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 4- to 6-core processor with 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 RTX 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 RTX 2080.

For higher budget systems, we recommend a single NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080Ti.

If your application scales well with multiple graphics cards we recommend two RTX 2080Ti . If your application takes advantage of only one graphics card or does not scale well, we recommend going with the single RTX Titan 24GB.

Read More: GeForce GTX vs. Quadro Graphics Cards

Chassis

The HP Z8 G4 Workstation is recommended if you would like dual processors and/or multiple high performance graphics cards.

The HP Z6 G4 Workstation is recommended if you would like to start with a single high-end processor and single high-performance graphics card with the potential of upgrading in the future. With the Z6 G4, you can add a second matching processor and double the memory using the optional second processor riser. The power supply will also support two mid-range graphics cards.

The HP Z4 G4 Workstation is recommended for majority of workflows. Since Intel now produces single Core i9 and Xeon processors with up to 18-cores and high clock speed, there is no need for dual processors unless you will have heavy CPU rendering or intensive tasks demanding more than 18-cores. Also, the HP Z4 G4 has an optional 1000W power supply that will support the most powerful graphics cards inluding the GeForce RTX 2080Ti and Quadro RTX 6000.