Editor’s Pick: BOXX renderPRO 1

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

If you work in a small shop or if you're setting up your own shop to do renderings, simulations, animations, visual effects or things like that, today's Pick of the Week should hit you as really cool.

BOXX Technologies has introduced the BOXX renderPRO 1. They call it the world's smallest desk-side rendering system powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5 v3 product family.

The skinny is that the renderPRO 1 is a dedicated rendering and simulation workhorse in a compact and portable form factor. With it, you can offload compute-intensive simulation and rendering jobs from your workstation and let it do the heavy lifting. In other words, it's a computer that gives you CPU cores with minimal other stuff that you already have with your workstation. And that means you can have 3ds Max, KeyShot and the like processing something while you're still beating on your workstation or out on a date.

Like all BOXX systems, this 64-bit Windows or Linux platform is highly configurable. It accommodates a single Intel Xeon E5 v3 processor family member – that means up to 18 cores and 36 threads. It supports up to 64GB of DDR4-2133 memory and a terabyte or so of 2.5-in. SATA or SSD (solid-state drive) storage. It has integrated ASPEED AST2400 graphics processing, or you can trick it out with AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro accelerators. The renderPRO 1 also has that liquid-cooling system that BOXX is known for, which means it will sit by your desk quietly rather than sounding like an idling Messerschmitt aircraft.

The renderPRO 1 is petite, measuring just 4.7 x 8.5 x 9.13 in. (11.94 x 21.59 x 23.19 cm; W x H x D). It has corner bumpers so that you can stand it up vertically or horizontally or you can stack it. It also sounds easy to use. All you need to do is give it some juice and plug it into a network connection. Once you do that, you use the supplied software for discovery and control.

The BOXX renderPRO 1 is a desk-side rendering system powered by an Intel Xeon E5 v3 processor. The renderPRO 1, says BOXX Technologies, provides engineers, animators and other creative professionals with portable, dedicated rendering and simulation in a compact form factor. Image courtesy of BOXX Technologies.

The renderPRO 1 seems affordable, especially if you've been looking for a way to expand your rendering and simulation power without deflating your checkbook. You can find pricing information and other details on the renderPRO 1 in today's Pick of the Week write-up. Make sure to check out the video linked at the end. Wait till you see the size of this thing. Good stuff.

Thanks, Pal. – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering

Learn more about BOXX Technologies' renderPRO 1 here.