well.
your entire workstation consumes in real- cake and eat it too? Save energy and still Of course, we all have jobs to do and
time, in watts and kWh. Fancier ‘smart’ get the same (or very similar) performance deadlines to meet. But some small
devices can track usage through an app. out of your workstation. Well, you might adjustments to your workstation config,
While memory, storage, motherboard, just be able to do that by undervolting workflows, habits, or purchasing
PSU, and fans all use energy, the CPU and your processor. Modern CPUs allow you decisions can make a big difference.
GPU are by far the biggest consumers in to lower the amount of power that they Driving at 56 mph down the M1 motorway
your workstation. To understand how receive, but without necessarily slowing might not feel that exciting, but if it
these work in relation to your workflows, them down. It’s generally reserved for helps save you money and lessen your
you can get a pretty good idea with people who know what they’re doing, so environmental impact, there’s much to be
Windows Task Manager > Performance. proceed with caution, or ask your custom said for slow and steady win the race.

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 workstation special report

Vs

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 workstation special report

Intel Core vs AMD Ryzen

for CAD, BIM and beyond
With 13th Gen Intel Core and AMD Ryzen 7000, competition in workstation
CPUs has never been so strong. Greg Corke explores the best CPUs for design-
centric workflows from CAD and BIM to reality modelling and rendering

O
ver the last few years, competi- available in workstations from specialist Ryzen 5000 Series, the number of cores
tion between AMD and Intel manufacturers like Armari, Workstation for each class of processor remains the
has been intense. This is par- Specialists, BOXX and Scan (who provided same. All models support simultaneous
ticularly true with AMD Ryzen the test machines for this article - see page multithreading (AMD’s equivalent to
and Intel Core, popular processors for WS14). We’ve yet to see machines from Intel Hyper-Threading). This utilises
mainstream desktop workstations. the major workstation manufacturers. twice the number of threads as physical
AMD has maintained a performance However, this is standard from HP, cores to help boost performance in certain
lead in extremely multi-threaded Lenovo, Dell and Fujitsu – there is always multi-threaded workflows, such as ray
workflows like rendering, but the battle a bit of a lag between launch and support trace rendering.
for supremacy in single-threaded of new technologies. Ryzen 7000 gets its performance
applications like CAD and BIM, has been uplift from a significant rise in base and
hard fought. To a certain extent, AMD and AMD Ryzen 7000 Series boost frequency, a claimed 13% increase
Intel have been playing leapfrog with each The Ryzen 7000 Series of desktop in Instructions Per Clock (IPC), double
new generation since late 2020. processors is based on AMD’s 5nm ‘Zen the Level 2 cache and support for DDR5
Autumn 2022 saw the launch schedules 4’ architecture. There are four models, memory (up to 128 GB).
of both chip manufacturers align. The ranging in frequency and number of cores. One trade-off with the new chips is a
AMD Ryzen 7000 Series was announced The top-end AMD Ryzen 9 7950X has significant increase in Thermal Design
in August while 13th Gen Intel Core 16-cores and a max boost frequency of up Power (TDP), a measure of power
got its first public airing in September. to 5.7 GHz. The lower end processors have consumption under the maximum
High on frequency, these mainstream slightly lower clock speeds and fewer cores theoretical load. The top two Ryzen 7000
workstation processors are ideal for CAD but are considerably cheaper. The AMD Series models feature a TDP of 170W and
and BIM, but still offer plenty for multi- Ryzen 5 7600X, for example, has six cores a peak power of 230W, compared to 105W
threaded workloads including rendering, and a max boost of 5.3 GHz, but is less than and 142W in the previous generation.
simulation, point cloud processing, half the price of the Ryzen 9 7950X. The However, the CPUs are only likely to
photogrammetry, CAM and more. full line up can be seen in the table below. draw such power when using multiple
Both processor families are now Compared to the previous generation cores in combination with Precision Boost

AMD Ryzen 5 AMD Ryzen 7 AMD Ryzen 9 AMD Ryzen 9 Intel Core Intel Core Intel Core
7600X 7700X 7900X 7950X i5-13600K i7-13700K i9-13900K

14 16 24
# of CPU Cores 6 8 12 16
(6 P-cores + 8 E-cores) (8 P-cores + 8 E-cores) (8 P-cores + 16 E-cores)

# of CPU Threads 12 16 24 32 20 24 32

3.50 GHz (P-cores) 3.40 GHz (P-cores) 3.00 GHz (P-cores)

Base Frequency 4.70 GHz 4.50 GHz 4.70 GHz 4.50 GHz
2.60 GHz (E-cores) 2.50 GHz (E-cores) 2.20 GHz (E-cores)

Max Boost / Turbo 5.10 GHz (P-cores) 5.40 GHz (P-cores) 5.80 GHz (P-cores)
5.30 GHz 5.40 GHz 5.60 GHz 5.70 GHz
Frequency 3.90 GHz (E-cores) 4.20 GHz (E-cores) 4.30 GHz (E-cores)

L1 Cache - 384 KB L1 Cache - 512 KB L1 Cache - 768 KB L1 Cache - 1 MB

L2 Cache - 20 MB L2 Cache - 24 MB L2 Cache - 32 MB
Cache L2 Cache - 6 MB L2 Cache - 8 MB L2 Cache - 12 MB L2 Cache - 16 MB
Smart Cache (L3) - 24 MB Smart Cache (L3) - 30 MB Smart Cache (L3) - 36 MB
L3 Cache - 32 MB L3 Cache - 32 MB L3 Cache - 64 MB L3 Cache - 64 MB

Default TDP 105 W 105 W 170 W 170 W 125 W 125 W 125 W

Peak / Max Turbo power 142 W 142 W 230 W 230 W 181 W 253 W 253 W

Price (Ex VAT) £274 £350 £467 £633 £283 £392 £558
(from scan.co.uk 11/11/22)

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 workstation special report

Overdrive (PBO), a feature of Ryzen CPUs active applications, runs on the P-cores, While our testing went no further,
that increases voltages to allow the CPU to while tasks that are not so urgent run on there may be other solutions, such as
clock higher. the E-cores. This could be background assigning applications to specific cores
operations such as Windows updates, using Processor Affinity in Task Manager.
13th Gen Intel Core anti-virus scans, hidden tabs on a web However, this would only be temporary
The 13th Gen Intel Core processor family browser, or applications that have been fix until reboot. Maybe a tool like Process
(codenamed ‘Raptor Lake’) picks up where minimised or placed in the background Lasso or Prio could give applications
12th Gen Intel Core ‘Alder Lake’ left off, (more on this later). permanent priority.
with a hybrid architecture that features To help assign tasks to the appropriate
two different types of cores: Performance- cores, 13th Gen Intel Core CPUs include a Availability
cores (P-cores) for primary tasks and hardware-based “Thread Director”. Intel Comparing AMD Ryzen 7000 with 13th
slower Efficient-cores (E-cores). states that this works best with Windows Gen Intel Core, isn’t just about specs,
The P-cores support Hyper-Threading, 11. We have not done any real testing performance, and features – it’s also
Intel’s virtual core technology, so every across operating systems but have heard about the machines you can buy. When it
P-core can run two threads. E-cores do not reports that some applications will only comes to workstations, not all customers
support Hyper-Threading. Workloads are run on the E-cores on Windows 10. It may have a free choice of supplier, with many
split ‘intelligently’ using Intel’s Thread also be helpful to use the latest software large AEC firms only allowed to procure
Director. releases or service packs. IT from a major global manufacturer like
The big difference with 13th Gen Intel Splitting out the CPU into P-cores Dell, HP, Lenovo or Fujitsu.
Core is that it has more E-cores than its and E-cores doesn’t mean that highly While both 13th Gen Intel Core and
predecessor. The flagship Intel Core i9- multi-threaded processes simply run on AMD Ryzen 7000 Series workstations
13900K, for example, has 16, double that the P-cores, leaving the E-cores idle. In are available now from specialist
of the Core i9-12900K. This can deliver ray trace rendering software like V-Ray manufacturers like Scan, BOXX,
a big performance boost in highly multi- or KeyShot, for example, the Intel Core Armari and Workstation Specialists, we
threaded workflows like rendering. i9-13900K will max out all 24 cores and expect Intel to continue to dominate in
Of course, the P-cores have also been 32 threads. mainstream workstations from the major
enhanced and while their number remains Of course, in modern design global manufacturers.
the same (a total of eight with the Core i9- workflows, multi-tasking is common, Lenovo is currently the only one out
13900K), Intel says users can expect up to and architects and engineers often of HP, Dell and Fujitsu to offer an AMD
15% better single-threaded performance use multiple applications at the same Ryzen desktop processor in a mainstream
compared to the previous generation time. Thread Director allows you to de- workstation, and that is with the AMD
with an IPC increase and a Max Turbo prioritise certain processes by simply Ryzen Pro 5000 in the ThinkStation
frequency of 5.8 GHz. minimising an application or moving P358, which launched August 2022.
13th Gen Intel Core is even more power it to the background by maximising Whether Ryzen 7000 (and the Ryzen
hungry than AMD Ryzen 7000. The top another. This forces the calculations for Pro 7000 that will presumably follow)
two models feature a TDP the inactive application to becomes the catalyst for others to follow

‘‘
of 125W and a max turbo run on the E-cores only, suit remains to be seen.
power of 253W. Power leaving the more powerful
consumption of the Core The AMD P-cores free for the active Test setup
i9-13900K is on par with Ryzen 9 7950X application. For our testing we focused on the top end
the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X in Having this level of models from both processor families
single threaded workflows
starts to show control can be useful if – the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (16-cores,
but significantly higher in real benefits you often run concurrent 32-threads, and a max boost clock of up to
multi-threaded workflows when rendering, compute intensive 5.7 GHz) and the Intel Core i9-13900K (8
(more on this later). a process that applications, such as P-cores, 16 E-cores, 32-threads and a max
Other features include rendering, point cloud turbo frequency of 5.8 GHz).
up to two times the L2 cache can harness processing, CAM, Our CPUs were housed in very similar
and increased L3 cache, plus every single photogrammetry and workstations — the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
support for up to 128 GB of core, all the time others. It allows you to in the Scan 3XS GWP-ME A132R and the

’’
memory (DDR5 or DDR4). prioritise tasks quickly and Intel Core i9-13900K in the Scan 3XS
While the spotlight is easily, on the fly. GWP-ME A132C.
on the flagship Core i9- The downside of this Apart from the CPUs and
13900K, Intel has launched a total of six approach is when the foreground motherboards, the other specifications
13th Gen Intel Core processors – three with application is less demanding. If, were almost identical. This includes
integrated graphics and three without. for example, you’re modelling in the 240mm Corsair H100i Pro XT
As with AMD, the other models trade Solidworks or Revit, and rendering in hydrocooler. The other specs can be seen
off frequency and cores for a lower price. the background with V-Ray or KeyShot, below. Windows Power plan was set to
However, the drop in clock speed is more you don’t really need to dedicate eight high-performance.
dramatic. The Intel Core i5-13600K, for superfast P-Cores to a CAD or BIM
example, has 6 P-cores, 8 E-cores, and application which, in many parts, can Scan 3XS GWP-ME A132R
Max Turbo frequency of 5.10 GHz. only take advantage of a single core. (AMD Ryzen 7000 workstation)
One way round this is to keep both
Intel’s hybrid architecture applications in the foreground, perhaps • CPU – AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
The idea behind Intel’s hybrid architecture each on their own monitor, or even leaving • Motherboard – Asus TUF B
is that critical software, especially current a tiny bit of the application visible. 650-Plus WiFi

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 workstation special report

Scan 3XS GWP-ME A132C

(13th Gen Intel Core workstation) Processor frequency in relation to number of CPU threads used
(using Cinebench R23 custom run)

• CPU – Intel Core i9 13900K

• Motherboard – Asus Z790-P WiFi 5.8
5.7
Common components 5.6 Intel Core i9-13900K workstation

5.5 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X workstation

Processor frequency (GHz)

• Memory – 64GB (2x 32GB) Corsair 5.4
Vengeance DDR5 5,600MHz 5.3
• System Drive – 2TB Samsung 980
5.2
Pro NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
5.1
• Cooling – Corsair H100i Pro XT
5.0
• PSU – 750W Corsair RMX,
4.9
80PLUS Gold
4.8
• GPU – Nvidia RTX A4500 (20 GB)
4.7
• Networking – 2.5GbE NIC, WiFi
4.6
• Operating System – Microsoft
Windows 11 Professional 64-bit 4.5
0 1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

Turn to page WS14 for a full review of Number of threads

both workstations.

On test
Total system power draw in relation to number of CPU threads used
We tested both workstations with a range (using Cinebench R23 custom run)
of real-world applications used in AEC and
product development. We also compared
performance figures from previous 500
Total system power draw (Watts)

generation workstations, including 11th 450

Gen Intel Core (Core i9-11900), 12th 400

Gen Intel Core (Core i9-12900K) and 350

AMD Ryzen 5000 (Ryzen 5950X). The 300
comparisons aren’t perfect; the older 250
machines all ran Windows 10 with 200
different memory, storage, and cooling 150
Intel Core i9-13900K workstation

configs, but should still offer a pretty good 100 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X workstation

approximation of relative performance. 50

0
CAD, BIM and beyond 0 1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

CAD applications like DS Solidworks and Number of threads

Autodesk Inventor, and BIM authoring
tools like Autodesk Revit, are bread and
butter for product designers, engineers, Both the Solidworks and Inventor cores in use, the Intel workstation had the
and architects. In the main they are single benchmarks also test CAD-native edge over AMD.
threaded and while some processes can use simulation capabilities through Solidworks
a few CPU cores, it’s only usually ray trace Simulate and Autodesk Inventor dynamic Reality modelling
rendering that can take full advantage of all simulation / FEA. These tests use a few Reality modelling is becoming much
the processor cores, all the time. CPU cores, whereas some of the more more prevalent in the AEC sector. Agisoft
In Autodesk Revit 2021 using the RFO advanced simulation tools, such as Ansys Metashape is a photogrammetry tool
v3 benchmark the Intel workstation was Mechanical, can take advantage of more. that generates a mesh from multiple hi-
around 10% faster in model creation and Here, it’s worth pointing out the chart res photos. It is multi-threaded, but uses
export, and, surprisingly, around 5% faster above where you can see how frequency CPU cores in fits and starts, and uses a
when rendering. We saw similar results drops as more cores (threads) are enabled. combination of CPU and GPU processing.
in Solidworks 2021 using the SPECapc Between 1 and 8 threads, Intel maintains We tested using a benchmark from
2021 benchmark, although Intel’s lead was a higher frequency than AMD, so this specialist US workstation manufacturer
extended considerably in ‘model rebuild’. helps give Intel a lead in workloads that Puget Systems. In most of our tests the
With the InvMark for Inventor use a similar number of threads. Ryzen 9 7950X performed poorly and
benchmark by Cadac Group and TFI, Intel Of course, the core code in many CAD was even slower than the Ryzen 5950X.
had a small lead in most sub tests, which tools is quite old and new generation Intel had a clear lead – between 25% and
are either single threaded, only use a few tools, including nTopology for design for 39% faster.
cores (threads) concurrently, or use a lot of additive manufacturing, is built from the In point cloud processing software,
cores, but only in short bursts. AMD fared ground up for multi-core processors (and, Leica Cyclone Register 360, which can run
better in the rendering sub test, which more recently, GPU computation). For our on up to five CPU threads on machines
uses all available cores, and when opening nToplogy geometry optimisation test we with 64 GB of memory, Intel had a 7-10%
files and saving to disk. solely focused on the CPU and, with all lead when registering both of our point

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Solidworks 2021 SPECapc benchmark InvMark for Autodesk Inventor Agisoft Metashape Professional 1.73
CPU tests CPU tests Puget Systems benchmark

1.23 Benchmark score (bigger is better) 1.23 Benchmark score (bigger is better) 1.23 Time secs (smaller is better)

6.25 2,141 135

6.53 2,307 84
CPU Raytrace 4.50 Modelling Rock model
1,832
120
4.35
1,855
111
2.63
1,272

1.77 405
1,959
2.93
2,166 314
CPU Rebuild 2.87 School Map
Drawing 1,725 426
1.53
1,455
2.39 391
1,477

2.77
2,244
3.04 2,487
1,446
2.62 2,615
CPU Convert School model
Assemblies 1,740 2,095
2.05

2.20 1,522 2,439

1,686

2.07
5,985
2.265 5,593
4,490
CPU Simulate 1.90 Park Map
5,706
1.64 5,994
Ray Tracing 3,555
1.86 5,888
3,671

1,894

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i9-11900 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

Intel Core i9-13900K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 1,544 Intel Core i9-13900K Intel Core i9-11900
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1,743 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Data Translation 1,337

Autodesk Revit 2021 RFO v3 benchmark 1,088 Cinebench R23 benchmark 6

CPU tests Ray trace rendering
1,237

1.23 Time secs (smaller is better) 1.23 Benchmark score (bigger is better)

2,757

2,807 2,022
68.9
Opening files 1,473 2,193
61.5 Single core test
1,390 1,579

Model creation 70.2 1,499 1,649

89.5

1,364 37,601
79.1
1,240 37,862
Multi-core test
1,140 24,361
Saving to disk

211.4 963 14,854

1,159
189.6
0 5000 10000150002000025000300003500040000
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Export 211.9
2,509 Intel Core i9-13900K Intel Core i9-11900
282.0
2,611

235.3 Dynamic Sim 2,339

KeyShot 10
1,777
Ray trace rendering (bike model - 128 passes)
1,992
19.8 1.23 Time secs (smaller is better)

18.8 1,434
3,840 x 2,378 86.7
Rendering 26.4 1,473
resolution 104.4
FEA 1,377
26.6
1,263
7,680 x 4,758 356
42.3
1,313 resolution 391.5

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i9-11900 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i9-11900 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

Intel Core i9-13900K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Intel Core i9-13900K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Intel Core i9-13900K

