Leveling up local game developers: The power behind their workstations

A local game studio known for their work on AAA titles, partnered with Punch Technology to overhaul their developer workstations, cutting IT build time and boosting performance across the studio

We spoke with our customers Lead IT Engineer about why he had chosen to work with Punch Technology and how their new workstations enabled their developers to work faster and with greater stability across a host of disciplines.

The challenge:

• Existing PCs outdated and underpowered for modern game development

• IT team losing significant time self-building PCs from components

• Rising costs and inefficiency

As Lead IT manager, our customer manages two IT Technicians, and he and his team are responsible for providing technical support to the developers at the studio. Developers at the studio cover a multitude of disciplines, including VFX, animation, rigging, surface artistry, as well as gameplay programming. Their artists typically use Adobe software to produce the texturing and Autodesk software to create the models.

The need for workstations that could power through diverse and demanding development tasks was a high-priority, but the IT team had additional requirements, as they explain:

“Our previous systems were in use pretty much all day, every day. They had many miles on them and began becoming underpowered for the ever-increasing demand of modern game development. 

 

When our systems needed upgrading, we would purchase all of the components individually and either myself or our technicians would build the PC up and provision it for use. This was expensive in terms of staff time and I suggested we look into system builders to save us time. 

 

I had previously used Punch Technology in a previous role and suggested we looked into them again. We very quickly discovered that Punch Technology were able to offer better specifications to what we were using at a cheaper price than it was costing us to purchase the components ourselves. Coupling the cost of the build, plus the fact that there’s a warranty and Punch being local, it was a no-brainer!”

Punch were first contacted with a link to a customised system from our website, and from there, the IT team and our technical sales team were able to fine tune the specification, and settle on a solution at a price point they were very happy with;

“Our unique requirement for (almost overkill) liquid cooling was respected and we were able to work out the best cooler we could get for our case, plus one that was the most aesthetically pleasing.

 

Punch were very knowledgeable and professional in all aspects of the build process. Given our experience in the PC Building side of IT, we would know for sure if we were being ‘had off’. At no point during any of our conversations with Punch did that thought ever cross our mind.”

This customer use case is one we frequently see at Punch Technology. The customer has the capability and the knowledge to build the system themselves, but the time spent sourcing and pricing components, building and testing and chasing individual product warranties when components fail becomes a full-time role in itself. Outsourcing the builds of their PCs allows the IT department to operate significantly more efficiently. 

No longer do they have to dedicate hours of their day to unboxing components, building the PC, disposing of packaging, testing and finally installing their own software on the machine. Now, they simply place the order and jump straight to installing the software when the PC arrives.

Punch Technology were even able to offer to store a ‘master image’ for the studio, saving them even more time on installing software, but as they explain;

“We declined this one, solely on the fact that some of our software is highly confidential. But the offer was appreciated very much.”

On the solution provided, the customer goes on to say;

“The performance of these new machines has been well received across the company. While our developers are generally very accepting of the hardware they receive, a few have noted just how rapid these newer machines are. 

 

With us standardising the case too, we have a very aesthetic remote bank, where all of the cases look the same and it’s all very ‘neat’. Before, we had a mixture of cases, with different form factors. This, while operationally fine, looked very unorganised. So moving to a standard case design has made the perfectionist in me very happy!”

Over the course of our work with this games studio, they have ordered more than 80 systems and in that time, only one has actually failed.

“However, this wasn’t anything that Punch had caused, it was a manufacturer defect. Punch very quickly had the machine back and dedicated themselves to repairing it. Within a few days, the diagnosis had been done, the replacement parts had been ordered, fitted, and the machine was ready to ship back to us. The only other issues we had was one with faulty memory and one with a faulty power supply unit. But, again, that was not anything that Punch had done. It was simply a manufacturer defect on those components. Punch replaced the Memory and PSU for us the very next day, and the problems were resolved.”

Supplying high-end development workstations to the games development industry requires a constant awareness of the changing hardware and software requirements that our customers need. In the customers own words:

“The games industry moves very quickly, constantly pushing the limits of innovation. We often have to have the very best PCs that money can buy, so we can stay ahead of the game (pun intended). We intend to continue using Punch for all of our new machines going forward.”

With Punch Technology supporting their future workstation requirements, the studio is free to focus on what it does best: delivering world-class games.

“Using Punch Technology has allowed our IT Department to take a completely hands-off (and worry-free) approach to our developer infrastructure. We know that we’re in safe hands with Punch and we can focus on other aspects of our roles.

 

I would 100% recommend Punch Technology to other games studios. Their professionalism, coupled with their vast knowledge is invaluable to us.”

Whether you’re an indie developer or a global studio, Punch Technology delivers high-performance workstations optimised for art, design, programming, and engineering. Speak to our expert technical sales team today to:

• Accelerate your workflow 
• Increase reliability and efficiency 
• Streamline your processes

Call 0151 3179860 or email [email protected] to get started.