Small System for Big Simulations and Renderings

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.

"With renderPRO 1, we've designed a complete computer, but eliminated the unnecessary features, boiling it down to what matters most for our customers — CPU core count," said Shoaib Mohammad, vice president of Marketing and Business Development at BOXX, in the renderPRO 1 announcement. "It's a portable render farm and the only desk-side personal rendering and simulation solution designed for offloading computationally intensive tasks. When our customers pair it with a workstation like our APEXX 1, they'll work faster and more efficiently than ever before."

The renderPRO 1 is built with a single Intel Xeon E5 v3 processor with up to 18 cores and 36 threads. It comes with 16GB of memory, integrated ASPEED AST2400 graphics, 240GB SSD (solid state drive) SATA 6GB/s storage and 64-bit Windows or Linux. The renderPRO 1 supports up to 64GB of DDR4-2133 memory and AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro graphics. Additional storage capabilities include up to two 2.5-in. SATA 1TB drives or 1.2TB SSDs. Available optional equipment includes a USB hub and an external CD-R drive.

Port connections are four USB 3.0, two Intel Gigabit Ethernet, one VGA and one RJ45 IPMI (intelligent platform management interface). The renderPRO 1 has a single low-profile PCI Express Gen 3 x16 expansion slot, a 300 W power supply and liquid-cooling system that, according to BOXX, ensures cool, quiet and reliable performance.

The BOXX renderPRO 1 incorporates a liquid-cooling system that, says BOXX, ensures cool, quiet and reliable performance. Image courtesy of BOXX Technologies.

The renderPRO 1 features the same chassis as the company's new ultra-small form factor BOXX APEXX 1 workstation, and its all-aluminum chassis can sit on top of that workstation as well as the user's desk side. The renderPRO 1 has unibody core, interlocking strengthening side panels and four corner bumpers that, explains BOXX, allow this rendering system to stand vertically, horizontally or as a stacked component in a portable render farm.

The renderPRO 1 measures 4.7 x 8.5 x 9.13 in. (11.94 x 21.59 x 23.19 cm; W x H x D). It requires power and a network connection to start working. Once users connect the renderPRO 1 to their network, they use the included BOXXView software to discover and take control.

This rearview image shows some of the BOXX renderPRO 1's connectors. The BOXX renderPRO 1 rendering system offers USB, Intel Gigabit Ethernet, VGA and RJ45 IPMI (intelligent platform management interface). Image courtesy of BOXX Technologies.

BOXX Technologies says that the renderPRO 1 is “ideal” for such applications as KeyShot, Mental Ray and Autodesk 3ds Max. Base pricing for the BOXX renderPRO 1 begins at $3,207, according to the BOXX website. To learn more about the BOXX renderPRO 1, click here.

Watch a video introduction to the renderPRO 1 and the BOXX workflow.

Download the renderPRO 1 spec sheet.

See why DE's editors selected the BOXX renderPRO 1 as their Pick of the Week.

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