Given the recent launch of the new AMD Threadripper PRO 5000 series CPUs we’ve gotten inquiries about Portable Threadripper PRO Workstation options in addition to our Portable EPYC Workstation or Portable Dual EPYC Workstation. Demand has been brisk this fall.  We just shipped a 56-core Portable EPYC Workstation to a prominent east coast physics laboratory, and they’re so pleased with the portable power it affords they’ve just ordered another.

To give you some idea about the new Threadripper PRO performance increases, in both fully multi-threaded and most single threaded scenarios, the new Threadripper PRO 5000 series is 15-25% faster than its Threadripper PRO 3000 Series siblings. To receive a quote for a Portable Threadripper PRO Workstation for your needs, please visit our How To Configure The Best Workstation Page to let us know and we’ll get back to you promptly.

It’s been awhile since we did a walk through on the basic feature we offer with all our products, and we feel it’s a good time to revisit that feature: customization. 

But before we do, we’re proud to present a bold, if not earth-shattering video featuring our Portable EPYC Workstation a-X1P.  Seriously, you had better fasten your seat belts before clicking play below:

Subtle. 

Powerful. 

Engaging, no?  

To help you catch your breath, and help your pulse normalize, let me continue by explaining we wanted to make a simple video showing how to setup our Portable EPYC workstation in response to a fair number of prospective clients asking to see this, so here you go.

So, customization. I think it may be helpful to go through each component group, but first it’s important to say customization arises from needs, and not all needs start with component selection.  Perhaps you need a portable, but also intend to do much travel NOT plane-related, in some rough terrain, and you want to be able to toss your portable into a trunk or vehicle rear-storage without concern.

Identifying this and sharing this with us can allow us to go through each component group to isolate and secure them with brackets etc for such need, but also ask if a custom hard-shell Pelican Case for Portable Computer would also support that need.  Maybe you want that case to have space for additional computing devices, screens, tablets or laptops.  Or maybe you want a PC that’s packable but not necessarily “portable.”  

We have been providing laser-cut custom hard-shell Pelican and SKB portable computer cases for years which we’re happy to accommodate.

Breaking down your custom build by component group, we have:

CPU:  This is best chosen based on your workflow, your core applications, and what’s best for them.  Important:  the apps that do the heaviest lifting (rendering, or similar large data set compute for example), i.e. those tasks which take the most time, may not be with the apps you use most, but if you use them regularly your decision should be weighted accordingly. If you can afford a dedicated render node or server, or you use a cloud service, great, but if not you do not want to make a decision that is great for 90% of your work and has that workflow grind to a halt when rendering.

GPU:  Same as above, though VRAM is an increasingly important consideration so you can load the scenes, objects or data sets into VRAM and not resort to out of core system RAM support for finishing jobs too large to load into VRAM.

RAM:  These days 64GB should be considered a minimum for a system with 8 or more cores, unless you are using lighter media apps like Photoshop and Lightroom, or your ISV app specs stipulate no need for more.  4GB per core is a good rule of thumb, but 8GB/core is prudent with more demanding workloads and resolutions.

DRIVES:  There are three basic types, with different use cases:

A.  OS Drives:  We recommend going with the fastest drive you can afford, and also that this be a discrete volume used just for OS and applications.  PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs will soon be available, but for now we largely recommend PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives like the Samsung 980 Pro.

B.  Data/Media/Project Drives:  Again, a discrete drive for current project files only, or cache folders, to optimize performance and minimize wear on your OS drive.

C.  Archive/Storage:  This is for just that, storage.  M.2 NVMe, SATA SSDs and SATA HDDs are all adequate for this purpose, though you will obviously get the largest volumes at the lowest cost by going SATA HDD.

HOT-SWAP:  This is important if and when you have voluminous archival or data transfer needs.  All our portables come with 3.5″ and 5.25″ bays to accommodate expansion m.2, u.2, SATA SSD and HDD drive cages for additional storage as needed.

NETWORK:  1GbE and 10GbE are the most common, but we can install any speed NIC with 1-4+ ports per your needs.  A prominent and famous NY client of ours is still using fibre channel, and that too we can accommodate.

PORTS:  USB 3.2 and 3.1 (and 2.0) are ubiquitous, Thunderbolt is still available on Intel-based systems, and there are a variety of additional lesser-used i/o options available.

OS:  Windows 10, Windows 11, the many Linux distros or no OS at all are all options.  We can even configure your system for dual boot Windows Linux if you like, which is great for R&D Departments or other use case pointing to that need.  If you choose NO OS, we still stability test every system with a Windows 10 instance to assure the integrity and stability of each component group and system prior to shipment.

So, identifying your needs is the first step.  Once you are clear on those, we’re happy to go over those needs and helping you fulfill them with either a Portable EPYC Workstation, a Portable GPU Server, Portable Threadripper PRO Workstation or standard workstation per your needs.  Just email us at sales@mediaworkstations.net to schedule an appointment, or call us direct at 424-235-7479 9AM-5PM PST Monday – Friday.