WS8 January
December/ February 2023 2023
2022 / January www.AECmag.com
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 workstation special report

cloud datasets. In practice, the lead over Multi-tasking workstation starts to slow down.
the 11th / 12th Gen Intel Core and Ryzen These days, very few architects, engineers To push the machines even harder we
5000 would be even higher, as those or product designers use single applications added ray tracing into the mix, rendering
machines had 128 GB memory, so the and, with compute intensive workflows on an 8K scene in KeyShot using 8 cores
software used 6 CPU cores. the rise, such as reality modelling, rendering and 16 threads. Here, AMD’s 16 high-
and simulation, it’s very important to performance cores showed a real benefit,
Rendering consider a CPU’s ability to multi-task. completing all three tasks in 729 secs
The Ryzen 9 7950X starts to show real Even with the lower-end 13th Gen compared to 779 secs on Intel.
benefits when rendering, a process that Intel Core and AMD Ryzen 7000 Series
can harness every single core, all the time. processors, which have fewer cores, it Graphics
In V-Ray and KeyShot, two of the most will be possible to leave one or more CPU speed has some influence over
popular tools for design visualisation, the multi-threaded tasks running in the graphics performance, but the extent to
Ryzen 9 7950X showed around a 10% lead background, and still leave resources free which it does depends on the software. In
over the Core i9-13900K. for bread-and-butter 3D modelling. Revit, an application renowned for being
In Unreal Engine, the lead was smaller To explore multi-tasking potential, we CPU limited, the Intel Core i9-13900K
when recompiling shaders, a process that pushed both machines to their limits, showed around a 7% performance lead
uses every CPU core, along with the GPU. with a demanding AEC workflow, over the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X when using
In Cinebench 23, a benchmark based on consisting of point cloud processing and the same Nvidia RTX A4500 GPU. This
Cinema4D, there was virtually nothing photogrammetry. lead was smaller in Solidworks, which has
between the two processors. We registered a 24 GB point cloud dataset a more modern graphics API that better
We also did stress tests to see how CPU in Leica Cyclone Register 360 while, at the harnesses the power of the GPU.
frequency dropped over time. When same time, processing a series of high-res In Unreal Engine 4.26, an application
rendering in KeyShot, the Core i9-13900K photographs in Agisoft Metashape. renowned for being GPU limited, rather
started at 4.89 GHz, dropped to 4.63 GHz If done sequentially it would have than CPU limited, the difference between
after a few minutes, but maintained that taken the AMD machine 1,039 secs and Intel and AMD was negligible when testing
frequency for well over an hour. The Ryzen the Intel 826 secs. However, running both with the Audi Car Configurator model.
9 7950X fared better here, starting at 5.5 jobs in parallel the AMD finished in 625
GHz but then maintaining a solid 5.0 GHz. secs and the Intel in 646 secs. With more Power consumption
Much of this is down to the relative threads trying to run concurrently, clock Compared to the previous generations,
power consumption of the two CPUs, speeds dropping, and some processes both processors use a lot of power. The
which you can read more about later. being pushed to slower E-Cores, the Intel Intel Core i9-13900K has a Thermal Design

‘‘
Leica Cyclone Register 360 6 Multi-tasking workflow benchmarks 6
Point cloud registration (Cyclone Register 360, Metashape and Keyshot)
Intel’s good all-round
performance does come
1.23 Time secs (smaller is better) 1.23 Time secs (smaller is better)

at a cost. While power 477 626

demands of the two Small dataset

427
Cyclone and
646

CPUs are similar in

Data not available
(24 GB) Metashape 895
665

single threaded 699 954

workflows, the Core 1,194 729

i9-13900K soon starts Large dataset

1,106
Cyclone, 779

piling on the watts

1,480 Metashape and
(99 GB) Keyshot on 8 cores 863
1,785

when more CPU cores 1,888 Test did not finish

come into play 0 200 400 600 800 1000

’’
0
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 500 Core i9-12900K
Intel 1000 1500Core i9-11900
Intel 2000 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

Intel Core i9-13900K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Intel Core i9-13900K Intel Core i9-11900

V-Ray 5.0 benchmark nTopology 3.24 Unreal Engine 4.26

Ray trace rendering Geometry optimisation Recompile shaders

1.23 Score (bigger is better) 1.23 Time secs (smaller is better) 1.23 Time secs (smaller is better)

29,458 37.61
189.7
26,952 35.80
Audi Car
V-Ray 5.0 CPU Bike seat Configurator
17,325 63.63
Benchmark (Voronoi pattern) model
19,839 68.39
194.5
11,064 116.06

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 50 100 150 200
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i9-11900 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i9-11900 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (with Nvidia RTX A4500)
Intel Core i9-13900K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Intel Core i9-13900K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Intel Core i9-13900K (with Nvidia RTX A4500)

www.AECmag.com January / February 2023 WS9

WS04_05_06_07_08_09_10_AEC_JANFEB23_Intel_AMD.indd 9 25/01/2023 17:01

 workstation special report

But Intel’s good all-round performance

Your choice of CPU has very little bearing
on 3D performance in GPU limited does come at a cost. While power demands
applications like Unreal Engine of the two CPUs are similar in single
threaded workflows, the Core i9-13900K
soon starts piling on the watts when more
CPU cores come into play. AMD’s superior
power efficiency is a big win, both in terms
of energy usage and acoustics.
Of course, Ryzen 7000 and 13th Gen
Intel Core aren’t just about the top-end
models. For CAD users on a tight budget,
the Intel Core i5-13600K and AMD Ryzen
5 7600X look like great value CPUs. And
with the 7600X having a slightly higher
boost frequency, we expect there to be
little between both processors in single
Power (TDP) of 125W and a max turbo The verdict threaded CAD or BIM workflows.
power of 253W. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X For years, Intel was the only serious
has a TDP of 170W and a peak power of option for workstation processors. But Since this article was written, Intel and AMD
230W. But specs only tell part of the story. now with AMD Ryzen 7000 and 13th have added new models to their respective
In reality, the Intel chip draws Gen Intel core, designers, engineers and CPU families. Intel has introduced sixteen
noticeably more power in multi-threaded architects have real choice. lower-powered 35- and 65-watt ‘Raptor Lake’
workflows than AMD. This was observed From our tests, the Intel Core i9-13000K processors as well as a new ‘special edition’
at the plug socket, when measuring power demonstrates a clear lead over the AMD Core i9-13900KS, which is almost identical to
draw of the overall systems – taking into Ryzen 9 7950X in single threaded and the Core i9-13900K but boasts a 6.0 GHz max
account CPU, motherboard, memory, lightly threaded workflows. And with turbo frequency and 150W base power.
storage, and fans. more E-Cores than before, it has also closed Meanwhile, has AMD launched three new
When rendering in Cinebench using all the gap considerably in ray trace rendering. Ryzen 7000 Series processors - the Ryzen 9
cores, for example, the AMD workstation For context, 18 months ago, AMD Ryzen 7900, Ryzen 7 7700 and Ryzen 5 7600, all
draws 341W at the plug, but the Intel offered nearly double the rendering with slighly lower clock speeds than their ‘X’
workstation trumps this considerably with performance of Intel Core (Ryzen 5000 suffix counterparts and with a TDP of 65W.
a whopping 451W. In KeyShot it’s even vs 11th Gen). That lead has now shrunk to AMD has also announced the forthcoming
more with Intel at 509W and AMD at 382W around 10% in some apps. And while AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D and
Power consumption in single threaded still comes out top when multi-tasking, Ryzen 9 7950X3D, which feature a much
workflows is significantly lower and Intel now competes much more strongly, larger and faster cache, which could be
much more equal, with the AMD and Intel even in scenarios where before it failed. important for certain workflows.
workstations drawing 127W and 122W
respectively.
Unreal Engine 4.26 Autodesk Revit 2021 RFO v3 benchmark
However, as you can see in the chart on Graphics tests Graphics test
page WS07, as core utilisation increases
Intel soon starts drawing more power. 1.23 Frames Per Second (bigger is better) 1.23 Time secs (smaller is better)

Of course, more power means more

heat, which means the workstation’s fans
17.37 18.17
must work harder. This has a knock-on Audi Car
effect on acoustics, and the Intel machine Configurator Standard
graphics test
model
was noticeably louder when rendering, 17.16 16.88
especially over long periods. This could
potentially be mitigated with a higher-end
all-in-one cooler. 0 5
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (with Nvidia RTX A4500)
10 15 20 0 5 10
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (with Nvidia RTX A4500)
15 20

But what you really want to know is Intel Core i9-13900K (with Nvidia RTX A4500) Intel Core i9-13900K (with Nvidia RTX A4500)

how increased power usage might impact

your electricity bill. Based on the current
UK electricity rate of £0.34 per kWh InvMark for Inventor (by Cadac Group and TFI) Solidworks 2021 SPECapc benchmark
Graphics tests Graphics tests
for households (and £0.211 per kWh for
businesses), rendering for eight hours a day, 1.23 Score (bigger is better) 1.23 Score (bigger is better)

five days a week, would cost you £241 (£150)

per year with the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Shaded with edges 4.71

workstation and £319 (£198) per year with 4,874 4.80

the Intel Core i9-13900K workstation. Standard

graphics test
While rendering all day long is an Shaded with edges 5.40
4,997 with RealView and
extreme use case, it should give some food Ambient Occlusion 5.37

for thought, especially if your firm uses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

multiple workstations. Energy prices are 0 1000 2000

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (with Nvidia RTX A4500)
3000 4000 5000
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (with Nvidia RTX A4500)
also set to rise in April 2023 (see page WS03 Intel Core i9-13900K (with Nvidia RTX A4500) Intel Core i9-13900K (with Nvidia RTX A4500)
for more on energy use in workstations).

WS10 January / February 2023 www.AECmag.com

WS04_05_06_07_08_09_10_AEC_JANFEB23_Intel_AMD.indd 10 25/01/2023 17:01

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 Sponsored Content

Professional graphics 101:

A guide to choosing
the right GPU.
Modern graphics cards (or GPUs) are complex pieces of hardware which should improve
performance within the viewport, but should also improve visual clarity and accuracy. Although
there is no reason they should be daunting pieces of hardware. This article aims to offer some
simple guidance on how GPUs work and considerations to help increase software performance.
Let’s begin with the most common question:

Do I choose a gaming GPU or a Do I choose a mobile or deskside do you use, and will it directly benefit?
professional GPU? system? For some the answer is a firm No. So
Both are designed for different tasks Recent mobile laptops (or mobile always start by looking at your software’s
and software needs. If you want to mostly workstations) are now as powerful as hardware requirements, before selecting
play games, then choose a purpose-built many tower or deskside equivalents. a GPU as you may not need to spend
gaming GPU. If you use business critical There are benefits to a larger system, so much.
software requiring hardware validation or such as component upgradeability
certifications, then a professional GPU is and multiple GPU support, but for What does ‘discrete’ GPU mean?
right for you. These are optimized for 24x7 typical CAD workflows a mobile system This is normally a way of distinguishing
usage with warranties that characteristically can be adequate. When looking to that the GPU has dedicated memory
last for a lengthy 3 years. Professional GPUs matching GPUs in both choices, you on board. This can offer enhanced
can carry more memory than their gaming won’t see much performance or feature performance, as it does not need to
counterparts, although difference between share it with other system resources. The
the underlying graphics the comparable GPUs, GPU (or dGPU) will also be separate to
architecture can be similar. although mobile laptops the processor.
Windows can
Other main differences are can mean less dedicated Generally, there are three essential
the physical card design and require more graphics memory. components to all discrete graphics cards:
layouts, Pro GPUs are built RAM, so GPU 1T
 he GPU chip: The brains of the card,
for workstation case needs, requirements Does expensive graphics processing various complex tasks.
which requires different mean better software
are increasing. 2T
 he memory: Where things like
power connector positions, performance?
fits of different fan designs, and 6GB is a great No, not always. Normally viewport textures are stored.
your have different thermal sweet spot for more expensive discrete 3T
 he fan and heat sink: Helping regulate
e, you
ding
considerations to their traditional CAD. GPUs have extra dedicated thermals, keeping the card running at
counterparts - particularly memory and cores which it’s optimum.
dows. how hot air is exhausted out can aid some software’s
the GPU and overall system. Scott Jackson, Intel, speed, but like a traditional
The next consideration is Snr Director, Product processor, the real
overall host system portability. Management. questions are what software
Quick tip
Resizeble BAR (Base Address
Typical GPU performance needs by task Register) Is a new consideration for
many. It is recommended to enable
High-end GPUs: are great for real time Light work workload GPUs: are this for Intel® Arc™ GPUs to optimize
experiences, simulations and GPU great options for modern office advanced system resources via the
rendering tasks. They often draw the productivity tasks. PCIe® device and how it transfers
most power. Integrated GPUs: (iGPUs) are great information from the CPU to the
Medium workload GPUs: are great for for many software uses for example GPU. It can result in performance
2D and 3D CAD/BIM projects, along ones that don’t require much memory improvements by enabling this overall
with typical image and video editing. combined with long-battery life. system functionality. Many modern
Tip: Look to your existing workflow and see how much of the GPU it’s using. system vendors already enable this
It’s unlikely you are using just one application, so explore a few of your common by default within the VBIOS. If unsure,
software tools. check with your system provider.

© Copyright 2022 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Intel Arc Graphics is a trademark of Intel
Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
 9

12

11
6

8
1 2
5
7
4

10

1 Dual slot vs single slot card 7 Cable locking Power

Graphics cards are available in different mechanisms If the total board power (TBP)
form factors to suit the range of Look for a small slot above each output on requirements of the graphics card are
professional workstations that exist. The the GPU for a display cable to lock into, 75w or below, then the card can be
term refers to how many slots it takes up preventing the compatible cable being powered directly by the PCIe® slot. Not
on the motherboard and workstation case. accidentally removed. needing a dedicated power connector
Dual slot cards have higher performance, can mean a much smaller workstation.
8 Memory The industry standard for high power
requiring more power to run.
For professional graphics, GDDR6 is consumption GPUs is 6-pin, 8-pin or
2 End bracket today’s common high-performance a combination.
These help to hold the GPU in place with memory type, but the amount can vary.
their fixing ‘ears’. Memory (RAM) can be expensive, and Graphics drivers
more RAM can increase the price of your When you purchase a GPU, you are
3 Graphics cores also investing in robust drivers for your
GPU. However, you don’t always need
GPUs are made up of huge amounts of software needs. Each new driver typically
lots of RAM for your software. Generally,
calculation cores, with each GPU vendor brings performance improvements, and
6-8GB is a great choice for modern CAD
giving them different names and using a regular driver release cycle can bring
and design tasks.
different architectures, for example, 8x frequent performance uplifts and new
NVIDIA CUDA cores, does not directly 9 Fan software support. Look for a 3-month
equal 8x Intel Xe Cores. More cores do The fan on your GPU has the important release cycle from the vendor.
however mean more performance when task of cooling your card. If too hot, thermal
comparing each vendor to itself. throttling occurs, slowing the GPU. Form
A workstation graphics card is designed
4 Display connectors 10 Multiple outputs to meet the requirements of professional
For workstation GPUs look for Numerous third-party reports have workstation cases. In particular, look for
matching connectors that help outputs shown the tangible efficiency benefits of the power connector block on the edge,
to match. HDMi is used for home adding at least a second monitor to your a high-performant fan, and a robust
entertainment with most professional setup. By adding more screen space, you aluminium shroud (or protective casing).
GPUs standardizing on DisplayPort®. save time hunting for menus, or finding
Mini-DisplayPort (mDP) offers the same content hidden behind multiple windows. Display resolution
functionality but condensed. More pixels mean greater line detail
11 Vents displayed, although with ultrawide
5 Gold Fingers These help to efficiently expel air directly (UWD) monitors growing in popularity
Gold-plated vertical rows (or lanes) out the GPU and overall system. As with it’s important to check your GPU
on the graphics (PCB) board for a GPU, if the host system gets too hot the specifications can drive one. (Remember
connecting to the systems motherboard complete system will start to slow down or application interfaces rarely run above
expansion slots. The ‘fingers’ are used worse, critical components may start to fail. 4K resolution.)
to communicate with other system
12 Teraflop Accurate colors
components, with gold alloy used for
Is the average number of (floating-point) HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology
superior strength and conductivity.
calculations completed each second, allows the representation of more colors
6 PCIe® connector with tera equating to one thousand. on your compatible display. In some CAD
Graphics cards are typically x16 ‘lane’ While teraflops (TFLOPs) are not the circumstances this isn’t needed, but for
devices, and more lanes used directly sole indication of final GPU performance, image production or renders this means
relates to more bandwidth speed. Note they’re generally seen as key to faster greater depth and sharper contrast.
that PCIe gen 3.0 is half the speed of PCIe viewports. Some CAD and design
gen 4.0. Meaning PCIe 4 x8, and PCIe 3 software will not benefit from huge To learn more about Intel graphics
x16 offer similar speeds. TFLOP values though. visit intel.com/ArcProGraphics
 workstation special report

Scan 3XS level pro ray tracing and AI-accelerated 13900K CPU, Scan certainly has its work
GPU, the Nvidia RTX A2000. This cut out here.
GWP-ME A132C & combination of processors is well suited to When rendering in KeyShot we
CAD, BIM and entry-level visualisation, recorded over 450W of power draw at
GWP-ME A132R as well as more CPU-intensive workflows the plug, pushing 530W in Solidworks
such as point cloud registration, Visualize, which can use both CPU and
photogrammetry, and simulation. Together GPU. The Corsair H100i Pro XT liquid
Between these two new desktop with 64 GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR5 CPU cooler is well regarded as a thermal
workstations, Scan has most bases 5,600MHz memory, a 2TB Samsung solution, but fan noise in this system is
covered in product development, from 980 Pro SSD and an Asus Z790-P WiFi very noticeable under these heavy loads.
CAD and simulation to rendering and motherboard, the unit will set Performance is top notch,
beyond, writes Greg Corke you back £2,583 + VAT. especially in CAD and BIM
Product spec

