The system requirements for Keyshot can be found online, but they list only “minimum requirements” which don’t help much when it comes to configuring a high-performance workstation. Thankfully, the performance profile of rendering workloads is pretty well understood and there are numerous benchmarks available which focus on this use case. Based on our research and testing, we have come up with our own recommendations for Keyshot users who want to get the fastest rendering times for their budget.
Is Keyshot a CPU or GPU-based rendering engine?
For a long time, Keyshot was solely a CPU-based rendering engine – but in recent versions, GPU support has been added as well.
Should I use CPU or GPU rendering in Keyshot?
GPU-based rendering is generally faster, especially with a powerful video card or even multiple cards, but the complexity of what it can work with is limited by how much video memory your GPUs have. CPU rendering utilizes the system memory (RAM) instead, which can be much larger – so while slower, it can render substantially larger projects.
What type of CPU does Keyshot need?
When using CPU-based rendering, Keyshot performance scales almost perfectly with both core count and clock speed. That means that a processor which has a lot of cores but can also maintain a fairly high frequency is ideal.
When using GPU rendering instead, the CPU is much less important – but it still plays a role, especially if you will be running 3D design or CAD software alongside Keyshot. In that case, a low core count but high clock speed chip is ideal.
What is the best CPU for Keyshot?
Both AMD and Intel offer workstation-class CPUs with high core counts, but right now AMD’s Threadripper line has the fastest options. Their top model is the AMD Threadripper PRO 7995WX, which has 96 cores and is the fastest for CPU rendering in Keyshot… but also extremely expensive. You can get more than 80% of its performance with the AMD Threadripper 7980X 64-core model, while saving thousands of dollars!
On the other hand, if you are using GPU rendering, the CPU matters very little. In that situation, we generally recommend a high clock speed chip like Intel’s Core family or AMD’s Ryzen line. Those also work well for 3D design and CAD applications, which are commonly used alongside Keyshot. If you want more than two video cards, a lower core count Threadripper PRO offers support for multiple GPUs.
Our custom built workstations for Keyshot are tested and optimized to give you the best performance and reliability, with options tailored to either CPU- or GPU-based rendering.
