Workstations for Nuke
Most of Nuke runs on a single processor thread, so clock speed sets the pace. We size these machines around that first, then add memory and GPU headroom for heavy scripts.
What matters for Nuke
- High processor clock speeds for single-threaded tasks
- 128GB of memory or more for rendering
- A strong NVIDIA GPU for the viewport and complex scenes
- A separate NVMe drive for projects and cache
Most tasks in Nuke are single-threaded, so high clock speeds come first, with more cores helping particles and multithreaded plug-ins. The viewport is GPU-driven: the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 32GB is good value and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 48GB suits very complex scenes. Many users consistently fill 128GB when rendering, and Threadripper suits long or high-resolution projects. Foundry requires NVIDIA drivers supporting CUDA 12.8 or later, and CopyCat training needs an NVIDIA GPU of compute capability 3.5 or later (Foundry requirements). Foundry does not document a gain from more than one GPU, so each tier uses one card. Standard and Heavy pair a Ryzen 9 9950X3D with 128GB and an NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 32GB or NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 48GB. Studio moves to a Threadripper 9970X with 256GB and an RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell 48GB, a 48GB card like the one in one of Foundry’s tested workstations.
Recommended configurations
Nuke – Standard
Electron · NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 32GB
For a single artist or engineer
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- RAM: 128GB DDR5 6000 2x64GB
- PCIe slots (16x): Nvidia RTX Pro 4500 Blackwell 32GB
- NVMe Storage (Gen 5.0): Samsung 9100 Pro Gen 5 2TB
- NVMe Storage (Gen 5.0): 2 × Samsung 9100 Pro Gen 5 4TB
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
£13,348.95 inc VAT
£11,124.13 ex VAT
Built to order · dispatched in 4 working days
Nuke – Heavy
Electron · NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 48GB
For professionals and freelancers
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- RAM: 128GB DDR5 6000 2x64GB
- PCIe slots (16x): Nvidia RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell 48GB
- NVMe Storage (Gen 5.0): Samsung 9100 Pro Gen 5 2TB
- NVMe Storage (Gen 5.0): 2 × Samsung 9100 Pro Gen 5 4TB
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
£16,666.59 inc VAT
£13,888.83 ex VAT
Built to order · dispatched in 11 working days
Nuke – Studio
Atom · NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell 48GB
For studios and small teams
- CPU: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X 32 Core
- RAM: 4 × 64GB RDIMM ECC DDR5 6400
- PCIe slots (16x): Nvidia RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell 48GB
- NVMe M.2 Drives (Gen 5): 2 × Samsung 9100 Pro Gen 5 4TB
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
£28,821.61 inc VAT
£24,018.03 ex VAT
Built to order · dispatched in 11 working days
Each recommended system is a starting point. Select Customise to add components or change the specification before you order.
Tell us what you need for Nuke
Share your Nuke version, typical script size, plug-ins and output resolution. We will review the right configuration and confirm availability before you order.
Frequently asked questions
Foundry’s requirements do not mention multi-GPU use in Nuke (Foundry requirements), so each configuration here has one card.
Most tasks in Nuke are single-threaded, so clock speed matters most. More cores help with particles and multithreaded plug-ins.
Foundry does not publish a minimum. Many users consistently fill 128GB when rendering, and Threadripper, which supports up to 512GB, suits long or high-resolution projects. Standard and Heavy have 128GB; Studio has 256GB.
Standard suits most compositing on one machine. Heavy adds the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 48GB for very complex scenes. Studio is for long or high-resolution projects that fill 128GB, with a 48GB card for heavy viewport and CopyCat work.
Foundry lists Rocky Linux 9, Windows 11 and macOS 15 and 26 (Foundry requirements). These configurations ship with Windows 11 Pro. Tell us if you need Linux.
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