With the imminent arrival of Adobe's Creative Suite 5, users are once again asking themselves the question of whether their current workstations have enough horsepower to take full advantage of the new capabilities of the apps in the upcoming Suite. This was certainly the case with CS4, which required a robust graphics system to be able to power some of the new image display abilities of Photoshop, for example. One solution is to simply buy a new system from one of the usual hardware vendors. But it might be time to consider a firm that creates high-performance computing systems especially for the graphics sector.

One of the best-known of these is BOXX, which provides a range of systems targeted for those working in the visual effects (VFX), animation, post production, 3D design, advanced visualization, and general art and design fields. While having a reputation for being fast and reliable, BOXX systems also have a price tag to match, and have thus traditionally been out of reach for many. However, owning one got a bit closer recently with the release of the BOXX Bantam, a compact, high performance workstation designed for "budget-conscious design professionals."

The Bantam design starts with tuned air cooling and low power requirements, resulting in less heat and lower electric bills, while a special chassis ensures quiet operation in creative environments. Running 32 or 64-bit Microsoft Windows and Linux, with up to 4 TB of local storage and up to 16 GB of system memory using 4 GB technology, the Bantam is said to be capable of speeds up to 3.46GHz. It has been tested by BOXXlabs, the company’s research and development division, for compatibility and reliability with a wide range of 2D/3D animation, modeling, visualization and motion media applications. Bantam also features processor options (Intel Core i7, Core i5, or Core i3) that accommodate the workflow and budget requirements of a variety of users, from product designers and engineers, to 3D artists and visualization pros. Other features include the option of Intel Core i5 or Core i3 integrated graphics, NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800 or ATI FirePro professional graphics cards, USB 3.0, and a SuperSpeed bus that is faster than an external hard drive.

More information the Bantam is available on the BOXX site.