S
Everything is housed inside software. It delivered very
can is always one of the first out a 542 x 240 x 474 mm Fractal ■ Intel Core
impressive single threaded
of the blocks with new technolo- Design Meshify 2 chassis, i9-13900K processor and lightly threaded CPU
(3.0 GHz, 5.8 GHz
gies. And with the 3XS GWP-ME adorned with Scan’s trademark turbo) (8 P-cores, 16 benchmark scores in Revit,
A132C and 3XS GWP-ME A132R 3XS custom front panel. It’s a E-cores, 32 threads) Inventor, and Solidworks. The
it has delivered two powerful desktop solid, well-built case, with a ■ Nvidia RTX A2000 machine also set a new record
GPU (12 GB GDDR6)
workstations with the very latest proces- ready supply of ports. Up front when processing point clouds in
■ 64 GB (2 x 32 GB)
sors from Intel and AMD. and top, there are two USB 3.2 Corsair Vengeance Leica Cyclone. All four tests run
The ‘C’ and ‘R’ suffixes refer to ‘Core’ and Type A and one USB 3.2 Type C, DDR5 5,600 memory entirely on the Core i9-13900K’s
■ 2 TB Samsung
‘Ryzen’, specifically the brand-new 13th Gen with plenty more at the rear (four 980 Pro NVMe SSD
eight superfast P-Cores.
Intel Core and AMD Ryzen 7000 Series USB 2.0 Type A, three USB 3.2 ■ Asus Z790-P WiFi
The processor’s 16 E-cores
processors. As you will see from our in- Type A and one USB 3.2 Type C). motherboard come into play when rendering.
depth review on page WS4 these powerful Access is easy. Simply lift off ■ Corsair H100i While performance in V-Ray
Pro XT hydrocooler
new chips are extremely well suited to a the top panel and pull off the and KeyShot is impressive, it
■ 750W Corsair RMX,
range of professional workflows, from CAD side to get to the parts inside. 80PLUS Gold PSU doesn’t hit the heights of the
and BIM to reality modelling and rendering. With the SSD mounted directly ■ Fractal Design
AMD-based Scan workstation,
Both of our test machines look identical on the motherboard, a compact Meshify 2 chassis, propelled by its 16-core Ryzen
adorned with 3XS
and include several common components, GPU, no hard disk drive (HDD), custom front panel 9 7950X CPU. Performance in
but they differ in three main areas — CPU, and all the cabling tucked neatly (542 x 240 x 474mm) Cinebench is much closer.
motherboard, and GPU. So how do they away, everything feels a little ■ Microsoft Windows The processor is helped along
11 Pro 64-bit
fare in the typical workflows of designers? lost inside the spacious interior. by its 64 GB of DDR5 memory,
■ 3 Years warranty –
But modern-day workstations 1st Year Onsite, 2nd which takes up two of the four
The 13th Gen Intel Core workstation are as much about keeping and 3rd Year RTB slots on the Asus Z790-P WiFi
(Parts and Labour)
Our Scan 3XS GWP-ME A132C test unit components cool as they are ■ £2,583 (Ex VAT)
motherboard. It is supported
arrived with a top-end Intel Core i9- about expansion, and with the ■ scan.co.uk/3xs
by a single 2TB Samsung 980
13900K CPU, paired with Nvidia’s entry- power-hungry Intel Core i9- Pro SSD. Additional storage can

WS14 January / February 2023 www.AECmag.com

WS14_15_AEC_JANFEB23_Scan.indd 14 25/01/2023 17:03

 workstation special report

be added, including two M.2 many of the same components

SSDs, SATA SSDs and SATA as its Intel counterpart - 2 TB
HDDs. It comes with 2.5Gb Samsung 980 Pro SSD and
Ethernet plus Wi-Fi 6E. 64 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5
For graphics, the Nvidia memory. The Asus TUF B650-
RTX A2000 (12GB) Plus WiFi motherboard is also
provides a very solid comparable, offering a similar
foundation for CAD and array of ports, 2.5Gb Ethernet
BIM and an entry-point and Wi-Fi 6E. One notable
for visualisation. In CPU- benefit of the AMD Socket AM5
limited applications, motherboard is support for
Revit and Inventor, 3D PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSDs, so there’s an
performance is on par with upgrade path to faster storage
the much more powerful when these next generation
Nvidia RTX A4500, but it drives become widely available.
falls behind in Solidworks Finally, the AMD system
with the SPECapc wins hands down when it
benchmark. While numbers comes to acoustics. Even
on charts are useful, does when the CPU and GPU are
this really matter in the being pushed to their limits
real world? Solidworks in Solidworks Visualise it
assemblies don’t come much doesn’t become noisy — just
larger than the 8,000 part a gentle hum from the fans.
Maunakea Spectroscopic Despite the combined load at
Explorer telescope model. the plug going over 500W, the
And, at 4K resolution, the RTX power is much more balanced
A2000 delivered a smooth 33.3 across CPU and GPU and their
FPS in shaded with edges mode, and 27.7 independent coolers.
FPS with RealView enabled, for perfectly
good model navigation. Conclusion
With 12 GB of memory, the RTX A2000 Threadripper Pro. When rendering in Both Scan workstations are great
is well equipped to handle some fairly V-Ray and KeyShot, it demonstrates a 10% machines, extremely well built with
sizeable datasets for GPU rendering and lead over its Intel-based sibling. a 3-year warranty (1st year onsite) as
real-time viz. But it has its limitations But with the powerful Nvidia RTX standard. The big question on everyone’s
in real-time workflows. While it can A4500 GPU with 20 GB of memory, users lips is which one is best? That very much
comfortably handle complex models at have choice. Both KeyShot and V-Ray, depends on what you do, day in day out.
FHD resolution, 4K is a bit of a stretch. plus many other rendering tools, can take If your workflows centre on CAD or
With our 9.5 GB Enscape office model, it advantage of the dedicated ray-tracing and BIM, with a little bit of visualisation,
dropped from 39 FPS @ FHD to 17 FPS @ AI hardware within the dual slot card. then the 3XS GWP-ME A132C is a great
4K. And the slowdown is more dramatic And with careful juggling of choice. It has single-threaded
as demands on the GPU grow – going CPU and GPU resources, this Product spec performance in abundance, it’s
from 43.3 FPS to 12.6 FPS with the Audi can bring new efficiencies to no slouch in multi-threaded
car configurator in Unreal Engine, and day-to-day workflows. ■ AMD Ryzen 9 workflows either, and the GPU
7950X processor (4.5
from 38.2 FPS to 16.2 FPS in our Autodesk For real time viz, expect a GHz, 5.7 GHz boost) is a great entry point to real-
VRED Professional car model with silky-smooth viewport at 4K (16 cores, 32 threads) time viz. However, fan noise
medium anti-aliasing. in all but the most demanding ■ Nvidia RTX A4500 really kicks in when it hits top
GPU (20 GB GDDR6)
As you might expect, GPU rendering of workflows. It’s only when gear. This is certainly not a
■ 64 GB (2 x 32 GB)
performance is significantly lower than enabling real time ray tracing Corsair Vengeance quiet machine.
pro viz-focused GPUs like the RTX in Unreal Engine that frame DDR5 5,600 memory Meanwhile, the 3XS GWP-
A4500. In the KeyShot benchmark 11.3.1 it rates drop below the golden ■ 2 TB Samsung ME A132R delivers in all areas
980 Pro NVMe SSD
recorded a score of 32 compared to 67 for 30 FPS, but 17.37 FPS is still of visualisation, with the best-
■ Asus TUF B650-
the RTX A4500. In the V-Ray benchmark acceptable. Plus WiFi mainboard in-class CPU for rendering, a
5.02 it was 1,012 versus 2,119. Of course, a GPU this powerful ■ Corsair H100i powerful pro GPU and good
is overkill for CAD and BIM. Pro XT hydrocooler acoustics. But having this level
The Ryzen 7000 Series workstation And with Revit and Inventor ■ 750W Corsair RMX,
80PLUS Gold PSU
of all-round performance does
With the top-of-the-range AMD Ryzen in particular, users will do just ■ Fractal Design
come at a premium, with our test
7950X CPU and powerful Nvidia RTX as well with an Nvidia RTX Meshify 2 chassis, machine costing a full £1,000
adorned with 3XS
A4500 GPU, our Scan GWP-ME A132R A2000, if not an Nvidia T1000. custom front panel more than the Intel.
test workstation is tuned for all types of In fact, because these applications (542 x 240 x 474mm) Of course, both machines are
demanding visualisation workflows. But are so CPU limited, the Intel ■ Microsoft Windows fully customisable, so you can
11 Pro 64-bit
this balance does come at a premium. At machine with its RTX A2000 pick and choose components to
■ 3 Years warranty –
£3,583 Ex VAT, it’s precisely £1,000 more actually wins out in viewport 1st Year Onsite, 2nd match your specific workflows.
than the Intel machine. performance, as it does in core and 3rd Year RTB And there’s plenty of room
(Parts and Labour)
The 16-core processor makes light application workflows from to grow with an additional
■ £3,583 (Ex VAT)
work of ray trace rendering, second model creation to data translation. 64 GB of memory and buckets
■ scan.co.uk/3xs
only to the 32-core and 64-core AMD The workstation shares of storage.

www.AECmag.com January / February 2023 WS15

WS14_15_AEC_JANFEB23_Scan.indd 15 25/01/2023 17:03

 TURNING BIG AMBITIONS
INTO MONUMENTAL
ACHIEVEMENTS
Architects and engineers require a
versatile workstation processor capable
of addressing the different compute
requirements of their key workflow
applications. AMD Ryzen™ 7000 Series
Processors offer the best of both worlds
with high frequency cores for lightly
threaded 3D design tasks and up to 16
cores for multithreaded rendering and
reality capture.

#AMD #TogetherWeAdvance

©2023 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Ryzen, Threadripper, and
combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

38078_AMD_Raphael_AEC_Magazine_print_ad_PROD.indd 1 10/5/22 10:48 AM

 workstation special report

Boxx Apexx S4.04 processor supported by 128 GB

of DDR5-4800 MHz memory.
Product spec
the Nvidia RTX A4000 is still
an excellent GPU for CAD and
Boxx has ‘performance ■ Intel Core
mainstream visualisation, and
This powerful desktop workstation not enhanced’ the CPU beyond i9-13900K processor with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory
(3.0 GHz, 5.8 GHz
only offers impressive performance its standard settings, which turbo) (8 P-cores, 16 it should cover many bases from
for CAD, thanks to its enhanced Intel gives it an edge. It hit 5.97 GHz E-cores, 32 threads) real-time 3D to GPU rendering.
Core i9-13900K CPU, but it can be rack- in single threaded workflows ■ Nvidia RTX A4000 Indeed, at 4K resolution it
GPU (16 GB GDDR6)
mounted for an easy-to-deploy resource and 4.89 GHz on all cores, delivers a perfectly adequate
■ 128 GB (4 x 32 GB)
for flexible working, writes Greg Corke which it managed to maintain DDR5-4800 MHz 25.89 Frames Per Second (FPS)
memory

B
when rendering in KeyShot for with the Unreal Engine Audi
■ 1 TB Seagate 530
oxx has a long history of build- over an hour. This translates Firecuda SSD + 2 TB
Car Configurator model, and
ing high-performance custom to real performance benefits 7,200rpm Hard Disk 32.15 FPS in VRED Professional
Drive (HDD)
workstations. The Texas-based in core workflows. Compared with our automotive scene.
■ ASRock Z790
company not only matches com- to the other Core i9-13900K Taichi motherboard But the single slot card
ponents to specific 3D workflows, but workstation we’ve reviewed, ■ Asetek 240mm
doesn’t reach the same heights
designs and manufactures its own chassis the Scan 3XS GWP-ME A132C 670LT closed loop as Nvidia’s dual slot RTX cards.
liquid cooler
in ‘aircraft-grade’ aluminium. These are (see page WS14), it was around And, if you really want to boost
■ 1300W Seasonic
solid machines with a strength and rigidi- 3-4% faster in single or lightly Prime GX-1300 PSU you GPU horsepower, then the
ty beyond that of most off-the-shelf cases threaded tests in Autodesk ■ Custom chassis Apexx 4 and its 1300W power
used by other custom manufacturers. Revit, and around 6% faster (174 x 457 x 513mm) supply, can handle up to dual
+ rack mount kit
The Boxx Apexx S4.04 also stands out in the single threaded and Nvidia RTX A6000 GPUs,
■ Microsoft Windows
because it is a desktop workstation that can multi-threaded Cinebench R23 11 Pro 64-bit giving you a whopping 96 GB
be rack mounted. While the ability to rack benchmark. It was marginally ■ 3 year return to of GPU memory in supported
mount is not uncommon in workstations slower in V-ray and KeyShot, base warranty applications.
■ £5,400 (Ex VAT)
from major players like HP and Lenovo, it’s but these benchmarks take less For storage, there’s the classic
■ boxx-tech.co.uk
not something we often see done by custom than a minute to run and, as combination of 1 TB NVMe
manufacturers. we found previously, all core SSD and 2 TB 7,200rpm Hard
Boxx has been doing this for years, but frequencies on the Scan machine drop Disk Drive (HDD). Unlike most custom
it has never been more relevant. With after a couple of minutes. workstation manufacturers, which
increased demand for flexible working, But the Apexx S4 doesn’t have the go with the Samsung 980 Pro, Boxx
it makes it easier for firms to support staff lead everywhere. In some workflows, it has chosen the Seagate 530 Firecuda.
working from office or home. Simply set up was significantly slower than the Scan According to the company, this is down
the workstations in a centralised rack and workstation. In Unreal Engine it took to the longevity of the SSD, with Seagate
remote into the machines from anywhere. 32% longer to recompile shaders. In Leica claiming an endurance of 1,275 Total Bytes
Of course, this can be done with Cyclone 360 it took 25% longer to process Written (TBW), more than double that of
dedicated rack workstations / servers, point clouds. This is because the memory the Samsung 980 Pro. Rounding out the
but rack-mounting desktop workstations runs significantly slower (3,600 MHz specifications there’s 2.5G LAN, 802.11ax
has two major benefits: first you get the compared to 5,600 MHz in the Scan). Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth.
absolute best performance and second Boxx explains that this drop in frequency
you don’t necessarily need a dedicated air- is due to having 128 GB across four DIMMs The verdict
conditioned datacenter or server room. and in that configuration Intel limits the If you’re looking for an incredibly
With the Apexx S4, the rack mount kit memory speed to 3,600 MHz to ensure the powerful, well-built rack mountable
is included with the machine – you simply system runs stable. If the Apexx S4 was workstation for CAD and mainstream
bolt it on to the chassis. It is designed to fit a configured with 64 GB or less, then Boxx visualisation you’ll be hard pushed to
19” rack with 3/8” square holes. says frequencies would be higher, adding find one better than this. However, there’s
Form certainly follows function here. that it can also work with customers to tune no escaping the fact that you’ll pay a
The chassis is very angular, essentially memory for specific workflows. premium for the pleasure.
a 4U box. There are no bevelled edges, a There are ways to shed some pounds
trademark of the Apexx S3, which offers the Smooth operator off the sizeable £5,400 (Ex VAT) price tag.
same core specs in a smaller chassis with One might presume that running all CPU Going down to 64 GB of DDR5 memory will
less expandability. One gripe is there are no cores at higher frequencies would have save you £200 and not negatively impact
USB Type C ports on the front, and only two a negative impact on power draw and performance, unless you work with very
USB Type A (one of which is USB 2.0). But acoustics. However, this was not the case. large datasets.
there’s plenty at the rear — two USB Compared to the Scan machine, power A downgrade to the Nvidia RTX A2000
Type C and eight USB Type A. draw with all cores was only slightly higher (12 GB) will also save you £400 and while
Our test machine was (458W vs 452W) and the Apexx S4 was you’ll take a performance hit in design viz
maxed out in CPU also quieter. This is testament to Boxx’s tools like Enscape, V-Ray and KeyShot,
and memory, with CPU tuning and chosen cooling system, you should hardly notice any difference in
the top-end Intel which comprises an Asetek 240mm 670LT Revit, Inventor, and Solidworks.
Core i9-13900K closed loop liquid cooler and three 120mm Finally, there’s the Boxx Apexx S3
fans at the front of the machine. to consider. If you don’t need to rack mount
While CPU or expand into multiple HDDs or high-
performance is top end dual CPUs, then this more compact
notch, Boxx has been sibling should give you the exact same
more restrained with performance without making such a big
graphics. However, dent in your precious workstation budget.

www.AECmag.com January / February 2023 WS17

WS17_AEC_JANFEB23_BOXX.indd 17 25/01/2023 17:04

 workstation special report

Armari Magnetar system came with a giant

radiator with nearly three times
Product spec
now discontinued ‘consumer’
Threadripper processor at the
M64TP- the surface area of those used in
its other workstations. It meant
■ AMD Ryzen
Threadripper Pro
heart of Armari’s 2020 machine.
‘Pro’ includes more memory
RW1300G3
5995WX processor
that the CPU could sustain (2.7 GHz, 4.5 GHz channels (8 vs 4), higher
550 – 650 watts of power in boost) (64-cores, memory capacity (2 TB vs 256
128 threads)
real world applications, with GB), support for ECC memory,
■ AMD Radeon Pro
For this high-end workstation, Armari is momentary boosts in excess of W6800 GPU more PCIe lanes and several
getting the very best out of the powerful 800 watts. (32 GB GDDR6) enterprise-class security and
■ 128 GB (8 x 16 GB)
64-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro Fast-forward nearly three DDR4-3200 ECC
management features.
CPU, writes Greg Corke years and Armari is taking a Registered memory Considering few ‘consumers’

W
more conservative approach ■ 2 x 2 TB Western would ever need 64-cores,
Digital SN850 NVMe
hen it comes to tuning for its new 64-core desktop 4.0 M.2 2280 SSD everything pointed towards
workstations and squeez- workstation. Built around the ■ ASRock WRX80
AMD focusing all of its efforts
ing every last bit of perfor- workstation-class AMD Ryzen Creator Motherboard on a workstation-specific
mance out of high-end Threadripper Pro 5995WX, ■ Armari Ryzen Threadripper processor,
Threadripper AIO
components, few can compete with the Armari Magnetar M64TP- CPU cooler rather than a consumer Ryzen
Armari. The UK firm blew our minds in RW1300G3 is designed to ■ 1,300W PSU Threadripper processor used
February 2020 with the Magnetar work within a more moderate ■ Magnetar M60 for workstation applications.
X64T-G3, which tore up the workstation CPU power budget of 400 Gen3 chassis Plus, AMD had most ‘consumer’
(470 x 220 x 570mm)
rule book completely. It delivered never watts – 120 watts above the workflows well covered with
■ Microsoft Windows
been seen before benchmark scores in processor’s standard Thermal 11 Pro 64-bit AMD Ryzen with up to 16-cores.
multi-threaded workflows without com- Design Power (TDP) of 280 ■ 3 Years RTB Parts
promising on single threaded perfor- watts. However, it still has a & Labour, 1st year
collect and return is
On test
mance. Ray trace rendering and 3D model- sprinkling of Armari magic. included. Optional As you might expect Armari’s
7yr warranty
ling had never been such good bedfellows. According to the company, it available workstation excels in multi-
The processor at the heart of can hit all core frequencies that ■ £10,799 (Ex VAT)
threaded workflows where the
the machine was the AMD Ryzen are 0.4 GHz to 0.5 GHz higher ■ www.armari.com
power of all 64-cores can be
Threadripper 3990X, a 64-core chip for than the Dell Precision 7865 fully harnessed. This, of course,
‘consumers’ or ‘enthusiasts’ but not for Tower and Lenovo ThinkStation includes ray trace rendering,
workstations per se. An amazing CPU in P620. This, says Armari, is because it where the machine was between 1.95 and
its own right, Armari took it to the next implements PBO, and the workstation 2.29 faster than a 16-core AMD Ryzen 9
level, tuning it with AMD Precision Boost giants do not. 7950X workstation.
Overdrive (PBO), a technology that allows With four times as many cores as AMD’s
processor core frequency to rise as long as Ryzen Threadripper Pro ‘consumer’ chip, one might expect a bigger
the workstation can cool it adequately. At this point it’s worth pointing out some lead, but the Ryzen 9 7950X is based
And the Magnetar X64T-G3 certainly differences between the workstation-class on AMD’s newer Zen 4 architecture, so
could. Its Full Water Loop (FWL) cooling Ryzen Threadripper Pro processor and the benefits from a higher Instructions Per

