Nuke

Processor

3D Modeling

Building meshes, extruding polygons and other 3D modeling tasks are single-threaded, meaning they only utilize one CPU core. If using this software mostly for modeling, we recommend a processor with 4 to 6 cores and a high clockspeed (3.2GHz and above).

Animation

Like 3D modeling, animation is also single-threaded. Therefore a processor with high clockspeed and 4 to 6 cores is also recommended.

Rendering

While 3D modeling and animation only utilize one CPU core, rendering is a highly multi-threaded task and therefore a high amount of CPU cores will provide better performance.

Memory

In general, 3-6GB of RAM per CPU core is recommended. For example, if you select a single 12-core processor, 32GB will suffice for basic tasks or 64GB for more demanding workloads.

Storage

We recommend having two drives which provides the best performance:

1. Primary Drive: SSD for the operating system and software
2. Secondary Drive: another SSD, or for better performance, an NVMe Flash Storage Drive (the "HP Z Turbo Drive") for active project files

If you need additional storage for large, infrequently accessed files, we also recommend one or more 4TB, 6TB or 8TB+ hard drives. Hard drives also work well for storing export files as the export/rendering process is generally not write intensive.

Graphics

For post production video editing, we recommend NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics cards as they provide high performance at a great value compared to Quadro cards.

For lower budget systems, we recommend a single NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. If you require support for 10-bit displays, we recommend adding a Decklink card as well.

For higher budget systems, we recommend a single NVIDIA GeForce Titan Xp, which is currently the top of the line GeForce card with the latest architecture. It also supports 10-bit displays, so no need to add a separate Declink card.

If you are considering a dual graphics card setup, then we recommend two GTX 1080 Ti cards (as opposed to two Titan Xp cards) since it provides extreme power at a great value and utilizes less power from the power supply.

Read More: GeForce GTX vs. Quadro Graphics Cards

Chassis

The Z840 is recommended if you require dual processors or dual high performance graphics cards. The Z840 can support up to 6 hard drives or 10 SSDs.

The Z640 is recommended if you require a single high-end processor or single high-performance graphics card. You can always add a second processor and double the memory at a later date using the optional Z640 processor riser. The Z640 can support up to 4 hard drives or 6 SSDs.

The Z440 is recommended if you require a single processor with a low core count or mid-range graphics card. The Z440 can support up to 4 hard drives or 6 SSDs.