> What sort of hardware is needed to run SPX?
SPX can be run on an off-the-shelf computers or virtualized into cloud.
Hardware requirements will differ between setups as the SPX Server process itself has very small requirements but a live production setup needs more performant hardware as it runs both graphics and video applications on the same device.
SPX Server is developed as a cross-platform application and can run on Windows, MacOS, Linux (Debian: Ubuntu and others) and is also available as Docker containers for virtualized deployments such as Kubernetes.
The following will affect the HW requirements:
- Environment (VM or a physical device)
- Usage (Server, Renderer, Both, CasparCG, vMix etc...)
- Operating system
- Production (how performance intensive assets are used)
- Output (web only, SDI, NDI, ST2110...)
- Production format (HD, 4K...)
## Server only
SPX Server process runs in "the terminal" and as such does not have high system requirements, most importantly a fast disk IO is needed for maintaining state. This setup is usually used in virtualized environments (such as Docker/Kubernetes) when renderers are loaded on different devices in the network.
| **Item** | **Minimum** | **Recommended** VMWare |
| -------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| OS | Win11, MacOS, Linux | Linux Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS |
| CPU | "anything goes" | 4 x Xeon Gold 6226R 2900MHz (cores: 2) |
| RAM | 4Gb | 16Gb |
| Storage | 2Gb, SSD | 40Gb, NVMe SSD |
## Live streaming
In a typical live streaming setup the SPX Server runs on a regular computer or a laptop (PC or Mac), exposing a user interface in the browser and runs alongside a streaming software, like vMix or OBS. In this scenario, both the SPX Server and renderer are running on the same computer and a hardware accelerated graphics board is recommended for smooth graphics playout.
| **Item** | **Minimum** | **Recommended** |
| -------- | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| OS | Win11, MacOS | Win11, MacOS |
| CPU | i7 / AMD Ryzen 5+ | i7 12 Gen+ / AMD Ryzen 7+ |
| RAM | 16Gb | 32Gb |
| Storage | 20Gb, SSD | 40Gb, NVMe SSD |
| Graphics | nVidia RTX 2000 (or similar) | nVidia RTX 4000 (or similar) |
| | | |
## Broadcast production
In a typical live live production or a playout setup the SPX Server runs on a regular computer or a rack server exposing the renderer output, using API interface and producing a video output for the video switcher/mixer downstream. The output is often a pair of key+fill HD-SDI signals from SPX and a video software (such as CasparCG or SDIWare) and video I/O hardware (such as a Decklink video board) or an NDI stream with an alpha channel. Video processing will add some additional performance requirements.
| **Item** | **Minimum** | **Recommended** |
| -------- | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| OS | Win11, MacOS | Win11, MacOS |
| CPU | i7 / AMD Ryzen 5+ | i7 12 Gen+ / AMD Ryzen 7+ |
| RAM | 16Gb | 64Gb |
| Storage | 20Gb, SSD | 40Gb, NVMe SSD |
| Graphics | nVidia RTX 2000 (or similar) | nVidia RTX 4000 (or similar) |
| Video IO | Decklink, AJA, Matrox... | Decklink, AJA, Matrox... |
> Please note: Provided information is for reference only and your actual setup and workflow requirements may have an effect on the performance and the system should be carefully tested before going live.
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### Read Next
- [[Documentation/Products/SPX Production|SPX Production]] — Professional graphics for live events and streaming
- [[Documentation/Products/Overview|Products Overview]] — Compare all SPX versions side by side
- [[Documentation/Server/Integration/MOS|MOS Integration]] — NRCS integration details
- [[FAQ/Cloud Deployment|Cloud Deployment]] — Deploy SPX in the cloud