Best Computer for Blender [Pro Editors Choice 2024]

Blender is an open-source software that comes loaded with all the essential tools required for professional work. It is a highly versatile digital content creation tool that you can use in a vast variety of both high-budget and low-budget assemblies. The software is open-source, free, and highly flexible if you have the right computer set up for the task.

We list the top five computers for Blender, along with their pros and cons. These computers are guaranteed to have all of Blender’s hardware requirements. If you take a look at the end results, you won’t notice much difference in the requirements when compared to your typical PC/workstation. However, there are some factors involved that can significantly impact your blender’s performance, and we’ll cover them all.

We’ll also take a look at some of the best compatible hardware for Blender, allowing you to make upgrades to your PC build. We highly recommend our readers refer to the buyer’s guide as it will help you prioritize what features to look for in the best computer for Blender. So now that we have everything sorted out, let’s head into it.

How Blender Utilizes Hardware

Blender is a very versatile program that can perform multiple tasks. You can use it to make everything from 3D-printed dentures to movies. Blender contains models dedicated to 3D animation, 3D modeling, rendering, 3D sculpting, 2D animation, video editing, and so much more. All of this versatility makes it difficult to pick out a single performance scenario. However, we’ll tackle some of the most common ones to make things simpler.

3D sculpting

The sculpting system in Blender was refactored partially for version 2.8, discarding loads of indefensible codes. However, Blender 2.9 is a game-changer as it offers new features which go beyond sculpting, with significant improvements along with it.

If you consider the current sculpting system, it is CPU-based, relying on decent multi-threaded performance. Moreover, it also requires aggressive RAM caching to deliver the best performance and consistency while working with high-poly models.

Although Blender hits CPU processing bottlenecks and RAM capacity much quicker than other sculpting programs out there, it still guarantees the delivery of solid sculpting performance when provided with the proper hardware.

3D Modeling

3D modeling is another major task that Blender is utilized for. Blender works by splitting modeling workloads amongst the CPU and GPU. This makes Blender a splendid, undemanding tool best suited for low-poly and mid-poly modeling. However, for high-poly work, you’re going to need a very powerful workstation. The more power you have, the greater the advantage you’ll be able to grasp from things like parametric modeling and OpenSubdivision.

Cycles Rendering

Cycle is a production rendering engine for Blender. It has been utilized for a variety of films and TV shows, like Man in the High Castle. Moreover, its use has been implemented in a large number of commercials. Cycles is basically a cross-platform, physically based, unidirectional path tracer able to run on a CPU, GPU, or in a CPU+GPU hybrid mode. Moreover, it can run in single or multi-processor configurations. As a result, it is extremely powerful, flexible, and super easy to work with.

However, just like most production engines, Cycles is very demanding. It utilizes the full advantage of multi-threaded performance and is a well-known benchmark tool for CPUs and GPUs. Although Cycles has a more extensive feature set on the CPU, it renders much faster on the GPU.

Eevee Rendering

Eevee has been built for real-time rendering along with visual development. It contains a PBR feature set that matches other real-time engines like Lumberyard and Unreal. Although Eevee cannot attain the same fidelity as Cycles, you should know that it isn’t meant to do so. Eevee supports ambient occlusion, bloom, screen-space reflections, motion blur, indirect light baking, volumetrics, depth of field, and so much more.

Eevee is able to run pretty smoothly on midrange to high-end GPUs. However, the best performance can be obtained when it has access to ample VRAM. In addition, it has been shown to give better performance on Nvidia cards when compared with the performance on AMD cards.

Best Computers for Blender

Now that we know most of the things about Blender, let’s go ahead and review the top five computers for Blender. Each computer has been tested thoroughly and chosen for this list after being compared with numerous other machines.

Please refer to our buyer’s guide before checking out each computer to grab an idea of what features to prioritize in the best computer for Blender.

SkyTech Blaze II

With the new SkyTech Blaze II, SkyTech has easily accomplished what it set out to do. The SkyTech Blaze II offers users a professionally built platform best suited for enthusiast-level gaming and other major heavy tasks. In addition, the pre-built model is priced reasonably compared to the DIY route, where you have to assemble it yourself from parts provided.