WS18 January / February 2023 www.AECmag.com

WS18_19_AEC_JANFEB23_Armari-MacBook Pro.indd 18 31/01/2023 14:10

 workstation special report

Clock (IPC). In the Scan GWP-ME A132R datasets. You’ll get the most out of this card noise Noctua fans with a custom All-in-
(see page WS14) it can also maintain a solid in demanding applications like Unreal One (AIO) cooler designed to handle up to
5.0 GHz across its 16-cores. In contrast, Engine and in VR, but it’s overkill for CAD. 500W on the CPU. Unlike the Full Water
the Threadripper Pro 5995WX peaked Compared to the rest of the machine, Loop (FWL) cooling system that Armari
at 3.38 GHz in Cinebench and 3.45 storage is quite pedestrian, courtesy used in its ‘consumer’ Threadripper
GHz in KeyShot, though this is still of two 2 TB Western machine, the AIO is sealed for life so never
around 0.7 GHz higher than the Digital SN850 requires servicing.
processor’s 2.70 GHz base NVMe M.2 2280 Fan noise only really became a minor
frequency. SSDs – one for OS annoyance when pushing the machine
We saw similar results and applications to its absolute limits, maxing out both
when recompiling and one for processors at the same time — CPU
shaders in Unreal data. But there’s rendering in KeyShot and GPU ray tracing
Engine. We had plenty of scope in Unreal Engine. Doing so also drew a
expected the uplift for expansion. colossal 700W of power at the socket, so
in Unreal might be For I/O intensive be warned!
bigger because of workflows, RAID
Threadripper Pro’s 0 SSDs are an The verdict
8-channel memory option, and there Armari’s Threadripper Pro workstation
offering superior are four bays for is the type of machine you feel you can
memory bandwidth, a range of drives throw anything at, and it will just keep on
but this didn’t appear including 3.5-inch going. Even with extreme multi-tasking
to be the case. HDDs. everything feels responsive.
One area where The ASRock If your workflows demand lots of CPU
we would expect to WRX80 Creator cores, Threadripper Pro delivers everything
see a benefit from Motherboard also you would want in a high-end workstation
the machine’s 128 supports up to processor. And Armari certainly knows
GB of DDR4-3200 ECC 2 TB of memory, how to get the most out of it.
Registered memory (8 x 16 so the machine At the moment, Intel has nothing that
GB modules) is in simulation. can be configured can compete. But doesn’t AMD just know
Computational Fluid Dynamics to handle colossal datasets, that. The price of its flagship workstation
(CFD) software including Ansys way above the 128 GB limit of Ryzen processor has risen considerably since
Fluent and Finite Element Analysis 7000. There’s a whopping seven PCIe first gen Threadripper Pro and the 64-
(FEA) software Ansys Mechanical are 4.0 x16 slots that can accommodate up core Threadripper Pro 5950X processor
well known to thrive on high memory to four double height graphics cards, so alone is just shy of an eye-watering
bandwidth in certain workflows. if GPU rendering is your thing, this has £6,000 + VAT. This is huge jump up from
While the machine excels in rendering, you covered. There are plenty of ports for the previous generation, where £6,755 +
it doesn’t win out in more lightly multi- peripherals including two USB Type A VAT would have got you an entire 64-core
threaded workflows, where fewer cores and one USB Type C, front / top. Dual Threadripper Pro 3995WX workstation
are used. In our Leica Cyclone Register 10Gb/s LAN and Intel 802.11ax (WiFi 6E) (a Lenovo ThinkStation P620) with 128
360 point cloud processing benchmark, + Bluetooth is standard. GB RAM, 1TB SSD and an Nvidia Quadro
for example, which can use up to 6-cores, RTX 5000 GPU.
it was significantly slower than the Ryzen Smooth operator What you’ve probably guessed from
9 7950X. AMD’s 16-core consumer As we’ve come to expect from Armari, all of this is that the Armari Magnetar
processor also wins out in single-threaded the machine is solid and well-built, with M64TP-RW1300G3 is not exactly cheap.
workflows like CAD. a steel frame and lightweight aluminium As reviewed, it comes in at an eye watering
The Armari workstation is also side panels. It’s also extremely quiet when £10,799 + VAT. But for a machine that can
no slouch when it comes to graphics rendering on all 64-cores. completely transform certain workflows,
workflows. With 32 GB of on-board Considering the CPU is so powerful, delivering more iterations in shorter
memory, the AMD Radeon Pro W6800 this is quite a remarkable achievement. timeframes, many will feel this is a price
is well equipped to handle colossal viz This is thanks to Armari’s use of low worth paying.

Threadripper Armari might have made its

name in high-performance
1:1 connection. This means
higher CPU frequencies for
capital expense, or to give
customers access to a
the order is placed, the
workstation will be ready
side as we are just down
the road from Armari’s
Pro in desktop workstations, both single threaded and workstation while they are to use within 15 minutes. HQ in Watford, where the
the cloud but the company is now
expanding into cloud – but
multi-threaded workflows.
To connect, Armari uses
waiting for their physical
machine to arrive. Those
We gave the service
a quick test drive. It’s
workstations are located.
The service is currently
with a difference. an ‘extensively modified’ who order a qualifying certainly very easy to get recommended for users
Unlike most cloud Microsoft RDP service, workstation within 30 days started - simply punch across the UK, but Armari
workstations, which are which runs on the cloud from the last day of their the supplied credentials is in the process of testing
virtual machines, Armari’s workstations and is said rental can claim up to 50% into the Microsoft Remote in Europe. Coverage
cloud workstations to improve the experience of the rental cost back Desktop app and away may be extended by co-
offer the exact same and performance. against the new system. you go. locating machines in other
specs as the company’s The so-called Armari Armari also offers VPN Within minutes we datacentres.
desktop Threadripper Pro ‘ripper-rentals’ service and LAN-to-LAN bridges to had Enscape running Prices start at £350
machines. And each user is designed to help allow firms to dynamically in a smooth responsive per week (£50 per day).
gets their own dedicated firms either dynamically add machines to their environment, using a Minimum rental period is
workstation which they expand their workstation existing network. standard laptop over WiFi. seven days. Armari also
can access remotely over a capacity without upfront Armari says that, once However, latency is on our offers a free trial.

www.AECmag.com January / February 2023 WS19

WS18_19_AEC_JANFEB23_Armari-MacBook Pro.indd 19 31/01/2023 14:10

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 workstation special report

Lenovo where the motherboard sits to

one side, with the ThinkStation
Product spec
lever at the back and slide off
the metal cover. The location of
ThinkStation P360 Ultra it runs straight down
the middle. This means the CPU
■ Intel Core
i9-12900K processor
the components will depend on
your chosen combination.
P360 Ultra is on one side, the GPU and
SSD(s) on the other, and there
(3.2 GHz, 5.2 GHz
boost) (8 E-Cores, 8
P-Cores, 24 threads)
Single slot, CAD-focused
GPUs, such as the Nvidia T400,
are dedicated fans and chambers ■ Nvidia T400 GPU T600 or T1000 are located on the
(4 GB GDDR6)
This ultra compact workstation ups the for each. There are some caveats opposite side of the motherboard
■ 64 GB (2 x 32 GB)
ante in several areas, from graphics to to this, however, which we’ll get DDR5-4800 memory to the CPU. More powerful dual
memory capacity, making it capable of onto later. ■ 1 TB M.2 PCIe slot GPUs, such as the Nvidia
handling a much wider range of AEC The ThinkStation P360 Ultra NVMe OPAL2 TLC RTX A2000 and A5000, are
Gen4p SSD
workflows, writes Greg Corke comes in at 87 x 223 x 202mm, ■300W external
located next to the CPU.

C
making it the largest of the Power Supply Unit 125W CPUs need a second,
ompact workstations have ultra-compact workstations. ■ 87 x 223 x 202mm adjacent fan for cooling, which
always had their limitations. But it’s still incredibly small, ■ Microsoft Windows unfortunately means there is
10 Pro 64-bit
While perfectly fine for main- takes up minimal desk space no room for a dual slot GPU.
■ 3 Years On-site
stream 3D design work, they’ve (when placed either vertically warranty It means users must choose to
lacked the graphics horsepower for visu- or horizontally) and is easy to ■ £POA
prioritise CPU performance or
alisation, and the memory capacity to han- move around. The tiny machine ■ www.lenovo.com
GPU performance. You can’t max
dle the most demanding datasets. can also be VESA mounted out both in the same machine.
To expand your workflows beyond behind a monitor, on a wall or For those whose workflows
bread-and-butter 3D CAD / BIM, you’ve under a desk. demand a powerful GPU, this shouldn’t
typically had to go for a much a bulkier The metal chassis is extremely solid be too hard a decision. While the single
tower workstation. and the design clean and simple. Like the slot Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) is perfectly
Lenovo is looking to change this with HP Z2 Mini G9 (see page WS26), air flows adequate for 3D CAD, moving up to the
the ThinkStation P360 Ultra, a super from front to back, drawn in through Nvidia RTX A5000 (16 GB) laptop GPU
compact desktop with a higher spec than Lenovo’s trademark honeycomb grille. suddenly makes the ThinkStation P360
other workstations in its class. The centrally located motherboard Ultra capable of powering a much wider of
Compared to the Dell Precision 3260 allows for good placement of front ports, workflows, including VR, GPU rendering
and HP Z2 Mini G9 it has double the including two USB-C (Thunderbolt 4 and real-time viz at 4K resolution.
memory (128 GB vs 64 GB DDR5) and Type C), one USB 3.2 (Gen 2 Type A) Don’t expect performance to rival that
higher-performance graphics (Nvidia RTX and headset audio. There’s plenty more of a desktop Nvidia RTX A5000 GPU,
A5000 laptop GPU vs Nvidia RTX A2000 at the rear, including four USB 3.2 (Gen however. The P360 Ultra’s laptop chip
desktop GPU). It also supports 125W 2 Type A) (with smart power-on), dual is housed on a custom board with a base
CPUs, up to the Intel Core i9-12900K, Ethernet ports (1GbE and 2.5GbE), three Thermal Design Power (TDP) target
something that the HP Z2 Mini G9 can also DisplayPort, plus whatever you have on of 110W. As a result, it will not deliver
do, but the Dell Precision 3260 cannot. your add-in GPU. There’s also a slot for as much performance as its desktop
the optional antenna for Wi-Fi 6 / 6E. counterpart (which has a total board
Chassis innovation WiFi was notably absent on our test power of 230W). Compared to a standard
To accommodate these high-spec machine but for a workstation of this desktop workstation, however, Lenovo
components, which draw more power type, which is ideal for space constrained claims users can expect slightly better
and therefore produce more heat, Lenovo environments, such as the home office or performance than a desktop Nvidia RTX
developed an innovative dual chamber construction site, it feels like a must. A4000, which is still a great card.
design for the ThinkStation P360 Ultra’s The power supply unit is external, In terms of CPU, choosing a 65W CPU
chassis. This not only helps improve much like a laptop, and the ThinkStation over a 125W CPU might not have that
thermal performance but also aids P360 Ultra comes with a 170W, 230W, or great a negative impact on performance,
serviceability. 300W units depending on config. particularly in single threaded or lightly
In contrast to most desktop workstations To open the machine, simply pull a threaded workflows.

1 2 3

WS22 January / February 2023 www.AECmag.com

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 workstation special report

‘‘
The ThinkStation
P360 Ultra marks a
big step forward for
super compact
desktop workstations

’’
4

On paper, there is very little between very closely with Intel. However, more with this new top-end processor boasting
the 65W Intel Core i9-12900 and the memory does mean slower speeds. When superior Instructions Per Clock (IPC),
125W Intel Core i9-12900K. Both have 8 configured with 64 GB (2 x 32 GB 4800 higher clock speeds and four additional
P-Cores and 8 E-Cores and similar Max SODIMMs), for example, as was the case E-Cores, this was to be expected.
Turbo frequencies (5.1 GHz vs 5.2 GHz). with our test unit, memory speeds drop The surprise came when comparing
You’ll likely see the biggest performance from 4,800MHz to 4,000MHz, as per the ThinkStation P360 Ultra to an older
difference when rendering, as the Core i9- Intel’s design specification. Intel Core i9-12900K-based tower with
12900K is able to draw more power when liquid cooling. It even outpaced the Scan
all cores are in use, up to a maximum Core performance 3XS GWP-ME A124C we reviewed in
Turbo power of 241W. That’s the theory, Our test machine was tuned more towards March 2022 (www.tinyurl.com/Scan-12th)
at least. With our test machine’s Core CPU- than GPU-intensive workloads. It in many single threaded and lightly
i9-12900K we saw power draw peak at features a top-end Intel Core i9-12900K (8 threaded workflows, and it wasn’t that far
160W in V-Ray, although it dropped to P-cores / 8 E-cores), an entry-level Nvidia behind it in multi-threaded render tests.
125W after rendering for 50 seconds. T400 (4GB) GPU, 64 GB of DDR5 4800 However, there’s an element of comparing
It would be interesting to see what the memory and a single 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD. apples to pears here, as the ThinkStation
ThinkStation P360 Ultra could maintain We experienced excellent all- P360 Ultra uses faster DDR5 memory,
with the 65 W Intel Core i9-12900 and round performance in single threaded compared to Scan’s DDR4.
a single cooling fan, especially with an and lightly threaded CAD and BIM
Nvidia RTX A5000 alongside it. workflows. In Revit, Inventor and
Of course, the ThinkStation P360 Solidworks, it was a touch faster than 1 Top side of ThinkStation P360
Ultra also stands out because it can the HP Z2 Mini G9 and its Intel Core Ultra, comprising dedicated heat
handle 128 GB memory, double that of the i7-12700K. It extended its lead over sink and fan for the M.2 SSD(s)
(top) and Nvidia T400 GPU (bottom)
competition. This will likely be of most the HP machine in our multi-threaded
interest to AEC professionals who use rendering tests, thanks in part to the four 2 Bottom side of ThinkStation
P360 Ultra, comprising 125W Intel
huge datasets for visualisation, simulation additional E-Cores. In V-Ray, Cinebench Core i9-12900K processor and
and reality modelling, much less so for and KeyShot it maintained an all P-Core heat sink/fan (top) and additional
vanilla CAD or BIM. frequency of 3.99MHz, hitting 4.40MHz cooling fan (bottom)
This ‘industry first’ is enabled by in the early stages of a render. 3 The Lenovo ThinkStation P360
Ultra (bottom) is slightly bigger
having four SODIMM slots (two on either Compared to a liquid cooled tower than the HP Z2 Mini G9 (top)
side of the mother-board) so there are fitted with the new Intel Core i9-13900K
4 The ThinkStation P360 Ultra
dual DIMMs per channel. According CPU, single threaded and multi-threaded can be placed vertically or
to Lenovo, it is the result of working performance was notably lower. However, horizontally on the desk

www.AECmag.com January / February 2023 WS23

WS22_23_24_AEC_JANFEB23_Lenovo.indd 23 25/01/2023 17:08

 workstation special report

‘‘
The optional Nvidia RTX A5000 laptop GPU
opens up the super compact workstation to
graphics hungry workflows like real time viz and
GPU rendering that simply weren’t feasible in
the past with a machine of this size

’’
Delving a bit deeper into the cores continually change, fan speeds extend their workflows beyond pure CAD
benchmarks, we noticed some slower increased and decreased with some and BIM, they no longer need to resort to
than expected scores. Some of these frequency which some may find annoying. bulkier towers to meet their increased
can be explained by memory speed performance demands.
(for example, recompiling shaders in 3D performance The biggest advancement is arguably
Unreal Engine is particularly sensitive to Considering the graphics potential of this the ability to configure the machine with
memory bandwidth), others by Windows machine, we were a little underwhelmed an Nvidia RTX A5000, albeit a laptop
10 and its tendency to sometimes assign by the supplied Nvidia T400 (4GB). variant with a slightly lower performance
processes to cores incorrectly using This is very much an entry-level CAD profile. This opens up the super compact
Thread Director. GPU, best suited to small to medium workstation to graphics hungry
We identified several processes that sized models. While 3D benchmark workflows like real time viz and GPU
only ran on the slower E-Cores (and not scores in Revit, Inventor and Solidworks rendering that simply weren’t feasible in
on the faster P-Cores, as one would want). were significantly lower than any the past with a machine of this size.
This includes simulation in Solidworks, other machine in this special report, Meanwhile, 128 GB of memory is still
recompiling shaders in Unreal Engine we still found it delivered a perfectly a fairly niche requirement, but it will
and drawing production in Autodesk good experience at FHD resolution. In certainly be welcomed by some of the
Inventor. While this was easily ‘fixed’ by Solidworks 2023, for example, testing more demanding AEC professionals,
changing CPU priority in the excellent with a 3.6 million triangle computer particularly in point cloud processing and
third party tool, Process Lasso, it model, delivered a smooth 51 FPS in reality modelling where datasets can be
reinforces the importance of running shaded with edges mode and 39 FPS with huge. Importantly, with four SODIMM
Windows 11 on workstations with Intel’s RealView enabled. slots, users can start with less memory and
hybrid processor technology. These As you can imagine, the Nvidia T400 add more in the future, as needs change.
performance issues were not seen in any is nowhere near powerful enough for From a pure CAD/BIM perspective,
of our Windows 11-based workstations. visualisation work and the system became there are smaller machines that will
Fan noise was noticeable, but unusable in many of our tests, especially probably do just as good a job in
acceptable. In single-threaded CAD at 4K resolution. applications like Revit and Inventor. But
applications there was a gentle hum. the beauty of the ThinkStation P360 Ultra
There was a natural increase in volume Conclusion is that it can cover such a wide range of
in multi-threaded rendering applications. The ThinkStation P360 Ultra marks a big workflows. And from an IT management
However, in tools like Leica Cyclone step forward for super compact desktop perspective, particularly among larger
Register 360 where the loads on different workstations. As architects and engineers firms, that can be a big plus.

