The Asus ProArt Station is a Pre-Built PC Made for Creative Professionals
Asus announced Tuesday the ProArt Station PD5, a pre-built PC tower that’s meant for creative professionals looking for a system that marries power and graphics.
The ProArt Station includes an Intel Core i9 processor (13th gen), Nvidia GeForce RTX A4000, a 2TB solid-state drive, and 32GB DDR4 U-DIMM memory. It’s also possible to upgrade to 128GB of RAM and the company notes that there will be an option to upgrade to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card, though only the A4000 is listed at the time of publication. Asus says it can also come with up to 4TB SSD.
The ProArt Station PD5 has a high-definition 7.1-channel audio with Dolby Atmos and Asus’s proprietary two-way AI noise cancellation. Along the front, it has a handy two-in-in SD and MMC reader as well as two USB-A ports, but just one USB-C. There are six USB ports in the back, but those are all USB-A, and only two of those are USB 3.2 Gen 2, while the other four are 2.0. The back also has an Ethernet port, two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, three 7.1-channel audio ports, and a PS/2 port.
Of note, the two HDMI ports are both version 1.4, which is quite outdated. That specification is meant to be capable of 4K, but don’t expect high-quality frame rates. For that, look for an HDMI 2.0 or — even better — 2.1. Unfortunately, the Asus ProArt Station does not have either.
The PC tower stands at 16.42 inches tall, 7.09 inches wide, and 16.05 deep, which is just slightly more compact than the Mac Pro, which is 20.8 inches tall, 8.58 wide, and 17.7 inches deep, for comparison.
It has “smart LED light bars,” which are meant to indicate the status of the CPU and GPU, which will blink blue if the load exceeds 90 percent, or provide rendering notifications. The LED colors can be customized through the ProArt Creator Hub. The ProArt Station can also send rendering progress email notifications. For those with full inboxes, it can send a notification via Microsoft Teams instead. The design and has a latched power button to help avoid accidental shut-offs and a handle for portability.
Asus also claims the new ProArt tower is as quiet as possible due to its “improved multizone cooling design” whicih “promotes internal airflow and provides more breathing room for essential components like the CPU, GPU, and PSU.” Asus says this keeps operational noise below 40dB.
“This means hot air is efficiently directed outside, lowering the CPU and GPU temperatures for maximum performance and ensures a stable system to eliminate slowdowns, application crashes, and unexpected shutdowns,” a release from Asus reads.
ProArt Station PD5 costs $2,700, is available starting today, and ships with a mouse a keyboard, both of which are wired. Two additional configurations are coming in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024.
Image credits: Asus