The design of the SkyTech Blaze II with its mATX tempered glass gaming case is absolutely brilliant. It presents an alluring look with its premium build quality. The tempered glass panel does a wonderful job of revealing the RGB-lit internals, greatly enhancing the build’s aesthetics.

Moreover, the cable work is super neat, and you won’t be dealing with any stray wires in sight. The port selection on the front is decent and includes one USB 3.1 port, two USB 2.0 ports, and microphone jacks. You get multiple USB ports along with HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA ports, and so much more on the back. The three RGB ring fans provide maximum airflow and prevent any chances of overheating.

Moving to performance, the SkyTech Blaze II falls into a mid-tier configuration. This computer is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor featuring six cores and 12 threads. The processor has a base clock speed of 3.4 GHz, and this can be boosted to a maximum of 3.9 GHz.

Blaze II has 8 GB of RAM and 500 GB of internal SSD storage, which is 30x faster than traditional HDD storage. The computer houses a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card. This will definitely provide acceptable performance with Blender, and you’ll love how smoothly each task is performed.

The SkyTech Blaze II accomplishes many highlights such as brilliant cooling, spacious aesthetic design, outstanding performance while providing the ultimate value for money. This computer is easily one of the best computers for Blender.

Pros

• Reliable HD 60 fps gaming
• Brilliant Case design
• Neat wire management
• Fast processor

Cons

• No USB-C port
• No card reader
• Loud fans when under load

ASUS ROG Strix GA15DH

The ASUS ROG Strix GA15DH is a bold, sleek, and unpretentious PC build that elevates performance to new heights with the most appropriate hardware and credentials. The ROG Strix GA15DH works brilliantly hard to justify its price tag and provides high-end performance to suit all your needs. This PC is ideal for Blender and will put out the performance you deserve.

The design of the ROG Strix GA15DH is brilliant with its slick black aesthetics. A few design accents on the build really bring out the good looks, giving it a sleek and robust design. The single RGB strip on the front panel makes the computer look super neat and pleasing.

The transparent side panel provides a brilliant view of the beautiful LED-lit interior. The port selection on the computer is excellent as you have all sorts of ports, including Type-C, USB 3.2 ports, ethernet ports, HDMI, DisplayPort, and so much more. It also includes Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1, allowing wireless connectivity.

Moving on to the performance specs, the ASUS ROG Strix GA15DH is very impressive. This PC houses the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X processor, which is a six-core processor and has 12 threads. Multithreading can come in super handy to efficiently perform various tasks in Blender.

The processor has a 32M cache and can have a clock speed of up to 4.4 GHz, which is massive. Moving to storage, the ASUS ROG Strix GA15DH contains up to 256 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD, which are brilliant storage options. On top of that, the computer also houses 8GB of DDR4 3200 MHz RAM to suit your needs and allow smooth performance.

The ASUS ROG Strix GA15DH is loaded with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super graphics card for graphics. The computer also has Flow Tech Ventilation, which elevates internal cooling, maximizing your system performance.

Pros

• Premium design
• An ideal blend of form and function
• Excellent performance

Cons

• Lacks in-the-box mouse and keyboard

iBUYPOWER Desktop Element MR 9320

The iBUYPOWER Desktop Element MR 9320 is a brilliant PC that handles high-end games and productive tasks with ease, providing top-notch performance to users. This serves better than a typical gaming console and also costs much less.

In addition, this computer serves excellent looks along with performance, decent connectivity, and newer components. Moreover, this PC is highly future-proof and will serve you great in the years to come.

Although you’ll find much more expensive custom-built PCs out there, the custom-built PC case on the iBUYPOWER Desktop Element MR 9320 is similar to the one you’ll find anywhere else, but it looks super great.

The case houses three LED rings on the front along with tempered glass on the side panels. The tempered glass reveals the neat interior and allows tool-less access to the inside. The port selection on the PC is also quite decent, as the front and back house a number of USB ports, HDMI and DisplayPort’s, wireless connectivity options, and so much more to suit your needs.

Coming to performance, the iBUYPOWER Desktop Element MR 9320 impresses users in every aspect. This PC houses the Intel Core i7-10700F processor containing a total of eight cores and 16 threads.

