What fun is having an AI workstation if you don’t dive deeply into what makes AI work. Inference is maybe 98% of AI tasks from image generation to machine learning and even basic chats and summaries. We rely on model makers to do the heavy lifting and provide models that we can use, either in the cloud or locally.
In my previous articles I discussed the balance between model quality and hardware requirements for running AI models locally. For this article I wanted to discuss software and how my AI Workstation build was designed to work with the software packages and how I can switch between them to complete certain tasks.
Building an AI workstation is rarely about buying the single fastest component on the market; it is about finding the specific "sweet spot" that fits your workload. Whether you are prioritizing VRAM capacity, PCIe lane availability, or thermal management, the right build depends entirely on how you plan to use your machine. The goal isn't just raw power, but the ability to run the tools you need efficiently.
This is the first article in a new AI Hardware series talking about the requirements for running AI Models and why paying attention to these things can help you build a better AI Workstation. If anything learning why a DGX Spark or Mac Mini work but, can also be really slow.
2026 marks the 30th year for Lexar and they started CES off with an announcement that they were going to be the global storage partner for the Argentina National Football (Soccer) Team and launched a number of AI focused storage devices.
Phanteks announced a new version of the EVOLV called the EVOLV X and it is good! All the bells, all the whistles and all the RGB now with vertical gpu support.
Speaking of tasteful the new X399 Gaming Xtreme motherboard is amazing. This will be a halo product from Aorus/Gigabyte occupying what would normally be considered a UD9. I am really looking forward to getting one of these into the lab.
EK Waterblocks is a new company for me to visit at Computex and much to my surprise they had a good majority of stuff on display from their low cost aluminum based watercooling kits to some ultra high-end wooden watercooling parts
Micron was announcing their Ballistix Sport AT TUF series memory. In keeping alignment with the ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance initiatives the Ballistix Sport AT modules are priced accordingly and feature a heatspreader design to match the ASUS TUF series motherboards.
Klevv is a popular memory company in South Korea and was showing off some of their latest memory products including the CRAS X DDR 4 RGB LED memory module.
Plenty of editors have praised Noctua for being brave enough to show new products at Computex that didn’t feature RGB LEDs. Attacking how companies use RGB is a soft target of sorts and for Noctua to not include it really helped them stand out this year.
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