The Best Hardware for Blender
Blender is one of the most famous 3D modeling applications in the world, and everyone from bedroom VFX artists to professional 3D animation studios have used this tool to create thrilling worlds, characters and stories.
If you’re looking to get a start in Blender, then virtually any modern computer will do, but if you’re ready to get serious then you’ll need a workstation that’s built for this software to shine.
We’ll discuss what sorts of specs Blender likes, and which if the Titan Workstations in our catalog are the best choices for you and your budget
Recommended Titan Workstations for Blender
CPUs - Does It Blend?
While blender is a very visual software package, most of what you do in your workflow will lean heavily on the CPU. Animation, physics, modeling, and certain types of rendering are all CPU-intensive.
The choice between per-core performance and overall number of cores is tricky when it comes to Blender. On the one hand, fast single-core performance will pay dividends while you work, but if you rely on CPU-rendering, then even CPUs with nearly 100 cores will pay dividends. The situation is similar for physics simulation, but it depends on the specific sim. The requirements for fluid, soft-body, or cloth simulation are different.
As is often the case, we recommend having separate workstations for modeling and animation, and rendering. In that case the modeling and animation workstation will do well with any modern i9 or even i7 (now called Core Ultra 9 or 7), if you want one workstation for both this and CPU rendering, you may be better off with the latest Threadripper PRO CPUs with their massive core counts. Even if it means giving up a little single-threaded performance.
GPUs - The Answer is Clear
GPUs can do almost anything these days, and Blender makes good use of these mini supercomputers. The GPU you have will determine how complex your scenes can be, the quality of the textures, effects, and everything else you want to see in the live view of your work. Blender also has a GPU rendering engine that will work faster with higher-end GPUs.
VRAM also matters here, and having a card like an RTX 4090 or even 3090 with 24GB of VRAM can make a practical difference depending on the exact details of your project and how much VRAM it consumes.
Sadly, Blender can’t use multiple GPUs while you’re designing or animation, but if you use GPU rendering it can make use of multiple GPUs.
You don’t need to use specialized workstation GPUs, but in some cases mainstream cards don’t have enough VRAM. This is why cards like the RTX 4090 and 3090 are appealing, since they perform better than entry-level or mid-range workstation GPUs while having just as much VRAM.
RAM - Remembering All Your Work
Just like VRAM, the amount of RAM you need to get good performance out of Blender really depends on the size and complexity of your project. That being said, we think that any professional computer today should have 32GB of RAM, and at the very least you should leave room to add 32GB more down the road if you can’t afford 64GB from the outset.
Storage - Keeping the Dream Alive
Any modern computer should have an SSD as its primary drive. For blender, we recommend an NVME SSD for your operating system and Blender itself, and if your budget can accommodate it, a second SSD to house your active projects. The primary SSD doesn’t have to be large, 500GB will do just fine, but the secondary SSD should be between 1TB and 2TB to comfortably house your active projects. If your workstation will be running many other apps besides Blender, the primary drive will have to be larger.
However, you can use a single SSD for everything, but might run into performance hitches as it fills up. An archival-grade mechanical drive to store inactive projects is highly recommended unless you have enough additional backup methods to make that redundant.
Titan Computers: Blending the Best Hardware Into Workstations
If you’re still not sure which Titan Workstation will be best for your Blender workflow, you can speak to our consultants to get the best customized workstation for your needs.
Combined with our industry-leading lifetime labor and technical support promise, you’re getting more than a beautifully-crafted workstation, you’re getting a business partner that will keep you going when those deadlines are looming.
LIST OF COMPATIBLE WORKSTATIONS
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