The W522 is all about the processor. Not so much its raw performance (although there’s plenty to be had), but its specialized abilities. The scalable series of processors have been built with high-performance computing in mind. Thanks to the latest AVX chipsets you’ll see considerable performance increases for data analytics and database operations. Compression and cryptography tasks have also received a significant boost compared to the previous generation. If you want to run server functions on these CPUs, Intel says you’ll get as much as five time more performance compared to the Xeon chips this series replaces. This is also the most secure generation of Intel workstation CPUs to date. Perfect for sensitive projects where data security is paramount.

As standard the W522 ships with a 10-core scalable Xeon, but you can opt for a range of chips up to the 28-core flagship.

Our challenge with the W522 was to put together a system that would not hold the CPU back, but also wouldn’t make this unaffordable as a workstation. So each component has been chosen with care to perfectly balance cost and capability.

The AsRock workstation motherboard we’ve settled on punches far above its weight. Offering as much bang for buck as we’ve seen in this market segment. Couples with 32GB of fast DDR4 for in the base configuration and you aren’t getting any bottlenecks here.

A 1TB M.2 NVMe main drive keeps that theme going, with an ample 4TB mechanical hard drive backing it up for mass storage purposes. Finally, the Quadro T1000 provides enough professional graphics grunt for all but the most demanding professional users. Since this machine is aimed at accelerating CPU computing tasks, that’s a great trade off. Of course, you can put a real powerhouse like the Quadro A6000 in there without any issues. Especially since the PSU is 80 PLUS GOLD certified.