Check out our

first look video
www.tinyurl.com/P360-ultra

WS24 January / February 2023 www.AECmag.com

WS22_23_24_AEC_JANFEB23_Lenovo.indd 24 25/01/2023 17:08

 workstation special report

HP Z2 Lenovo ThinkStation Scan 3XS Scan 3XS Boxx Armari Magnetar Dell
Mini G9 P360 Ultra GWP-ME A132C GWP-ME A132R Apexx S4.04 M64TP-RW1300G3 Precision 5470

AMD Ryzen Threadripper

CPU Intel Core i7-12700K Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i9-13900K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Intel Core i9-13900K Intel Core i7-12800H
Pro 5995WX

GPU Nvidia T1000 (4 GB) Nvidia T400 (4 GB) Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) Nvidia RTX A4500 Nvidia RTX A4000 AMD Radeon Pro W6800 Nvidia RTX A1000 (4 GB)

Memory 32 GB DDR5-4800 64 GB DDR5-4800 64 GB DDR5 5600 64 GB DDR5 5600 128 GB DDR5-4800 128 GB DDR4-3200 32 GB DDR5 5,200

2 TB Samsung 2 TB Samsung 1 TB Seagate 530 2 TB Western Digital

Primary storage 1 TB NVMe SSD 1 TB NVMe SSD 1 TB NVMe SSD
980 Pro NVMe SSD 980 Pro NVMe SSD Firecuda SSD SN850 NVMe SSD

OS Windows 11 Pro Windows 10 Pro Windows 11 Pro Windows 11 Pro Windows 11 Pro Windows 11 Pro Windows 11 Pro

Price (Ex VAT) Approx £1,499 (page WS26) £POA £2,583 £3,583 £5,400 £10,799 £3,119

Benchmarks (score) (bigger is better)

Autodesk Inventor Professional 2023 (Invmark)

Modelling 1,912 2,023 2,307 2,141 2,319 1,941 1,602

Drawing 1,745 1,777 2,166 1,959 2,138 1,394 1,384

Assemblies 2,172 2,394 2,615 2,487 2,578 1,674 2,053

Assembly Pattern 1,975 2,107 2,327 2,080 2,261 1,424 1,887

Assembly Build 2,163 2,421 2,652 2,545 2,625 1,701 2,010

Ray Tracing 2,707 3,634 5,706 5,593 5,680 11,744 2,041

Data Translation 1,440 1,550 1,743 1,544 1,689 1,124 1,252

Opening files 2,171 2,643 2,807 2,757 2,790 1,971 2,152

Saving to disk 1,262 1,386 1,240 1,364 1,671 1,134 1,262

Dynamic Sim 2,171 2,454 2,611 2,509 2,521 1,449 2,091

FEA 1,328 1,380 1,473 1,434 1,470 1,132 1,210

Graphics (4K) 3,389 2,288 5,068 4,874 4,797 2,966 3,582 (FHD)

Solidworks Professional 2022 (SPECapc)

CPU ray trace 3.30 4.29 7.25 6.78 7.35 13.28 2.44

CPU rebuild 2.07 2.15 2.41 2.32 2.49 1.59 1.74

CPU convert 1.95 2.01 2.28 2.17 2.37 1.5 1.67

CPU simulate 1.75 1.32 2.18 1.99 2.08 1.6 1.62

CPU mass properties 2.09 2.20 2.41 2.57 2.39 1.68 1.65

CPU Boolean 1.86 1.78 2.26 2.06 2.21 1.44 1.58

Graphics (AA, shaded, edges) (4K) 0.50 0.28 1.12 2.4 2.52 1.19 2.01 (FHD)

Graphics (AA, shaded, edges, RealView) (4K) 0.59 0.32 1.23 2.79 2.68 2.03 2.48 (FHD)

V-Ray 5.0

CPU benchmark 13,288 16,427 26,952 29,458 26,548 66,461 7,556

Cinebench R23

Multi-core 16,943 22,691 37,862 37,601 39,978 73,520 12,396

KeyShot 11.3.1 benchmark

CPU test 2.67 2.75 5.65 5.70 5.48 13.06 1.82

Benchmarks (frames per second) (FPS) (bigger is better)

Enscape 3.1

Enscape 3.1 architectural project (FHD / 4K) 36.7 / 14.05 21.15 / 6.05 72.20 / 26.55 152.7 / 56.35 131.47 / 48.67 40.43 / 23.4 50.25 (FHD only)

Unreal Engine 4.26

Car Configurator model (FHD / 4K) 13.13 3.44 / N/A 43.34 / 12.59 109.94 / 34.45 84.54 / 25.89 101.37 / 29.12 23.23 (FHD only)

Car Configurator model (Ray Tracing) (FHD / 4K) N/A N/A 25.62 / 6.63 62.91 / 17.36 50.23 / 14.05 39.81 / 10.53 N/A

Autodesk VRED Professional 2023

Automotive test model (no AA) (FHD / 4K) 30.7 / 10.85 15.4 / N/A 68.2 / 25.7 150.1 / 62.6 129.2 / 52.2 44.25 / 34.05 40.5 (FHD only)

Automotive test model (medium AA) (FHD / 4K) 16.4 / 7.00 8.75 / N/A 38.22 / 16.25 90.1 / 40.3 70.9 / 32.15 38.85 / 26.48 23.2 (FHD only)

Automotive test model (ultra-high AA) (FHD / 4K) 7.80 / N/A 4.0 / N/A 18.7 / 6.35 45.5 / 15.9 36.18 / 12.75 28.95 / 14.1 10.8 (FHD only)

Benchmarks (time - seconds) (smaller is better)

Autodesk Revit 2021

RFO 3.1 benchmark - Model Creation 72.7 62.93 61.5 68.9 59.8 94.1 76.1

RFO 3.1 benchmark - Export 222.1 202.9 189.6 211.4 182.1 292.7 247.9

RFO 3.1 benchmark - Rendering 30.6 26.2 18.8 19.8 19.7 19.1 43.5

RFO 3.1 benchmark - Graphics (4K) 37.9 60.94 16.9 18.2 16.6 29.2 20.1 (FHD)

Leica Cyclone Register 360

Point cloud registration (large dataset) 3,327 (runs on 2 threads) 1,145 (runs on 5 threads) 1,106 (runs on 5 threads) 1,194 (runs on 5 threads) 1,386 (runs on 6 threads) 1,794 (runs on 6 threads) 4,295 (runs on 2 threads)

Unreal Engine 4.26

Recompile Shaders (Car Configurator model) 383.3 308.23 194.4 189.7 256.0 84.9 594.4

www.AECmag.com January / February 2023 WS25

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 workstation special report

HP Z2 Mini G9 from the entry-level

Nvidia T400 (4 GB)
The Nvidia T1000
hits the sweet spot for
right up to the Nvidia CAD, and the 50W
After six years in service, HP has finally RTX A2000 (12 GB) GPU is available in 4
redesigned the chassis for its iconic tiny with hardware ray GB and 8 GB models.
workstation. With better acoustics and tracing built in. These Our test machine’s 4
significantly enhanced performance, are standard low- GB card performed
there’s much to like about this profile graphics cards, well in Inventor, Revit
diminutive desktop, writes Greg Corke not the custom mobile and Solidworks, but

I
GPU modules used with some of our larger
n late 2016, HP broke the mould previously. Solidworks models that
with a desktop workstation that was Our test unit was need more memory
significantly smaller than any other well-matched to CAD, things slowed down,
from a major OEM. Since then the with an Intel Core i7- particularly at 4K
HP Z2 Mini has established itself as a 12700K CPU (3.6 GHz resolution. Here, the
firm favourite at AEC Magazine. base, 5.0 GHz Turbo, 8 GB card would be
But the original HP Z2 Mini design is 8 P-cores, 4 E-cores), a much better fit. An
now end of life. The G9 edition features Nvidia T1000 (4 GB) upgrade to the Nvidia
a new all-metal chassis. Simple in form, GPU, 32 GB DDR5-4800 RTX A2000 (12 GB) would
it’s essentially a rectangular prism with MHz RAM (2 x 16 GB) and a 1 Product spec take the machine into entry-level
rounded corners and a distinctive front TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. ■ Intel Core
visualisation territory.
mesh, through which air is drawn in, then In single or lightly threaded i7-12700K CPU (3.6 Opening the case takes seconds
GHz base, 5.0 GHz
expelled at the rear. workflows, the machine was Turbo, 8 P-cores, — simply press the rear release
The beauty of the HP Z2 Mini G9 is only around 14-20% slower 4 E-cores, 20 button and slide off the top – but
threads)
its size — a mere 211 x 218 x 69mm. It than the fastest 13th Gen Intel the small chassis does make
■ Nvidia T1000
can sit horizontally or vertically on Core desktop. For a machine of GPU (4 GB) servicing a bit tricky. To get to
the desk, kept stable with the included this size, that’s impressive. ■ 32 GB DDR5-4800 the storage, you’ll need to remove
stand. And to keep on brand, the But in highly multi- memory (2 x 16 GB) the GPU. To get to the memory,
Z logo on the front can be rotated 90 threaded workflows like ■ 1 TB, M.2 PCIe 4.0 unscrew the CPU fan. In our test
NVMe SSD
degrees. It can even be VESA mounted rendering things start to ■ 211 x 218 x 69mm
machine both SODIMM sockets
under a desk or behind a display slow down. It not only has ■ From 2.4 kg
were already taken but there’s a
and paired with a wireless keyboard fewer E-cores than the top- ■ Microsoft
spare M.2 slot for a second SSD.
and mouse for a clutter free working end Core i9 processors, but Windows 11 Pro There’s no PSU inside. Instead
environment. With integrated Intel Wi-Fi due to the smaller chassis ■ 3 year (3/3/3) the HP Z2 Mini comes with a
limited warranty
6E AX211 there’s no need for Ethernet. It’s the CPU can’t clock as high, includes 3 years of sizeable 280W external power
an ideal machine for space constrained particularly under sustained parts, labour and adapter. Speaking of power, it
on-site repair
home offices — and there have been loads. Rendering in Keyshot, drew a mere 160W at the plug
■ Exact price
plenty of those over the last two years. for example, it only took 30 as reviewed when rendering.
It’s 10mm thicker than the previous seconds for it to drop from not available, but Considering its size, the HP
with Intel Core
design, but that means significantly 4.10 GHz to 3.48 GHz, i7-12700 and Nvidia Z2 Mini G9 is well equipped
more performance. ‘Alder Lake’ 12th Gen although it then maintained T1000 (8 GB) with ports. There are two USB
£1,499 (Ex VAT)
Intel Core CPUs replace ‘Comet Lake’ that frequency for hours. ■ www.hp.com/
Type C and one USB Type A
10th Gen and, with improved thermal Notably, there was hardly zworkstations (charging) on the side, and three
management, the G9 can also support the any fan noise throughout. USB Type A at the rear, along
125W models, up to the Core i9-12900K. Considering the thermal with 1GbE LAN. A Flex I/O port
However, it’s important to note that these challenges of packing standard desktop allows you to add ports of your choosing
aren’t the latest ‘Raptor Lake’ 13th Gen components into a small chassis, this — from more USB and 2.5GbE LAN to
Intel Core CPUs, as seen elsewhere in this is quite an achievement, especially as Thunderbolt and HDMi.
special report, so are a little slower. some of the earlier HP Z2 Mini
There’s also a wider workstations could be quite The verdict
choice of GPUs, noisy at times. HP has done an excellent job in updating
this impressive micro workstation.
The industrial design is excellent, the
acoustics are improved, and it’s taken a
big step forward in terms of performance.
But there are compromises to be made
for having a machine this small. While
the HP Z2 Mini G9 does very well in
single threaded and lightly threaded
workflows, it falls off the pace with all
cores in play. It simply can’t compete
with larger towers when it comes to
power and cooling. So if your workflows
lean that way, there’s a tough choice to
make: either maximise performance or
minimise the impact on your desk.

WS26 January / February 2023 www.AECmag.com

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 workstation special report

Tiny desktop workstations the alternatives

Two more ultra-compact desktop workstations for space-constrained
environments, or simply to sit pretty on your desk

Dell Precision 3260

At 190 x 72 x 178mm, Dell’s micro workstation is a little smaller
than the HP Z2 Mini G9, but that narrows down your choice of
CPUs to 65W ‘Alder Lake’ 12th Gen Intel Core.
This shouldn’t matter if you only use CAD — the difference in
single threaded performance between the 65W Core i9-12900
and 125W Core i9-12900K will be negligible, but you’ll probably
get less multi-threaded performance when rendering.
There’s no compromise on graphics with a choice of GPUs up
the Nvidia RTX A2000 (12GB), covering CAD and entry-level viz.
The machine benefits from a wider choice of storage (2.5-inch
HDDs and SSDs) and there are front USB ports for easy access.
It can be VESA-mounted and Dell’s compact all-in-one monitor
stand (pictured right) helps keep your desk clutter-free.
■ dell.com/precision

Lenovo ThinkStation P360 Tiny

Tiny by name, tiny by nature, the ThinkStation P360 Tiny is by far
the smallest workstation from a major OEM — coming in at 179 x
37 x 183mm. To give you an idea of just how small this machine is,
simply look at the USB ports in the picture to the left.
To keep thermals in check, one might presume the ThinkStation
P360 Tiny can only have low power processors, but it can be
configured with 35W or 65W ‘Alder Lake’ 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs
(up to the Core i9-12900), plus a range of entry-level pro GPUs up to
the Nvidia T1000 8GB - making it ideal for 3D CAD.
The machine can be placed in desktop or tower mode (with the help
of a stand) or secured under a desk or behind a VESA display with
custom mounting brackets. It’s so small and light (1.4 kg) that you
can easily throw it in a bag to move between office and home.
■ lenovo.com/workstations

www.AECmag.com January / February 2023 WS27

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 workstation special report

Dell 12800H. When rendering

in KeyShot it maintained 2.5
Product spec
responsive, although a little
small compared to larger
Precision 5470 GHz across all P-cores. And
it managed to do this without
■ Intel Core
i7-12800H processor
(2.40 GHz, 4.80 GHz
machines. The Pro 2.5 keyboard
is excellent with a fingerprint
making too much noise, even Turbo) (6 P-cores, reader built into the power
This highly portable 14-inch mobile in Dell’s ‘Ultra Performance 8 E-cores, 24 threads) button. Alternatively, gain
workstation impresses. Equipped with mode’ where processor and ■ Nvidia RTX A1000 access to the machine through
GPU (4 GB)
an Nvidia RTX A1000 GPU, it opens up cooling fan speed is increased facial recognition with the
■ 32 GB, DDR5,
possibilities beyond those of mainstream for more performance. However, 5,200 MHz, Windows Hello compliant HD
3D CAD for this historically less popular in Solidworks Visualize, when integrated memory IR camera.
■ 1 TB, M.2 PCIe 4.0
form factor, writes Greg Corke CPU and GPU can be hammered NVMe SSD
The 100% sRGB, 500 nits IPS

T
at the same time, CPU frequency ■ 14-inch FHD+
display is perfectly respectable,
he 14-inch mobile workstation dropped to 1.5 GHz and fan noise (1,920 x 1,200) but lacks the impact of brighter
100% sRGB, 500
form factor has come and gone increased considerably. For a nits display and more vibrant OLED
over the years. They’ve never better balance of performance ■ 311mm x 210mm x
displays available on larger
been great sellers, partly and noise choose the ‘optimised’ 18.95mm (w/d/h) pro laptops. Our test machine’s
because performance has significantly setting in Dell’s Power Manager ■ From 1.48 kg FHD+ (1,920 x 1,200) display
lagged behind their 15-inch counterparts. where frequency drops to 1.3 ■ 14-inch FHD+ resolution is well matched to a
(1,920 x 1,200)
But with the Precision 5470, Dell is look- GHz. The ‘Quiet’ setting takes 100% sRGB, 500 machine of this size, adding a
ing to change that. this even lower, to 0.9 GHz. nits display few more pixels to the standard
With a choice of 45-watt 12th Gen Intel Tuning down the CPU in this ■ Microsoft FHD (1,920 x 1,080). For higher
Windows 11 Pro
Core H-Series CPUs and the Nvidia RTX way should also extend battery pixel density, there’s a QHD+
■ ProSupport and
A1000 GPU, this workstation-class life when not plugged in. Next Business Day (2,560 x 1,600) touchscreen
14-inch laptop certainly stands out from For graphics, the Nvidia Onsite Service, option, though this will
36 Month
the competition. The HP ZBook Firefly RTX A1000 (4 GB) GPU easily ■ £3,119 (Ex VAT)
increase load on the GPU,
comes with the less powerful Nvidia RTX delivers for 3D CAD and BIM, ■ www.dell.com/
probably reducing frame rates
A500 GPU while the Lenovo ThinkPad in applications like Revit and precision a little in graphics-hungry viz
P14s has the Nvidia T550, which does not Inventor, but it also offers applications. The lnfinityEdge
have RTX acceleration. Both laptops are enough performance for entry- bezel contributes to the compact
also limited to 28-watt 12th Gen Intel Core level visualisation at FHD+ (1,920 x 1,200) 311mm x 210mm footprint. Weight starts
P-Series CPUs. resolution. With a small to medium sized at 1.48kg, plus 0.47kg for the 130W AC
Having a higher wattage CPU shouldn’t BIM model in Enscape, the 50 Frames Per adapter including UK plug.
make a huge difference in single threaded Second (FPS) we got is perfectly acceptable. The laptop is slim, maxing out at
workflows like CAD, where a single core But don’t expect miracles. With 4 GB of 18.95mm, which means it’s USB-C
can comfortably reach a high frequency GPU memory, it simply won’t cope with only (two Thunderbolt 4 ports left, two
without too much power. However, users larger viz datasets. And, despite having right). There’s no HDMi, DisplayPort,
may start to see real benefits in highly RT cores for ray tracing and Tensor cores or Ethernet, but Dell includes a USB-C
multi-threaded workflows like rendering. for deep learning, expect renders in to HDMi / USB-A adapter in the box.
The top-end Intel Core i9-12900H should RTX-enabled applications like KeyShot, Of course, to increase the connectivity
reach relatively high GHz across its 6 Solidworks Visualize and V-Ray to take options, there’s an optional Dell
P-cores and 8 E-cores. about twice as long as a desktop Nvidia Thunderbolt 4 Dock. Superfast wireless is
Our test machine came with RTX A2000. standard, courtesy of the Intel AX211 Wi-
the slightly lower spec Our test machine came with 32 GB of Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
Intel Core i9- memory, a good amount for mainstream
CAD, but choose wisely at time of The verdict
purchase as the LPDDR5 modules are There’s much to like about this highly
soldered onto the motherboard. A portable 14-inch mobile workstation.
1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD rounds Historically, machines of this size have
out the core specifications. been limited in what they can be used for,
mostly because their GPUs have struggled
Precision engineering with anything more demanding than
The Precision 5470 is a small to medium sized 3D CAD models.
beautifully engineered laptop However, the Dell Precision 5470’s
with an aluminium chassis Nvidia RTX A1000 GPU expands the
and Dell’s trademark carbon possibilities considerably, making it a
fibre palm rest. Everything viable option for entry-level visualisation.
feels solid and well built, This impressive balance of performance
especially the hinge. The and portability doesn’t come cheap,
trackpad is smooth and however. Our test machine comes in at
£3,119 (Ex VAT). Still, considering the
flexibility a lightweight
laptop like this can
give you, some will
certainly find it a price
worth paying.

