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.
According to CES 2026 material there were over 4100 exhibitors registered to attend along with several unknowns looking to take advantage of CES by hosting their own events in area hotels. It is not practical to see everything but with a good pair of shoes and a crisp Pepsi I attempted to do the impossible.
Pro Gamers Group was available at CES showing of some of the latest products available in their catalog including a number of ultra light mice, a racing chair and some rather impressive GPU waterblocks.
Several memory makers were showing off multi module high-capacity builds and TeamGroup was one of the few to offer both ultra-fast modules and kits to support ultra-high capacities. This is one of the biggest challenges with modern system builds and TeamGroup seems to have figured it out.
During Computex 2025 MSI was showing a new MPower motherboard based on the B850 chipset and built with a Micro ATX form factor. The board features a single PCI Express Gen5 video card slot and two M.2 drive locations. To aid in memory overlocking the board is limited to only two memory slots and features a monster of a VRM to ensure accurate power delivery and hopefully break some records.
Gigabyte has been expanding their AI hardware offerings by launching a second generation AI Top with upgraded software for LLM training and the AI Box which is an external RTX 5090 that you can do RTX 5090 things with.
InWin has a long standing tradition to create a super unique unicorn of a chassis design and launch it during the show. Past versions included the popular H-Frame built from a series of tubes to create a trellis style frame around your computer components. S-Frame exposed how InWin was a master at converting a single sheet of aluminum into an artful and unique computer case. This year for the InWin 40th Anniversary they were showing ChronoMancy.
beQuiet is best known for their exceptionally silent coolers and case designs and will now be also know for having a completely custom set of mechanical keyboards and ultra light mice.
2024 could have been a better year for Hardware Asylum but, we still got to do some amazing things and explore some great new hardware. 2025 marks an attempt to change things up a bit, bring back from old friends and start some new chapters.
HighPoint Announces Rocket 1604L: The World’s Most Compact PCIe Gen5 x16 Retimer AIC for AI and Industrial EdgeTurboQuant - the Pied Piper Technology for AITurboQuant: Revolutionizing AI Efficiency Through Extreme Compression – A Game Changer for Search and Large Language ModelsBuilding a Multi-GPU AI Workstation on a BudgetGAMEMAX Introduces MAX PB Series ATX 3.1 80PLUS Bronze PSUsCOLORFUL Presents iGame Z890 ULTRA-S W and iGame Z890M ULTRA Z MotherboardsTEAMGROUP Introduces The T-CREATE CLASSIC H514 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSDBalancing Model Quality and Hardware Demands in AI WorkstationsEnGenius Brings AI-Powered Analytics and Sophisticated Cloud Management to Existing ONVIF CamerasG.SKILL DDR5 Memory Kits Confirmed as Intel XMP 3.0 'Ready' for Intel Core Ultra 200S Plus Series Processors