It has a clock speed of 2.9 GHz, which can be turbo boosted up to 4.8 GHz, which is brilliant. The multi-thread performance allows the computer to handle multithread-based tasks with ease. For storage, the computer houses 240 GB SSD along with a 1 TB HDD, enough to satisfy your needs for a long time. The computer also accommodates up to 16 GB DDR4 RAM, which keeps everything running smooth and crisp.

The Element MR 9320 utilizes NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6GB graphics card for graphics. This card is VR-ready and will provide high-end graphics for you to gain the best performance. Overall, the iBUYPOWER Desktop Element MR 9320 is a brilliant PC that provides both aesthetics and outstanding performance. In addition, this PC will suit your Blender work perfectly well.

Pros

• Tremendous productivity and gaming performance
• Brilliant chassis
• Value for money

Cons

• Basic audio outputs
• Not the perfect choice for QHD/UHD gaming

HP OMEN 30L

The HP OMEN 30L is another excellent PC for Blender as it runs all sorts of programs smoothly and has powerful specs to suit your work perfectly. Thanks to a brilliant cooling system and powerful hardware, the PC delivers well-balanced performance and keeps its users highly satisfied.

Although expensive, if you have the budget for it, every dollar you’ll be spending will be worth it. The HP OMEN 30L gets its name from the 30-liter interior space it has provided.

The HP OMEN 30L has a brilliant design with a tempered glass front panel, providing a decent and aesthetic look. An additional tempered glass left panel also reveals the bright RGB lit interior. This provides a sleek modern touch to the PC. The front panel contains tiny triangle cutouts that provide airflow to the 120 mm Cooler Master RGB fan. The port selection is fantastic as the computer is loaded with all sorts of USB ports, including Type-C ports, HDMI, and DisplayPort video outputs.

Moving on to performance, you’ll find the Intel Core i9-10850K processor in this setup. This powerful processor features ten cores and 20 threads, enough to handle any task you throw at it. For graphics, the computer houses the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, which delivers ultra-performance allowing users to enjoy 4K gaming, and anything else in a smooth and crisp atmosphere.

In addition, the PC provides dual storage options in the form of 1 TB SSD and 2 TB HDD. These brilliant storage options give you the best of both worlds. In addition, you’ll be able to enjoy up to 32 GB of HYPERX DDR4 memory with the HP OMEN 30L, providing super-smooth performance.

Overall, the HP OMEN 30L is a brilliant choice to go with for Blender as it has very high specs to meet all your requirements. Moreover, the price is also reasonable, and the PC guarantees value for money.

Pros

• Brilliant performance
• Powerful components
• Quiet performance
• Outstanding design

Cons

• Lacks power-supply shroud
• The side panel window reveals too many cables

CUK OMEN 30L

The CUK OMEN 30L is the final computer to be reviewed on our list. This is a powerful PC with a well-balanced blend of high-quality airflow and brilliant performance. The computer is loaded with powerful hardware to get all your jobs done in the best way.

The computer is brilliant for productivity tasks and gaming, and you’ll love the time you spend with it. Although it may seem a little expensive, the price tag is completely justified once you take a look at what it has to offer.

The design is quite similar to the HP OMEN 30L as it features a tempered glass front panel revealing an RGB lit cooling fan. This provides a highly aesthetic look to your PC. On top of that, the left side panel also houses tempered glass, revealing all the beautiful RGB lit interior. The cable management is pretty neat.

The front panel contains triangular cutouts to provide channels for airflow while at the same time contributing to aesthetics. The port selection is brilliant as you have all sorts of ports available, including USB Type-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, and so much more.

Moving on to performance, this brilliant computer is a beast and will suit your Blender work perfectly. The CUK OMEN 30L houses the Intel Core i9-10900KF processor featuring ten cores and 20 threads. This provides brilliant performance no matter what the task is. The processor is overclocking unlocked and has a base clock speed of 3.7 GHz, which can be turbo boosted to 5.3 GHz.

The storage options are brilliant as you get 1 TB of Solid-State Drive along with 2 TB Hard Disk Drive. For RAM, the CUK OMEN 30L houses a total of 64 GB DDR4 memory, allowing programs to run smoothly and crisp. For graphics, the CUK OMEN 30L features the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB GDDR6 graphics card, which provides ultra-performance, allowing you to get the best out of your graphics.

