“If you can’t trust your hardware, it makes it impossible to develop your games.”
This is what Tim Gerritsen, Chief Operations Officer at Lost Boys Interactive, a studio that has contributed to massive games like WWE 2k22 and 23, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and Diablo IV, had to say about the importance of reliable workstations.
No dev wants to deal with constant crashes, sluggish performance, and long rendering times that can grind their creativity to a halt. What’s the solution? Investing in the right hardware and assembling a proper game developer workstation.
Now, you may want a machine as powerful and reliable as your imagination, but with so many different things to consider, where do you even begin? That’s what we aim to unravel here. From the basics like CPU and GPU recommendations, all the way to specific requirements for popular game engines like Unity and UE 5.
What should you take into consideration when assembling the perfect game developer workstation?
The basics
Here are the basics you should take into account:
- CPU
High-core-count CPUs are essential for modern game development. This means the CPU you choose should have at least 8 cores, but there’s never a thing as too much when it comes to cores. Ideally, your CPU should have 16 cores or more. AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors can get the job done here. You can also consider the new Ryzen 9000 series if you want the ultimate performance. - GPU
A high-performance GPU with plenty of VRAM is also crucial for game devs, especially if your games tend to have a higher level of visual effects, high-resolution textures, and the like. Going for a GPU with at least 8 gigs of VRAM is advised, with the ideal option being 16+ gigs.
You can consider NVIDIA RTX GPUs or an AMD Radeon RX 7000 series GPU for the best performance in real-time rendering, texture processing, and visual effects. - RAM
Since game devs tend to run multiple applications including game engines, design tools, code editors, and more at once, having a workstation kitted out with at least 64 gigs of RAM is ideal for current dev workloads. This will allow for smooth multitasking and efficient memory management. Keep in mind that applications such as UE 5 love to have more RAM so opting for 96GB-128GB may be your sweet spot for large scenes. - Storage
SSDs are a must for any high-performance system nowadays. However, it’s best to go for a two-pronged storage strategy; a fast NVMe SSD for the operating system, game engines, and frequently used tools, and a larger SSD for storing game assets like textures, models, and active project files.
Further optimizations
Now that the basics are out of the way, let’s take a look at some other crucial components that can further optimize your dev workflows.
- Motherboard
Choosing a motherboard with the most M.2 SSD slots and USB ports is highly recommended for any type of dev work. This will not only help you get the best performance out of your core components, but it will also accommodate future upgrades to the rig.
Additionally, if you’re going to be using capture cards and high-speed network adapters, make sure to choose a motherboard that is compatible with these needs. - Cooling
Cooling is especially important for heavy-duty work. You could go for either a liquid cooling system or a high-performance air cooling system. Both options can help you achieve lower temperatures under heavy workloads compared to air coolers that come bundled with CPUs. If you want the most reliability, consider air cooling. liquid cooling may look nicer but it’s not as reliable with its extra components such as a water pump. - Monitors
Definitely go for a multi-monitor setup so that you can multitask easily. Consider going for at least 2 high-res monitors, ideally 1440p or 4k, so you don’t have to constantly switch between applications and mess up your workflow.
Additionally, if you’re engaged in the visual design aspect of things, like textures, lighting, and visual effects, it’s best to go with a monitor with high colour accuracy. You can look for monitors with certifications like Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 for accurate colour representation.
Game engine specifics
Now, let’s take a look at what you should consider when assembling your game developer workstation for specific game engines.
Unity
Unity excels with multi-core processors. The engine distributes tasks across all the cores seamlessly, so the higher your core count, the better the processing efficiency. CPUs with at least 16 cores will perform really well with Unity. And don’t forget RAM—go for at least 32 gigs of RAM if your games contain large assets and complex scenes.
Unreal Engine 5
While UE 5 also benefits from high core counts, it’s also a good idea to consider clock speeds if you’re developing in Unreal. Going for a CPU with a decent balance between the two, like a AMD Ryzen 9, is the best call here.
However, everyone knows the real draw of UE5 is those stunning visuals. So, you should definitely go for a high-performance GPU. Go for the latest range of NVIDIA RTX GPUs with at least 16 gigs VRAM to get the best out of those high-res textures and complex visuals you can create with UE5.
Here’s a spec sheet from Epic Games themselves. This, a standard Lenovo P620 Content Creation Workstation, is a reasonable guideline if you want to build a computer for UE5 development.
- OS: Windows 10 22H2
- Power supply: 1000W power supply unit
- RAM: 128GB DDR4-3200
- Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3975WX 32 Cores 64 Threads
- OS drive: 1 TB M.2 NVMe3 x4 PCI-e SSD
- DATA drive: 4 TB Raid Array – 2 x 2TB NVMe3 x4 PCI-e SSD in Raid 0
- GPU: Nvidia RTX 3080 – 10GB
Godot Engine
This is a pretty good engine to go for if you’re either just getting started with game dev or experiencing budget constraints.
Godot can perform even with a single-core CPU, but a multi-core CPU is always a better choice if you want to get the most out of the engine. An AMD Ryzen 5 or better are good options here.
It doesn’t require too much GPU power, either, but don’t skimp out on your visual powerhouse. Go for a dedicated graphics card with decent VRAM
And one more thing…
Some engines like Unreal Engine 5 offer choices between DirectX 12 and Vulkan rendering APIs. Regardless of whether you prefer DirectX 12 or Vulkan, taking the time to look into what kind of hardware works well with the API you use can offer a slight performance boost as well.
Assemble the perfect game developer workstation with ease—go for a builder!
And there we go, now you know how to build the perfect game developer workstation!
Now, this might sound like a lot of work, especially if you just want to roll up your sleeves and get to the actual fun part, which is development. Well, now you can! Pre-configured PCs from PC builders can help you craft the perfect custom office PCs tailored to your needs and budget.
So, get your PC built and create the next masterpiece!