WS28 January / February 2023 www.AECmag.com

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 workstation special report

Lightweight workstation laptops the alternatives

Six more options for ultra-portable mobile workstations to take CAD and
design visualisation on the road — all less than 20mm thick and most below 2kg

1 Dell Precision 5570 2 Dell Precision 5770

The 15.6-inch Dell Precision 5570 is the latest incarnation of one of our favourite 17-inch mobile workstations used to be all about performance and expandability with
workstation laptops. It’s very portable, considerably smaller than the 16-inch Lenovo high-end GPUs and loads of storage, but the Dell Precision 5770 is a far cry from these
ThinkPad P1 G5 and HP ZBook Studio G9. It’s a mere 7.7mm at the front, 11.64mm at heavyweights of old. Trading off some GPU power for more portability, you get
the rear (although this is slightly misleading, as Dell doesn’t appear to include the a stunning 17-inch UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400) InfinityEdge display for
display in this measurement). It starts at 1.84kg. detailed design work in a 2.17kg, sub 20mm chassis.
Despite its sleek aesthetic, it still includes perfectly The Nvidia RTX A3000 GPU might not be top
good processors for CAD, including up to the notch, but it’s a step up from the 15.6-inch
Intel Core i9-12900HK CPU and Nvidia RTX Precision 5570’s Nvidia RTX A2000 and has
A2000 (8 GB) GPU, which includes hardware 12GB of GPU memory to raise the ceiling on
ray-tracing to make your CAD models pop. the size of datasets it can handle.
One trade off of the slender chassis is It has four Thunderbolt 4 ports (USB
no USB Type A ports (only USB Type C / Type C with DisplayPort) and relies on
Thunderbolt 4), although it ships with a the included dongle for USB Type A
USB Type A and HDMi dongle. and HDMi.
■ www.dell.com/precision ■ www.dell.com/precision

3 HP ZBook Studio G9 4 HP ZBook Firefly G9

For the G9 edition of this slimline pro laptop, HP made the switch from a 15.6-inch to a The HP ZBook Firefly G9 comes in two sizes - 14-inch and 16-inch. With a chassis depth
16-inch panel. This made it a tiny big bigger than the G8 edition, but with a 16:10 aspect of 19.9mm, the budget mobile workstation just about makes it into our sub 20mm
ratio 4K (3,840 x 2,400) display (with Dreamcolor and OLED options) you get 11% more roundup. Users get a choice of low power 12th Generation Intel Core i7 Processors.
usable screen area than the previous 16:9. Memory has also been improved with 64 GB, These should still deliver good performance in single threaded CAD-centric workflows,
double that of the G8, which was a little lacking. and some of the super power efficient 15W ‘U’ models will save you money.
Compared to the beefier HP ZBook Fury However, with fewer cores and a lower power
G9, the HP ZBook Studio G9 offers slightly budget, multi-threaded renders will take longer.
less powerful 12th Gen Intel Core H-Series The GPU choices are limited, with only 4 GB
processors with up to 6 P-cores and options available. Both machines offer the Nvidia
8 E-cores. Graphics options are similar, T550 GPU, while the 16-inch model can also be
up to the Nvidia RTX A5500 (16 GB), but configured with the Nvidia RTX A500. However,
with a lower power draw, expect slightly despite having hardware enabled ray tracing,
less performance. it’s still really just suited to mainstream CAD.
■ www.hp.com/zworkstations ■ www.hp.com/zworkstations

5 Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G5 6 Lenovo ThinkPad P14s G3 (Intel and AMD editions)

Lenovo was one of the first OEMs to make the switch from a 16:9 aspect ratio 15.6-inch The CAD-focused 14-inch ThinkPad P14s G3 comes in two variants - an ‘Intel’ edition
display to a 16:10 16-inch display, so this is largely a refresh of the G4 edition with 12th with 28W 12th Generation P series Intel Core processors and an Nvidia T550 (4GB) GPU
Gen H Series Intel Core processors and a liquid metal and an ‘AMD’ edition with AMD Ryzen 5 / 7 Pro
thermal design for improved cooling. 6000 U Series processors and integrated AMD
Along with the HP ZBook Studio G9, the Lenovo Radeon 680M graphics with Pro APU driver.
ThinkPad P1 G5 stands out because it supports Both share the same 17.9mm chassis, but by
high-end GPUs up to the Nvidia RTX A5500 combining CPU and GPU onto a single chip the
(16 GB). It means this premium thin (17.7mm) ‘AMD’ edition is slightly lighter, starting at
and light (1.81kg) laptop can be used for a wider 1.28kg. The ‘Intel’ edition has a slight edge in
range of graphics-centric workflows including memory capacity (48 GB vs 32 GB).
GPU rendering, real-time viz and VR. The laptop stands out for its optional 4K
Two USB Type A and two USB Type C IPS display, which is higher res than
Thunderbolt 4 ports gives others, a FHD camera,
flexibility. A FHD HDMi, two USB Type
camera and HDMi A ports and two
add to its appeal. USB Type C.
■ www.lenovo.com/ ■ www.lenovo.com/
workstations workstations

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 workstation special report

Intel Arc Pro is not able to keep up with the graphics

Execution Units, Xe-cores, Render
card. As a result, no matter how much
Slices, and Ray Tracing Units. Both use
A40 / A50 GPUs graphics processing power you throwa motherboard’s PCIe slot as a power
at a 3D CAD model, frame rates will only
source. Neither need an external power
increase by a relatively small amount. In
connector. The cards are very well built
Intel’s long awaited discrete pro some cases, they will not increase at all.
with a minimalist design.
graphics cards have finally arrived, The only notable differences are form
targeting CAD and BIM workflows. But The Arc Pro cards factor, Thermal Design Power (TDP) and
do these entry-level workstation GPUs The Intel Arc Pro A40 and Intel Arc peak performance. The Arc Pro A40 is a
have enough to upset the apple cart? Pro A50 GPUs are low profile PCIe single slot card with 50W of peak power
Greg Corke explores 4.0 graphics cards, designed for ultra- and 3.50 TFLOPs of peak performance,
compact and small form factor (SFF) while the Arc Pro A50 is a dual slot card
www.intel.com/arcprographics desktop workstations, such as the HP with 75W of peak power and 4.8 TFLOPs

F
Z2 Mini (see page WS26), HP Z2 SFF, of peak performance. Base clock speeds
or years, AMD and Nvidia have Lenovo ThinkStation P360 Ultra (see page are the same but because the Arc Pro A50
been the only manufacturers of WS22), Dell Precision 3460 SFF, and Dell has a higher TDP, sustained clock speeds
discrete workstation GPUs - by Precision 3260 Compact. However, fitted can go higher.
which we mean graphics cards with a longer bracket they can also be used Intel’s choice of 6 GB of memory
that plug into a workstation motherboard in larger desktop towers. appears to be spot on for its intended
and are not built into the CPU. But with Both cards support the major graphics market. Most true entry-level pro
the launch of the Intel Arc Pro A-series APIs — OpenGL, DirectX and Vulkan. graphics cards, such as the AMD Radeon
two players have now Pro W6400 and Nvidia

‘‘
become three. T600, come with 4 GB.
Competition is always And while most CAD and
good, and with Intel’s From a pure hardware standpoint, the Arc Pro BIM models should fit
first-generation pro GPUs A40 and A50 compare favourably to the comfortably within that,
— the Intel Arc Pro A40 competition. They have 2 GB more memory, they might struggle with
(6 GB) and Intel Arc Pro
A50 (6 GB) — the battle
which should be to their benefit in GPU-hungry larger models, especially
in CAD applications with
is at the entry-level. And CAD applications and entry-level visualisation more modern graphics

’’
as Intel eases its way into APIs such as Solidworks.
discrete graphics with the And when there is not
first products from its ‘Alchemist’ GPU They also have hardware accelerated ray enough memory, performance can drop
architecture it makes perfect sense to tracing and hardware assisted AI (XMX) dramatically.
address this volume market. capabilities built in. This means they will Equipping its Arc Pro GPUs with
A huge part of the entry-level pro work with applications that use Microsoft 6 GB of memory should also build in
graphics market is for workstations that DX12 / DXR and Vulkan ray tracing (more some level of future proofing. Indeed,
run 3D CAD and Building Information on this later). next generation graphics engines that use
Modelling (BIM) software. Applications The specifications of the two cards are modern APIs like Vulkan and DX12, and
including Autodesk Revit, Autodesk very similar. They both feature 6 GB of have ray tracing built into the viewport,
Inventor, Graphisoft Archicad and others, GDDR6 memory, four mini-DisplayPort will certainly need more GPU memory.
are largely CPU limited. This happens outputs and offer the same memory Here, we are not talking about real time
when the CPU becomes the bottleneck and bandwidth, plus the same number of ray tracing, Unreal Engine style, where

InvMark for Inventor (by Cadac Group and TFI) Autodesk Revit 2021 RFO v3 benchmark
1.23 Benchmark score (bigger is better) 1.23 Seconds (smaller is better)

FHD resolution (1,920 x 1,080) FHD resolution (1,920 x 1,080)

Intel Arc Pro A40 (6 GB) 4,957 Intel Arc Pro A40 (6 GB) 24.29

Intel Arc Pro A50 (6 GB) 4,980 Intel Arc Pro A50 (6 GB) 24.25

Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) 5,962 Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) 14.19

Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) 5,923 Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) 14.08

AMD Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) 5,589 AMD Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) 17.22

AMD Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) 5,747 AMD Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) 17.04

4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160) 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160)

Intel Arc Pro A40 (6 GB) 3,050 Intel Arc Pro A40 (6 GB) 36.38

Intel Arc Pro A50 (6 GB) 3,249 Intel Arc Pro A50 (6 GB) 33.39

Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) 4,007 Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) 18.59

Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) 4,760 Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) 16.33

AMD Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) 3,635 AMD Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) 40.33

AMD Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) 4,698 AMD Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) 25.85
Invmark for Inventor

WS30 January / February 2023 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0 10 20 30 40 50
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 workstation special report

Exclusive
first
review

massively powerful GPUs ray trace render Both Dassault Systèmes (Project OEMs like Dell, HP and Lenovo usually
multiple frames per second. Rather, when Romulan for Solidworks) and Autodesk introduce new GPUs in line with new
working on a model in the viewport, an (One Graphics Engine) have demonstrated workstation launches. And with Intel
architect, engineer, or designer, will be able GPU ray tracing in the viewport. Autodesk gearing up for its ‘Sapphire Rapids’
to switch to ‘ray traced’ quality by clicking has included a pre-release version in workstation CPUs, and continuing the roll
an icon. It won’t be instant, and it probably Inventor 2023 that uses DirectX Raytracing out of 13th Gen Intel Core, the two could
won’t be as photorealistic as a specialist (DXR) though it’s still early days. align soon.
viz application like V-Ray or KeyShot, As the Arc Pro A40 and A50 are not
but it should offer a relatively quick way Availability and cost available to buy directly, 1.23 Intel would
of getting a level of visualisation in the The new Arc Pro GPUs might be out but not be drawn on pricing. H o w e v e r ,
viewport that simulates the way lighting are not yet widely available. Intel told Intel sees the Nvidia T600 (4 GB) and
and materials interact — at a quality that DEVELOP3D that the focus is currently Nvidia T1000 (4GB and 8GB) as key
surpasses that of the current OpenGL and on rolling out the products in workstations competitive products, so the Arc Pro A40
DirectX rasterisation graphics engines from major OEMs. You won’t see boxed and A50 will need to be priced accordingly.
used in most CAD software. cards in the channel, for now. As Intel is new to the world of discrete pro

Unreal Engine 4.26 (Audi Model) Autodesk Inventor 2023 (GPU ray tracing) Twinmotion 2022 (Lakehouse retreat model)
1.23 Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better) 1.23 Seconds (smaller is better) 1.23 Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

FHD resolution (1,920 x 1,080) FHD resolution (1,920 x 1,080) FHD resolution (1,920 x 1,080)

Intel Arc Pro A40 (6 GB) 19.61 Intel Arc Pro A40 (6 GB) 150 Intel Arc Pro A40 (6 GB) 13

Intel Arc Pro A50 (6 GB) 23.72 Intel Arc Pro A50 (6 GB) 146 Intel Arc Pro A50 (6 GB) 17

Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) 23.87 Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) 412 Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) 16

Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) 47.29 Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) 70 Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) 29

AMD Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) 11.40 AMD Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) 219 AMD Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) 12

AMD Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) 54.49 AMD Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) 93 AMD Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) 23

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 100 200 300 400 500 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

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 workstation special report

graphics, it will need to shine on value that was released on 5 December 2022. our ASRock Z790 Taichi motherboard
compared to both Nvidia and AMD. This is just the bare bones graphics (where it goes by the name of C.A.M). It is
driver without the supporting UI. When supported by most modern motherboards
Drivers and certification installing the driver, it’s supposed to and CPUs, including AMD and Intel,
New GPUs aren’t just about new silicon; automatically pull-down a Pro version of and one would presume by any OEM
drivers are an essential part of the the Intel Graphics Command Centre from workstations that come in the future.
package, and pro graphics drivers are the Microsoft Store. However, at time of
what set the Intel Arc Pro cards apart from testing this wasn’t quite ready. Future Autodesk Revit
their consumer counterparts — the Intel versions of the driver will be integrated. Revit is a key target application for the
Arc A380 and the more powerful Intel We put the Arc Pro A40 and Arc Pro Intel Arc Pro A40. It is a leading tool for
Arc A750 and A770. A50 up against a range of entry-level BIM and notorious for being CPU limited,
Intel has a dedicated workstation pro graphics cards from AMD and so there is no real benefit to using high-
graphics driver team that works closely Nvidia. This includes the AMD Radeon end GPUs. It uses DirectX 11.
with its core driver team, as well as the Pro W6400 (4 GB), AMD Radeon Pro We loaded up a variety of test models,
major Independent Software Vendors W6600 (8 GB), the Nvidia T1000 (8 GB) ranging from 30 MB to 200 MB (including
(ISVs). In other words, the companies and Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) (thanks to linked models), and with the Arc Pro A40
that develop the CAD, BIM and other PNY and Scan for supplying the Nvidia GPUs). the viewport felt responsive at both FHD
professional 3D software tools. Of those four cards, the Nvidia T1000 and 4K resolution, in shaded and realistic
Both performance and stability are is the only one not to support hardware visual styles.
critical in pro graphics, so the workstation accelerated ray tracing. By default, Revit simplifies models
driver team works on optimisations Unfortunately, we during navigation, suspending certain
and bug fixes for a wide range of pro were unable to graphics effects, such as shadows.
applications. Intel says some issues are secure an However, even when this was disabled,
fixed in its pro graphics driver and Nvidia we got a smooth experience. With some of
others in the applications the larger models, there was a little bit of
themselves. The end goal lag at 4K, but it was still perfectly usable.
is to get the GPUs To assess relative performance, we
certified by each ran the RFO 3.1 benchmark for
ISV — giving them Revit 2021. Here both the
an official ‘stamp of Arc Pro A40 and A50
approval’. edged out the AMD
So far, the Arc Radeon Pro W6400
Pro GPUs are at 4K, but not at FHD.
certified for a wide The Nvidia T1000 and
range of Autodesk Nvidia RTX A2000
products, including 3ds max were some way ahead
(2022, 2023), AutoCAD (2022, (see page WS35 for all of
2023), Fusion 360, Inventor (2022, the benchmark results).
2023), Maya (2022, 2023). Others include Autodesk
Bentley MicroStation 10.17.00.209, PTC Revit is a key target Autodesk Inventor
app for the Arc Pro A40
Creo (8, 9), Siemens Solid Edge 2022. Inventor is a popular mechanical CAD
Certification for Vectorworks Architect, (MCAD) tool that uses DX 11. For hands-
Dassault Systèmes Solidworks and T600 (4 GB), which is a on testing we used a 355MB assembly of
Siemens NX should come by the end shame as Intel considers this to be a key a Mastenbroek trenching machine with
of next quarter. There are many more competitor for the Arc Pro A40. 1,569 parts. Even when ramping up the
apps planned for certification on the For the workstation we used the Boxx quality in the viewport, enabling shadows
2023 roadmap from Autodesk, Dassault Apexx S4 with an Intel Core i9-13900K. (ground, object and ambient), reflections
Systèmes, and Nemetschek. The intention The core specs can be seen below. (See page and a realistic visual style, navigation was
is to get both cards certified for at least WS17 for a full review). silky smooth with a 3Dconnexion Space
the two most recent releases of each Mouse, even at 4K resolution.
application. Boxx Apexx S4 Testing for performance using the
Of course, Intel has its work cut out • Intel Core i9-13900K processor Invmark for Inventor benchmark both the
here, having to compete with decades of • 128 GB DDR5-4800 MHz memory Intel Arc Pro A40 and Arc Pro A50 came
pro driver development from both AMD • 1 TB Seagate 530 Firecuda SSD + 2 TB in second to the AMD and Nvidia cards.
and Nvidia. It’s a considerable task, 7,200rpm Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
especially as many architects, engineers • ASRock Z790 Taichi motherboard CAD-integrated GPU ray tracing
and product designers use multiple • Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit As mentioned earlier, Inventor 2023
applications. But Intel points out that includes a pre-release version of a GPU
it isn’t starting afresh in terms of ISV Intel states the importance of enabling ray tracer that uses DirectX Raytracing
relations. Its workstation CPU business Resizable BAR (Base Address Register) (DXR) and hence takes advantage of
has worked very closely with the major on your motherboard to maximise the Intel Arc Pro’s Ray Tracing Units
ISVs for many years. performance. The technology is designed and, potentially in the future, hardware
to allow your CPU and GPU to better assisted AI-based upscaling (XeSS). It is
Testing Arc Pro communicate with one another over the designed as an alternative to the current
For testing we used the Intel Graphics PCIe bus. CPU-based Autodesk Raytracer (ART).
Driver 31.0.101.3517 for Intel Arc Pro Resizable BAR was already enabled on In terms of performance there was