Pros

• High build quality
• Quiet performance
• High-performance hardware
• Great cooling

Cons

• Expensive

Best Hardware Picks for Blender

Now that we have looked into the hardware requirements for Blender and some of the best computers, let’s take a look into some specific hardware to see how it’ll influence your Blender workstation.

GPU

Blender software makes use of GPU acceleration, meaning a decent GPU will have a significant impact on anything you perform with Blender. Of course, every GPU is different, and some differences can be more important than others. However, there are some things you should be aware of before committing to any brand or product.

CUDA vs. OpenCL in Blender

CUDA is a proprietary architecture, API, and toolkit from NVIDIA working only with Nvidia graphics cards. This is a very powerful tool for users having proper hardware configuration and provides loads of resources and support for developers using it.

OpenCL is an open-source architecture originally created by Apple. It is meant for heterogeneous computing and is a general-purpose toolkit making all sorts of processors work together, providing high flexibility.

Blender functions much faster and smoother on CUDA GPUs. The basic reason for this is that CUDA is built to be utilized the way Blender functions. On the other hand, OpenCL isn’t a competitor of CUDA but rather provides bootstrapped processing networks.

What GPU Should I Use for Blender?

Considering Blender’s solid CUDA implementation and heavy GPU acceleration use, the Nvidia graphics cards are the best choice you can go with. Although Non-CUDA cards may not be ideal for rendering, they still serve to be a decent choice for consistent viewport performance.

When you consider GPU specifications, you need to pay attention to the number of computing cores along with the amount of VRAM. Blender eats a lot of VRAM, and a GPU with high VRAM will provide better performance in tasks like sculpting, GPU rendering, and high poly modeling.

Best GPUs for Blender – GPU recommendations

CUDA

• Budget Choice: Nvidia GTX 1660 Super
• Best Value: Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti and Nvidia RTX 3070
• Best Performance Pick: Nvidia RTX 3090 or Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti

OpenCL

• AMD Radeon RX 6800XT or RX 6800
• AMD Radeon RX 5700XT or RX 5700

CPU

Although you can handle certain tasks on single-thread performance, Blender will utilize multithreading wherever it can. If you plan to use all Blender features, you must pick a processor with a balanced set of features.

The Blender software is highly optimized for a multithreaded CPU. So, buying a powerful CPU for your PC build will definitely provide better performance with Blender.

Best CPUs For Blender – CPU recommendation

• AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
• AMD Threadripper 3970X
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
• AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
• AMD Ryzen 5 3600

If you’re on the Intel side, the Intel Core i9-11900K will serve as a great buy for Blender as it provides amazing work performance along with brilliant multi-core performances.

Motherboards

A motherboard holds all the components of your PC in one place and provides more stability to your PC build rather than directly affecting any performance. You’ll experience the benefits of motherboards once you begin overclocking. Moreover, you can also take advantage of any additional PCIe slots or M.2 capacities.

The motherboard you’ll be choosing depends on your CPU socket and form factor, plus the number of GPUs you plan on using. A large motherboard will have more expansion slots and ports and will serve more beneficial to users.

Recommendations For Motherboards

• AMD Socket AM4: Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite or MSI Tomahawk B550
• AMD Socket sTRX4: ASRock TRX40 Creator

• AMD Socket TR4: Gigabyte Designare Ex X399
• Intel Socket 2066: MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon ATX 2066
• Intel Socket LGA-1151 v2: Asus Prime Z390-A II
• Intel Socket LGA-1200: Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Elite

RAM

Although mid-range processors and graphics cards can work with Blender, insufficient RAM is something you cannot surpass with this software. Blender is optimized for broad performance conditions as it performs heavy tasks and does a bit of everything. Blender has multiple data structures with operations that can utilize both CPU and GPU. These operations are altered by caching and duplicating data in your RAM, providing the systems a clean illustration for operation.

This way, data losses are limited, and stability is improved, but it does require the consumption of a significant amount of RAM. If you use Blender for anything beyond simple scenes, you’ll be needing at least 16 GB to 32 GB of RAM. However, if you plan to multitask and take on heavy projects, you should have up to 64 GB of RAM to get things done perfectly.

