BOXX Introduces APEXX S3 workstation

At the recent Autodesk University in Las Vegas, NV, BOXX Technologies unveiled its APEXX S3 workstation for CAD, modeling and creative content professionals. BOXX says that the APEXX S3 replaces its flagship workstation, the APEXX 2 2403, and features the 8th-generation Intel Core i7 “Coffee Lake” processor overclocked to 4.8GHz. Along with the immediate availability of the new Intel i7 processor, the APEXX S3 workstation is also built around BOXX's next-generation chassis.

BOXX says that the APEXX 3S is ideal for workflows involving 3D animation, modeling and such CAD solutions as SOLIDWORKS as well as 2D image processing and single-threaded applications. At Autodesk University, BOXX demonstrated Autodesk Inventor, Revit and 3ds Max on the APEXX S3, while noting that the workstation also offers professional-grade performance for all 3D CAD, animation, motion media and rendering applications.

BOXX says that its new APEXX S3 replaces its current flagship system. This compact workstation is powered by the latest Intel Core i7 “Coffee Lake” processor overclocked to a sustained 4.8GHz. Image courtesy of BOXX Technologies.

BOXX reports that its liquid-cooled APEXX S3 workstation sustains its overclocked 4.8GHz frequency across all of the Intel CPU's cores. The company also reports that it has removed unused, outdated technology such as optical drive bays from the APEXX S3 chassis to maximize productive space within the workstation's enclosure.

Inside its new, compact 6.84x15.28x17.80-in. (WxHxD; 17.37x38.81x45.21 cm) aluminum industrial chassis, the APEXX S3 supports up to two dual-slot NVIDIA or AMD professional graphics cards and an additional single-slot GPU card. The system provides solid-state drives (SSDs) and fast 2666MHz DDR4 memory, according to the company's website.

The APEXX S3 workstation debuts BOXX's next-generation chassis. The company says that it removed unused, outdated technology such as optical drive bays from the APEXX S3 chassis to maximize productive space within the system's enclosure. Image courtesy of BOXX Technologies.

On its front side, the APEXX S3 has four USB 3.1 ports as well as audio out/mic ports. On the rear, it provides four USB 3.1, two USB 3.0 and audio out/mic in/line in ports. Also on the rear are Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v4.0 and two Gigabit Ethernet connections. Miscellaneous features include a removable front air filter and a 650W power supply.

Supported storage configurations available include up to 10TB of SATA 3.5-in. hard drive, up to 2TB 2.5-in. SATA solid-state drive and up to 2TB M.2 PCI-e SSD. Graphic options include NVIDIA Quadro, NVIDIA Tesla and AMD Radeon Pro GPUs (graphics processing units). The APEXX S3 will accommodate up to 64GB of system memory.

“Creative professionals shouldn’t have to wait to access the latest technology,” said Shoaib Mohammad, BOXX VP of Marketing and Business Development, in a press statement. “So BOXX is once again taking the lead by introducing APEXX S3, a groundbreaking, state-of-the-art workstation designed to accelerate 3ds Max, Revit, Inventor, Maya and other creative application workflows.”

A basic APEXX S3 configuration comes with the overclocked 4.8GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 8700K processor with the Intel Z370 chipset, 16GB DDR4-2666 memory, NVIDIA Quadro P2000 5GB graphics, 512GB M.2 PCIe SSD, wireless AC and Bluetooth v4.0 connectivity as well as 64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 Pro, keyboard and mouse. Pricing begins at $3,630.

For more information on the APEXX S3 and to explore its configuration options, click here.

Watch a video introduction of the APEXX S3.

Download the APEXX S3 spec sheet.

See why DE's Editors selected the BOXX APEXX S3 workstation as their Pick of the Week.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.

APEXX S3 vs APEXX 2 2403: Increased SOLIDWORKS Performance

Rendering                      21.51%

Simulation                     5.73%

RealView                       1.52%

Overall                            3.65%

Performance delta percentage results of benchmark tests of four typical SOLIDWORKS operations run by BOXX Technologies. The data show the increased performance of the company's new flagship workstation, the APEXX S3, over that of its predecessor, the APEXX 2 2403. Both workstations were equipped with an NIVIDIA M2000 GPU and a Samsung 960 Pro hard drive. The APEXX 2 2403 sported 32GB of 2400 MHz RAM and was powered by a 4.8GHz Intel Core i7 7700 CPU. The APEXX S3, however, had the faster 32GB 2666 MHz RAM as well as the new Intel Core i7 8700K CPU running at a sustained 4.8GHz across all cores.

Source: BOXX Technologies.