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 workstation special report

very little between the Arc Pro A40 and one can’t ignore the growing importance bones 3 million polygon 120 MB Revit
A50, both completing ‘low quality’ FHD of real-time visualisation throughout model linked via Datasmith, delivered 27
renders of a relatively simple model in a the design process. This is especially FPS, but performance would naturally
very similar time. The Intel GPUs were true in architecture, engineering and decrease as entourage is added. From our
significantly faster than the AMD Radeon construction (AEC), where tools such as testing, the Arc Pro A50 had the edge over
Pro W6400 and wiped the floor with Chaos Enscape, Lumion and Epic Games the Nvidia T1000. The Arc Pro A40 was
the Nvidia T1000 (8 GB). However, this Twinmotion (powered by Unreal Engine) notably slower, which is not surprising
comes as no surprise as Nvidia’s entry- are widely used. as, unlike CAD, Twinmotion is
level GPU does not include dedicated Before we get into the meat, GPU limited so can take full
ray tracing hardware, relying instead on it’s important to state advantage of the Arc
its general purpose CUDA cores to crunch that the Arc Pro Pro A50’s superior raw
the path tracing algorithms. The more A40 and performance.
powerful and more expensive hardware A r c Twinmotion can also
ray tracing enabled Nvidia RTX A2000 P r o be used with DirectX 12,
and AMD Radeon Pro W6600 which also adds support
demonstrated a clear lead. for path tracing. Flipping into
We also tried rendering the 0 DirectX 12 mode boosted
A4
P ro
considerably more complex Arc performance a little but it also increased
el
Mastenbroek model, but here Int memory usage. We then enabled the path
the question of GPU memory came to A 5 0 tracer to render out a scene. While this
the fore. The model alone took 3 GB and GPUs are worked, it made the viewport very choppy
enabling GPU ray racing took things not designed for those and hard to navigate. However, if left
well over the 6 GB threshold of the Arc who take visualisation alone to do its thing, it delivered some nice
Pro cards. It still rendered, however, and seriously. You can results, fairly quickly. For this to work in
didn’t take that much longer than the pretty much forget about working at 4K practice, you’d need to frame your scene
simple scene. resolution. The GPUs simply don’t have first and then enable path trace mode.
Taking things to the next level, the enough memory or horsepower to deliver One word of warning, however. When
complex factory layout model from TFI’s workable frame rates. At 4K resolution enabling DirectX 12, we were cautioned
Invmark benchmark used up over 13 even some medium sized models will that our config may be too limited to
GB of GPU memory (6 GB dedicated and struggle to fit into 6 GB. support path tracing properly and we
7 GB shared). It took 2,128 secs to render In saying that, there’s no reason why ‘might experience instability’. We didn’t
the FHD resolution ‘low-quality’ scene. the Arc Pro A50 shouldn’t be considered experience any problems ourselves but
In short, while the GPU can be used to ray for CAD-centric visualisation on a FHD imagine the warning could be related to
trace large scenes that far exceed its 6 GB display. With one quarter of the pixels to the risk of running out of GPU memory.
capacity, expect to wait a very long time render as 4K, the demands on the GPU are
for the results. much lower. Enscape
Enscape is a fantastic tool for real-time
Solidworks Twinmotion visualisation and one that is hugely
Solidworks is one of the most popular Since Epic Games acquired Twinmotion popular with architects. It uses the
MCAD applications and, as a result, one and initially gave it away for free, there Vulkan API and elements of ray tracing
that we often use to test workstation have been millions of downloads of this for real-time rendering.
hardware. For its graphics engine it uses easy to use architectural Initially when testing Enscape with
OpenGL 4.5, one of the more modern visualisation tool. some Revit scenes and executables, the
versions of the mature graphics API, Autodesk is software crashed. When we raised this
and offloads more of the graphics also now with Intel, we were told the pro driver team
processing to the graphics card was already aware of the issue, having
which can increase demands on GPU identified some problematic Vulkan
memory. code in Enscape. According to Intel,
Graphics certification for the two companies
Solidworks is not just important for worked together to
stability and performance. Once a GPU resolve the problem.
has that ‘seal of approval’ it will unlock In just two weeks,
special ‘pro’ features in Solidworks such giving Enscape updated its
as RealView for more realistic real time it away software so it was ready
shading. free with Revit for the 3.5 preview release,
The Intel Arc Pro A40/A50 are not yet subscriptions. and Intel then fixed its driver.
certified for Solidworks and therefore When testing in To see this in action we got the
performance in the viewport wasn’t great. Twinmotion 2022.2.3 0 system running stably with Enscape
A5
According to Intel, its GPUs are now in the using DirectX 11, the Pro 3.5 preview and the forthcoming Intel
c
final stages of Solidworks certification and Arc Pro A50 delivered a Ar Arc Pro 31.0.101.4079 driver (currently
el
Int
this should happen soon. When it does, respectable 18 FPS with the in pre-release) but with time constraints
we’ll follow up with some proper testing. 6.2 million polygon, 300 that’s about as far as we got. Because we
object ‘Lakehouse retreat’ were working with beta software, and the
Design visualisation demo scene, which includes a AMD and Nvidia GPUs were all tested
The Arc Pro A40 and A50 are very much relatively simple 3D model but tonnes with Enscape 3.1, we were unable to make a
focused on CAD and BIM workflows, but of vegetation. On the flip side, a bare direct performance comparison.

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 workstation special report

Unreal Engine level pro GPUs – the AMD Radeon Pro

are many complementary tools, covering
Unreal Engine needs little introduction. W6400, Nvidia T400, Nvidia T600 and
visualisation, simulation, CAM, reality
As well as being the world’s leading Nvidia T1000 (4 GB) - the difference in
modelling, Product Lifecycle Management
game engine, it’s making huge strides usable memory might not be as big.
(PLM) and more.
in design visualisation, in both AEC With workflows that rely on a broad set
and automotive. While we wouldn’t Conclusion of applications, designers, engineers, and
recommend that anyone use the Arc It’s great to see a new player in pro architects want all bases covered. AMD
Pro A40 or A50 for creating real time graphics, and they don’t come much and Nvidia have pro certifications that run
experiences in Unreal Engine, testing the bigger than Intel. Competition is good into the hundreds, so Intel certainly has its
GPUs with the engine does give a good for everyone. It helps bring down prices work cut out here.
indication of where their performance lies and encourages innovation. And Intel But there’s little point in judging Intel on
and what a consumer of Unreal Engine knows this better than most, with AMD that quite yet, as Arc Pro desktop GPUs are
real time experiences might expect. At continuing to push Intel hard in CPUs. not yet really available. This should come
FHD resolution, the Arc Pro A50 was on But entry-level pro graphics is a next year when workstation OEMs launch
par with the Nvidia T1000 (8 GB). different beast entirely. It’s not just new machines based on 13th Gen Intel
about who has the fastest GPU and raw Core and Sapphire Rapids processors.
Memory performance. It’s about channelling those Putting application certifications
Intel’s choice of 6 GB certainly hits the resources to get the most out of CPU- aside for one minute, from a pure
sweet spot for most CAD workflows. In limited CAD software, ensuring stability hardware standpoint, the Arc Pro
Revit and Inventor, you’ll be very hard and that 3D geometry, materials, lighting A40 / A50 compare favourably
pushed to find a model that won’t fit and UIs display correctly. to the competition. They have
comfortably within that envelope. With From what we have seen from our 2 GB more memory than the AMD Radeon
Solidworks, the memory Pro W6400, Nvidia

‘‘
requirements are a bit T600 and Nvidia T1000
bigger, but the Arc Pro A40 (4GB), which should be
and A50 should still be It’s good to see that Intel’s pro driver team is to their benefit in more
able to handle most small to actively fixing problems as they arise – GPU-hungry CAD
medium-sized assemblies applications and for entry-
once the optimisations and
Enscape being a case in point – but it will take level visualisation. Also,
certification are sorted. time to build trust among users Nvidia’s T-Series GPUs
As you move into design
visualisation, however,
GPU demands can rise considerably, testing, Intel has made a solid, if not
’’ do not include hardware
ray tracing.
But all of this could change, of
especially when using a real-time viz tool remarkable start to its journey — and it course. With AMD and Nvidia recently
alongside your CAD/BIM tool of choice. In will be a journey. Our experiences in Revit launching new GPU architectures (AMD
fairness, the Intel Arc Pro A40 and A50 and Inventor with the Arc Pro A40 were RDNA 3 and Nvidia Ada Lovelace) we
seemed to handle datasets larger than good and with Twinmotion and Unreal wonder if we might see new entry-level
6 GB quite well when the system was left Engine we saw how the Arc Pro A50 can pro GPUs from both vendors at some
alone for ray tracing, but, as you would even be used for entry-level visualisation point in 2023. And while AMD has
expect, less for real time navigation, at FHD resolution. already included hardware ray tracing
where frame rates dropped dramatically But there will be bumps in the road. with its entry-level pro GPUs, there’s
and viewports became choppy. Here an Fixing problems is all part of pro graphics, every chance Nvidia will do the same for
8 GB or 12 GB card would make a big AMD and Nvidia included, and while it’s its next generation.
difference. good to see Intel being very active here — And this leads us on to the important
One observation was that the Arc Pro Enscape being a case in point — it will take question of how much the Arc Pro A40 and
GPUs appeared to use more memory than time to build trust among users. A50 will cost. Intel will certainly need to be
GPUs from AMD or Nvidia when loading Certification will certainly help. Arc aggressive on price to entice people away
the same datasets. With the Lakehouse Pro GPUs are already certified for many from tried and tested Nvidia and AMD
retreat model in Twinmotion, for example, of the major 3D CAD/BIM tools, but solutions. And as IT budgets are squeezed,
the Arc Pro A50 used around 5.2 GB there are plenty missing. And while this could make a big difference. But we’ll
whereas the Nvidia T1000 used around certifications for DS Solidworks, DS have to wait a little while for that, to find out
1 GB less. So, while the Arc Pro A40 and Catia, Graphisoft Archicad, Siemens NX which OEMs have taken on the products
A50 give you 2 GB more than other entry- and SketchUp should come soon, there and in which workstations.

Intel Arc Pro Intel has a third member

of its pro graphics family,
Lenovo is the first major
workstation OEM to take
for mobile the Intel Arc Pro A30M. on the product, offering
workstations Designed for mobile
workstations, this entry-
it as an option inside the
ThinkPad P16 Gen 1.
level GPU has similar specs Choosing the Intel Arc Pro
to the Arc Pro A40 but A30M (4 GB) instead of the
has 4 GB of memory and a Nvidia RTX A1000 (4GB) will
slightly lower peak power take £183 off the price of
rating of 35-50 watts. the machine.

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 workstation special report

Test Workstation: Boxx Apexx S4 AMD Radeon AMD Radeon Intel Intel Nvidia Nvidia Nvidia
Intel Core i9-13900K, 128 GB DDR5-4800 MHz memory
1 TB Seagate 530 Firecuda SSD, Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Pro W6400 Pro W6600 Arc Pro A40 Arc Pro A50 T1000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000

4 GB or 6 GB or
GPU memory 4 GB GDDR6 8 GB GDDR6 6 GB GDDR6 6 GB GDDR6 16 GB GDDR6
8 GB GDDR6 12 GB GDDR6

Peak Single-Precision Performance 3.54 Teraflops 10.4 Teraflops 3.5 TFLOPs 4.8 TFLOPs 2.5 TFLOPs 8.0 TFLOPS 19.2 TFLOPS

Hardware Ray Tracing / AI Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes

Half Height, Full Height, Half Height, Half Height, Half Height, Half Height, Full Height,
Form Factor
Single Slot Single Slot Single Slot Dual Slot Single Slot Dual Slot Single Slot

2x 4x 4 x mini DisplayPort 4 x mini DisplayPort 4 x mini 4 x mini 4x

Display Connectors
DisplayPort 1.4 DisplayPort 1.4 2.0 ready 2.0 ready DisplayPort 1.4 DisplayPort 1.4 DisplayPort 1.4a

Max Power Consumption 50W 130W 50W 75W 50W 70W 140W

Power Connectors Not required 6-pin PCIe Not required Not required Not required Not required 6-pin PCIe

Price (Ex VAT) £290 (4 GB) £429 (6 GB)

£192 £483 N/A N/A £950
(from scan.co.uk 9/12/22) £355 (8 GB) £550 (12 GB)

Benchmarks (score) (bigger is better)

Autodesk Inventor Professional 2023

Invmark Graphics - FHD 5,589 5,747 4,957 4,980 5,962 5,923 6,046

Invmark Graphics - 4K 3,635 4,698 3,050 3,249 4,007 4,760 4,797

Solidworks Professional 2022

SPECapc benchmark AA (shaded with edges) - FHD 1.25 1.69 N/A N/A 1.80 3.15 3.97

SPECapc benchmark AA (shaded with edges) - 4K 0.60 1.38 N/A N/A 0.57 1.20 2.52

SPECapc benchmark AA (shaded RealView with edges) - FHD 2.20 2.60 N/A N/A 2.18 3.96 6.96

SPECapc benchmark AA (shaded RealView with edges) - 4K 0.63 1.58 N/A N/A 0.68 1.31 2.68

Benchmarks (frames per second) (FPS) (bigger is better)

Solidworks Professional 2022

Computer model (shaded with edges) - FHD 128.77 165.40 N/A N/A 128.30 217.02 380.59

Computer model (shaded with edges) - 4K 78.65 133.74 N/A N/A 55.91 105.09 199.63

Computer model (shaded RealView with edges) - FHD 119.98 152.87 N/A N/A 90.17 159.82 277.92

Computer model (shaded RealView with edges) - 4K 69.27 123.74 N/A N/A 43.22 81.13 155.66

Snow Bike model (shaded with edges) - FHD 19.97 30.76 N/A N/A 22.86 34.57 57.18

Snow Bike model (shaded with edges) - 4K 4.53 29.38 N/A N/A 18.07 28.87 52.50

Snow Bike model (shaded RealView with edges) - FHD 8.90 29.57 N/A N/A 20.74 32.13 53.78

Snow Bike model (shaded RealView with edges) - 4K 4.27 28.10 N/A N/A 15.97 26.42 47.77

Enscape 3.1

Enscape 3.1 architectural sample project - FHD 12.30 28.95 N/A N/A 40.53 74.20 131.47

Enscape 3.1 architectural sample project - 4K 4.85 15.85 N/A N/A 16.00 27.00 -48.67

Unreal Engine 4.26

Audi Car Configurator model - FHD 11.40 54.49 19.61 23.72 23.87 47.29 84.54

Audi Car Configurator model - 4K 1.42 14.06 2.82 3.06 6.01 13.14 25.89

Audi Car Configurator model (Ray Tracing enabled) - FHD N/A 19.52 N/A N/A N/A 26.56 50.23

Audi Car Configurator model (Ray Tracing enabled) - 4K N/A 0.60 N/A N/A N/A 6.99 14.05

Autodesk VRED Professional 2023

Automotive test model (no Anti-Aliasing) - FHD 10.50 21.025 N/A N/A 30.00 71.48 129.20

Automotive test model (no Anti-Aliasing) - 4K Too slow 16.20 N/A N/A 12.48 25.55 52.20

Automotive test model (medium Anti-Aliasing) - FHD 9.55 18.925 N/A N/A 19.175 38.88 70.90

Automotive test model (medium Anti-Aliasing) - 4K Too slow 12.95 N/A N/A 7.85 16.25 32.15

Automotive test model (ultra-high Anti-Aliasing) - FHD 6.90 14.125 N/A N/A 8.90 18.18 36.18

Automotive test model (ultra-high Anti-Aliasing) - 4K Too slow 6.80 N/A N/A 3.00 6.35 12.75

Benchmarks (time - seconds) (smaller is better)

Autodesk Revit 2021

RFO 3.1 benchmark - Graphics standard view - FHD 17.22 17.04 24.29 24.25 14.19 14.08 14.11

RFO 3.1 benchmark - Graphics standard view - 4K 40.33 25.85 36.38 33.39 18.59 16.33 15.70

RFO 3.1 benchmark - Graphics sketchy view - FHD 16.09 14.36 21.22 20.55 11.62 11.51 11.74

RFO 3.1 benchmark - Graphics sketchy view - 4K 51.46 33.85 44.33 42.59 20.66 17.69 17.20

Solidworks Visualize 2022 (smaller is better)

1969 Camaro model (iRay) (100 passes + denoise) (4K) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 39 23

1969 Camaro model (iRay) (1,000 passes) (4K) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 386 218

www.AECmag.com January / February 2023 WS35

WS35_AEC_JANFEB23_GPUchart.indd 35 25/01/2023 17:17

 workstation special report

Nvidia RTX The Nvidia RTX A2000 opens up possibilities for entry-level
design viz in small workstations using applications like KeyShot

A2000 (12 GB) (image courtesy of Jet Cooper)

With impressive performance and

hardware ray tracing built in, this low
profile pro graphics card can transform
workflows for lovers of small desktop
workstations, writes Greg Corke
Price (Ex VAT): £429 (6 GB) £550 (12 GB)
www.nvidia.com