RAM Recommendations

• Performance Pick: G.Skill RipJaws 3600MHz CL16 or Crucial Ballistix 3600Mhz CL16
• Best Value:  Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 RAM 3200MHz CL16

Storage

Storage can have a major impact on your Blender’s performance. Therefore, investing properly in the right storage drives can benefit you greatly. Blender constantly writes temporary files and haves them auto-saved to the disk. Therefore, in order to get the best performance output, you must have your work distributed across multiple drives.

Utilizing a 3-drive configuration can enhance your performance. For example, having your software and OS on one SSD, your data caches and project files on another SSD, and your archived files on a separate HDD, will give you the ideal performance while working on your projects.

For SSD, it is highly recommended to use NVMe SSD over SATA as the performance gains are quite significant. HDD prices are quite low, and you’ll easily manage to get high-capacity drives pretty cheap.

Features To Consider – Buyer’s Guide

Whenever you go on to buy a product, it’s necessary to clarify what characteristics you must prioritize. This way, you’ll be able you buy a quality product and spend your money wisely. The computer you need to buy should depend on your expertise level. For users taking their first step into Blender, a midrange computer will serve to be a decent bargain.

On the other hand, if you’re familiar with things and plan on working professionally, a premium-grade computer will suit you best. Asides from expertise, there are some technical points to ponder over. This will help you avail the best-suited computer for yourself.

Graphics Card

Before the invention of cycles, GPU played a much less significant role. However, with the advent of cycles, it has become a priority to search for a computer housing the best GPU for Blender. Powerful graphics cards allow cycles to flourish, and although it can render on processors, paring with a GPU can increase the performance of your PC.

The most reputable and trustworthy brand these days is Nvidia. As a matter of fact, Nvidia is the only brand that works with cycles. Therefore, laying focus on a premium GPU is of vital importance.

CPU

A decent CPU is an essential need for Blender to work best. A CPU with many cores and threads will always come to the rescue whenever you perform complex and heavy tasks or even multitask. This can greatly affect your workflow and allows everything to function smoothly and crisp, greatly reducing your work time. Therefore, getting a computer with a powerful CPU is of paramount importance and will greatly affect your Blender performance.

RAM

RAM is a vital parameter often neglected by buyers, mostly because it hardly affects the render times. However, considering the amount of RAM for understanding your memory usage limit is important. Heavy tasks will utilize more RAM, and the higher your RAM, the better your performance.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

Do I need a good computer for Blender?

Answer: A good computer is very vital for Blender. Even though mid-range computers can run Blender pretty well, the more complex your tasks get, the more powerful hardware you’ll require. Therefore, it is essential to equip yourself with a good computer to reap the greatest benefits out of Blender.

Can I run Blender on a laptop?

Answer: Blender can run on almost any laptop, provided the laptop meets the required specifications in order to run the software smoothly and crisply.

How powerful does your PC need to be for Blender?

Answer: The minimum requirements to run Blender:

• Memory: 2 GB
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
• CPU: Intel Core i3-530
• File Size: 500 MB
• OS: Windows Vista

Is a graphics card necessary for Blender?

Answer: Blender does not require a dedicated GPU to function as all the functions can be run using your computer’s CPU instead. However, the purpose of a GPU is to enhance the performance of Blender. Other than that, it is just an optional piece for your software.

Wrapping It Up

Blender is an open-source software that comes loaded with all the essential tools required for professional work. It is a highly versatile digital content creation tool that you can use in a huge variety of both high and low budget assemblies. The software is open-source, free, and highly flexible if you have the right computer up for the task.

Blender can be used to perform a whole range of tasks such as 3D animation, rendering, film making, video editing, 3D modeling, and so much more. To run Blender perfectly well, you’ll have to equip yourself with the best computer for the job. The list we have concluded and reviewed for you was compiled after testing a number of computers. These computers have been picked out on the basis of a unique criteria our team developed.

The computers chosen are guaranteed to provide wonderful performance and run your Blender in the best way possible. After going through each product along with the buyer’s guide, it must be evident which computer will suit you best and what features you must be looking for.

We hope this article will have helped you in pursuing the best computer for Blender.

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