S
mall Form Factor (SFF) worksta-
tions like the Dell Precision 3460
SFF have become extremely popu-
lar with designers and engineers But it’s not just limited to tiny dropped off considerably at 4K, especially
because they take up significantly less workstations. It can also be fitted to in some of our more demanding tests.
space than standard desktop towers. standard towers and, when the GPU is In VRED Professional 2023 with anti-
However, because of their slender form, purchased separately, it comes with a half aliasing set to ultra-high and in Unreal
they have been limited to ‘low-profile’ height and full height ATX bracket. Engine 4.26 with ray tracing enabled, it
GPUs with a half height bracket. The first Nvidia RTX A2000 featured never reached double digits.
Historically, low-profile cards have been 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. At time of In GPU rendering, the RTX A4000 was
very much ‘entry-level’ — perfectly good launch we suggested this might be a little 88% faster in V-Ray, but in Solidworks
for 3D CAD, but lacking the performance light for its intended workflows. After all, Visualize it still rendered the Camaro 1969
and features for more demanding work- viz datasets quickly swell, especially at model at 4K (100 passes with de-noising)
flows such as real-time visualisation and 4K resolution. More recently, however, in a perfectly acceptable 38.5 seconds.
ray trace rendering. Nvidia released a 12 GB version, which is As an aside, our testing highlighted the
This all changed last year with the the subject of this review. importance of selecting the right pro driver.
introduction of the Nvidia RTX A2000. Both the 6 GB and 12 GB models look Newer is not always better. In Solidworks
This powerful low profile GPU not only identical with four Mini DisplayPort Visualize 2022, the card was almost six
delivered more performance than ever outputs and a minimal matt black times slower with the 527.01 driver than it
before, but introduced RTX technology enclosure. With a max was with the certified 516.94 driver.
to the entry-level segment. Previously, in board power of 70W
order to get professional Nvidia graphics the GPU is designed to The verdict
with hardware ray tracing built-in, you operate with PCIe slot With its impressive performance and
needed a 4000 class GPU. power alone. hardware ray tracing, the Nvidia RTX
The other major difference A2000 has completely transformed the
between the Nvidia RTX On test SFF and ultra-compact workstation. It’s an
A2000 and previous We tested the RTX excellent choice for CAD users who want
low-profile offerings A2000 with a full suite to expand into design visualisation, with
is that it’s a double of pro applications. In CAD dedicated tools like KeyShot or GPU ray
height board, taking and BIM software — Inventor, tracers that are starting to make their way
up two slots on the Solidworks and Revit — it more than into CAD viewports. But forget about the
motherboard. This is delivered. Compared to the Nvidia RTX 6 GB version of the card. 12 GB is a much
so it can accommodate A4000, SPECapc Solidworks 2022 better fit —now and well into the future.
a beefier radial type fan benchmark scores may have dropped off The Nvidia RTX A2000 is not the GPU
for better cooling, where at 4K resolution, but we still got a perfectly for you if you take design viz seriously.
hot air is directly exhausted out of the smooth viewport with 26.4 Frames Per The Nvidia RTX A4000 and above are
workstation via the grille on the bracket. Second (FPS) when testing our large much better suited to more demanding
Despite the increase in size, the RTX 2,300 part, 49 million triangle snow bike workflows, especially at 4K resolution.
A2000 started appearing in more assembly with RealView enabled. But these are full height boards for full
workstations than ever before — not just In viz workflows things started to slow sized towers. If you have your heart set on
SFFs, but ultra-compact workstations as down a little. While the card showed a pint-sized desktop, then there’s nothing
well, such as the HP Z2 Mini G9 (page WS26). great performance at FHD resolution, it out there right now that comes close.

Nvidia If budgets are tight and

you have little interest in
In Solidworks 2022,
things slowed down a little
T1000 design visualisation, you
should consider the Nvidia
at 4K resolution with some
of our larger assemblies,
(8 GB) T1000. This low-profile but in Inventor and Revit
card is nailed on for 3D there was hardly any
CAD. It has four Mini difference to the Nvidia
DisplayPorts, a max power RTX A2000. And at £355
of 50W and comes in 4 GB (Ex VAT) for the 8GB model
and 8 GB models. it’s a full £200 cheaper.

WS36 January / February 2023 www.AECmag.com

 Power to design
From 3D modeling and simulation to visualization in VR and more,
power through your most demanding workflows with Z by HP desktop
and laptop workstations.

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Performance Customize
Design in real time with the power of Configure to meet your complex workflow
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© Copyright 2023 HP Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. NVIDIA and Quadro are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
1. Undergoes MIL-STD testing. MIL-STD testing is not intended to demonstrate fitness for U.S. Department of Defense contract requirements or for military use. Test results are not
a guarantee of future performance under these test conditions. Accidental damage requires an optional HP Accidental Damage Protection Care Service.
 workstation special report

AMD Radeon Pro All graphics card manufacturers –

AMD, Intel and Nvidia – write dedicated
new driver with a fundamental change
in the way it works with OpenGL-based
OpenGL driver drivers for their own graphics cards and
update and improve these periodically.
applications.

This helps support new Windows updates, Triple digit boost

AMD’s new professional graphics new applications, and enhancements AMD’s re-architected 22.Q3 driver is
driver can deliver a significant 3D to 3D graphics APIs, namely OpenGL, designed to boost performance in both
performance boost in DS Solidworks DirectX and Vulkan. Graphics APIs are current generation and older generation
and other OpenGL-based applications. used in all 3D CAD applications, making Radeon Pro GPUs.
This doesn’t just benefit the current it easier for software developers to utilise At time of launch, AMD released
AMD Radeon Pro W6000 series, but graphics hardware without having to write performance figures that showed
AMD’s older generation pro graphics hardware-specific code. gains ranging from 0% to 115% in the
cards as well, writes Greg Corke When improving drivers, most SPECviewperf 2020 benchmark.
graphics card manufacturers quite rightly SPECviewperf is a synthetic
amd.com/radeonpro concentrate on the most modern APIs - benchmark. While it is based on real

G
Vulkan and DirectX 12 — but OpenGL is world 3D applications, it does not run
raphics drivers are a critical still important. In particular, many of the directly inside them. At AEC Magazine,
part of your workstation setup. more mature CAD and viz applications we prefer to use the actual 3D tools that
Without them, your Graphics use OpenGL. This includes PTC Creo, DS designers, engineers and architects
Processing Unit (GPU), or Solidworks, DS Catia, Autodesk VRED, rely on, and pair them with real world
graphics card, wouldn’t know how to com- Autodesk Maya, Siemens NX, Graphisoft datasets.
municate with your workstation, your Archicad, Trimble SketchUp, McNeel For our testing, we used CAD
operating system (typically Windows), Rhino and many more. It does not cover applications (Siemens NX and DS
and the 3D design tools you use every day. Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk 3ds max, or Solidworks), BIM applications (Graphisoft
A well written driver can deliver the best Autodesk Revit, which rely on DirectX. Archicad and Acca Software Edificius), and
3D performance and get the absolute most Each quarter, AMD releases a new pro visualisation software Autodesk VRED.
out of your graphics hardware. A poorly graphics driver for its workstation-class We compared the OpenGL-optimised
written driver not only slows you down Radeon Pro GPUs. These sometimes add 22.Q3 driver with the older 22.Q2 driver
but can cause your software to incorrectly new features, boost performance, and using a range of AMD GPUs including the
display your 3D model or User Interface increase stability in pro applications. In current generation Radeon Pro W6400
(UI), or even make your application or September 2022, the company launched (4 GB), W6600 (8 GB) and W6800 (16 GB),
operating system crash. AMD Software: Pro Edition 22.Q3, a brand and older Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) and

Solidworks 2022 SP5 (OpenGL) Solidworks 2022 SP5 (OpenGL) Solidworks 2022 SP5 (OpenGL)
Black Owl PC model (Shaded with edges) Snow Bike model (Shaded with edges) Maunakea telescope model (Shaded with edges)
Frames Per Second Frames Per Second Frames Per Second
FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better)

89.60 36.76 9.30

Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB)
162.97 20.53 3.39

97.20 31.65 19.85

Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB)
290.17 42.59 29.06

220.75 37.02 19.92

Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB)
354.30 53.19 36.07

64.06 10.61
Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) N/A
63.86 11.70

56.68 11.56
Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) N/A
150.54 19.61

AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Solidworks 20220 SP550(OpenGL)

100 150 200 250
Solidworks 20220 SP550(OpenGL)
100 150 200 250
Solidworks 20220 SP550(OpenGL)
100 150 200 250
0 Black50Owl PC
100 model
150 (Shaded
200 with edges + RealView)
250 0 Snow50Bike 100
model150(Shaded
200 with
250 edges + RealView) 0 Maunakea
50 telescope
100 150 model
200 (Shaded
250 with edges + RealView)
Frames Per Second Frames Per Second Frames Per Second
FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better)

84.10 15.48 7.11

Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB)
109.44 13.89 3.30

94.33 30.98 19.84

Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB)
195.66 41.03 28.97

198.86 34.42 19.69

Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB)
242.45 45.00 32.79

56.13 9.42
Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) N/A
42.29 10.68

52.81 11.71
Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) N/A
99.97 19.19

AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver

0 50 100 150 200 250 0 10 20 30 40 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

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 workstation special report

Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB). realism to the viewport. To see the impact With the snow bike and Maunakea
Our test machine featured an AMD of resolution, we also tested at FHD (1,920 Spectroscopic Explorer telescope, the
Ryzen 7 5800X CPU, 32 GB of DDR4 x 1,080) and 4K (3,840 x 2,160). All of the GPU memory requirements are much
memory and Windows 10 Professional. results can be seen below. higher, going above 4 GB and encroaching
The most significant boost in During testing we noticed that with on 8 GB. As you can see from the charts,
performance was seen in Solidworks the exact same Solidworks models the the Radeon Pro W6400 with the new
2022. Frame rates, the number of Frames 22.Q3 driver used more GPU memory driver delivered much smaller
Per Second (FPS) that can be rendered than the 22.Q2 driver. This isn’t performance increases and,
when moving 3D models on screen, was necessarily an issue if you in some cases, frame rates
shown to increase by as much as three have a graphics card with dropped, sometimes
times over the previous 22.Q2 driver. 8 GB or more. However, considerably. This
Similar results could be seen in Autodesk for more traditional is because the
VRED Professional 2023. However, in CAD-centric graphics entire model
Archicad, Edificius and Siemens NX, we cards, like the 4 GB cannot be held
saw no discernible performance increase. Radeon Pro W6400, in GPU memory
In fact, while we didn’t do extensive testing, the increased memory and data has to
it appeared that performance in NX may demands of the new be continually
even go down a little. driver could actually swapped in
impact performance, and out, which
Solidworks 2022 especially with significantly hits
We tested with a variety of different larger, more performance.
Solidworks models, including a small complex models. It’s only when you
computer assembly with 295 parts and The computer start using the 8 GB
Maunakea Spectroscopic
3.6 million triangles, a large snow bike model fits Explorer telescope
Radeon Pro W6600 or 32
assembly with 2,300 parts and 49 million comfortably into Solidworks model GB Radeon Pro W6800 on
triangles and the colossal Maunakea the 4 GB of the Radeon these larger models that you
Spectroscopic Explorer telescope assembly Pro W6400, both with start to see real benefits of the
with 8,149 parts and 58.9 million triangles. the 22.Q2 and 22.Q3 driver. As new driver.
We used variety of viewing modes - you can see from the results, performance According to AMD, Solidworks
shaded with edges, which is typical for dramatically improved with the new is also architected to get the most
most CAD workflows, and shaded with driver, doubling the FPS, even when out of pro graphics cards with
edges with RealView, which brings added RealView was enabled. 8 GB of memory and above. This is to

Solidworks 2022 SP5 (OpenGL) Solidworks 2022 SP5 (OpenGL) Solidworks 2022 SP5 (OpenGL)
Black Owl PC model (Shaded with edges) Snow Bike model (Shaded with edges) Maunakea telescope model (Shaded with edges)
Frames Per Second Frames Per Second Frames Per Second
4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) 4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) 4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better)

40.32 8.89 2.96

Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB)
86.49 5.93 2.83

63.88 25.26 16.77

Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB)
165.92 38.35 20.21

133.47 32.90 17.82

Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB)
243.73 49.39 31.10

35.93 9.32
Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) N/A
24.74 9.29

40.85 10.15
Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) N/A
95.29 18.41

AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver

0 50 100 150 200 250 0 10 20 30 40 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Solidworks 20220 SP550(OpenGL)

100 150 200 250
Solidworks 20220 SP550(OpenGL)
100 150 200 250
Solidworks 20220 SP550(OpenGL)
100 150 200 250
0 Black50Owl PC
100 model
150 (Shaded
200 with edges + RealView)
250 0 Snow50Bike 100
model150(Shaded
200 with
250 edges + RealView) 0 Maunakea
50 telescope
100 150 model
200 (Shaded
250 with edges + RealView)
Frames Per Second Frames Per Second Frames Per Second
4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) 4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) 4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better)

35.98 3.72 3.19

Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB)
62.13 6.85 2.66

57.31 24.42 14.39

Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB)
120.60 36.56 23.24

118.00 30.24 17.33

Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB)
174.56 42.56 28.50

31.08 8.52
Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) Radeon Pro WX5100 (8 GB) N/A
17.73 8.64

37.46 10.28
Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) N/A
66.52 17.95

AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver

0 50 100 150 200 0 10 20 30 40 0 5 10 15 20 25

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WS38_39_40_AEC_JANFEB23_AMD-Graphics.indd 39 25/01/2023 17:19

 workstation special report

ensure the GPU has enough memory to work on AA optimisations. assemblies in Solidworks, the chances are
to fully enable shaders for processes Our automotive test model fits just you’ve already been getting enough 3D
including GPU-accelerated transparency. within the 4 GB memory limit of the performance from the entry-level Radeon
The other important thing to note here Radeon Pro W6400. However, other Pro W6400 and previous 22.Q2 driver.
is how the new driver can give a new lease visualisation datasets are likely to have But, if you work with larger models,
of life to older generation cards. With the bigger memory footprints and, as you and your viewport experience is not as
8 GB Radeon Pro W5500, for example, can see from the frame rates, the CAD- smooth as you would like it to be, then the
which is nearly three years old, you get focused Radeon Pro W6400 is massively seemingly increased graphics memory
a significant uplift of between 60% and underpowered for an application of demands of the new driver may put the
90%. This is in part because it shares a this type. Here, the Radeon Pro W6800 potential performance benefits out of
similar architecture to the Radeon Pro comes into its own, delivering 14.35 FPS reach for entry level graphics cards with
W6000 Series (Navi 1.0 vs Navi 2.0). at 4k resolution with AA set to ultra- only 4 GB of memory.
With the older Radeon Pro WX 5100 high. In this scenario, the 22.Q3 driver is Perhaps the biggest beneficiaries will
(8 GB), which is six years old and based nearly three times faster than the 22.Q2 be users of 8 GB cards like the Radeon Pro
on AMD’s older W6600 — or Radeon

‘‘
RDNA architecture, Pro W5500, where it
the benefits of the new has the potential to give
driver were marginal. Normally when graphics card manufacturers an ageing GPU a new
deliver driver optimisations you expect single digit lease of life.
Autodesk VRED improvements, but some of the frame rate increases Of course, the 22.Q3
VRED is typically used driver won’t benefit all
in automotive design
with the new OpenGL driver are simply massive OpenGL applications
visualisation. The new
22.Q3 driver showed
out of the box. AMD
has done a lot of testing
significant benefits when anti-aliasing, driver, giving users a massive boost in / optimisation with Solidworks, and as
’’
a process that smoothes the jagged edges interactivity in the viewport. one of the biggest MCAD applications this
on models, is enabled in the viewport. comes as no surprise.
Anti-aliasing is critical for automotive Conclusion It could be that with future driver
styling, so most users will have this Normally when graphics card updates, AMD focuses on improving
enabled. Interestingly, when anti- manufacturers deliver driver performance in other CAD applications.
aliasing was turned off or set to medium optimisations you expect single digit However, because many of these tools are
at FHD resolution, performance on all improvements, but some of the frame rate very CPU limited (i.e. bottlenecked by the
GPUs went down. increases with the new OpenGL driver frequency of the CPU) there might not be
The new driver delivers the biggest are simply massive. Solidworks users in much it can do.
benefits when the greatest demands are particular should be paying attention.
placed upon the GPU, which is at 4k But things aren’t so clear cut. The Since testing was done for this article AMD has
resolution and when anti-aliasing is set to question of GPU memory is really released a new 22.Q4 driver, which builds on
ultra-high. AMD has said it will continue important. If you deal with small to medium the improvements made in the 22.Q3 driver.

Autodesk VRED Professional 2023 (OpenGL) Autodesk VRED Professional 2023 (OpenGL) Autodesk VRED Professional 2023 (OpenGL)
Automotive model (Anti Aliasing off) Automotive model (Anti Aliasing Medium) Automotive model (Anti Aliasing Ultra-high)
Frames Per Second Frames Per Second Frames Per Second
FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) FHD FHD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better)

32.10 12.25 4.25

Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB)
11.20 9.95 7.00

62.50 23.10 8.45

Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB)
22.30 19.75 14.30

115.00 44.20 18.00

Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB)
45.20 39.45 28.95
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver

Autodesk VRED0 Professional

50 100
2023200
150
(OpenGL)
250
Autodesk VRED0 Professional
50 100
2023200
150
(OpenGL)
250
Autodesk VRED0 Professional
50 100
2023200
150
(OpenGL)
250
0
Automotive
50
model
100 150
(Anti
200
Aliasing
250
off) 0
Automotive
50
model
100 150
(Anti
200
Aliasing
250
Medium) 0
Automotive
50
model
100 150
(Anti
200
Aliasing
250
Ultra-high)
Frames Per Second Frames Per Second Frames Per Second
4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) 4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better) 4K 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) 1.23
(FPS) (bigger is better)

11.80 3.70 0.80

Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB) Radeon Pro W6400 (4 GB)
7.60 6.30 3.20

23.80 7.13 2.30

Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB) Radeon Pro W6600 (8 GB)
15.47 12.80 6.55

48.70 15.70 5.30

Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB)
34.45 26.70 14.35

0 10 20 30 40 50 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 3 6 9 12 15

AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver AMD Q2.22 driver AMD Q3.22 driver

WS40 0 January
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Boxx.indd 1 25/01/2023 12:19
 Professional
Graphics
Begins Here

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