Compute-intensive industries are the target of HP’s latest desktop workstations. HP Inc. said its recently announced Z Workstations manage data storage challenges 16 times more quickly than comparably priced SATA solid-state storage devices, while also offering a significantly quieter cooling system.
Equipped with HP’s Z Turbo Drive Quad Pro, the new HPZ440 (pictured), Z640, and Z840 Workstations can help users manage large volumes of stored data at sequential performance speeds of up to 9.0 GB per second, according to tests cited by HP.
That kind of speed enables the new workstations to handle the big-data demands of compute-intensive industries like media and entertainment, CAD, architecture, finance, healthcare, scientific imaging, and oil and gas exploration.
Another new feature, the HP Z Cooler, provides cooling for HP Z Workstations that is some 40 percent quieter to the human ear, according to HP. The system works through a combination of 3D vapor chamber technology and HP’s staggered, hex-fin design. HP said the Z Cooler lowers CPU fan speed and reduces noise by up to 8.5 dBA to minimize distractions even under demanding workloads.
‘Power of a Traditional Workstation’
Ron Rogers, vice president and head of engineering for Workstations and Thin Clients, said HP introduced liquid cooling for workstations years ago and other vendors are just now catching up to that solution. The new HP Z Cooler technology offers fewer moving parts, resulting in “quieter systems and increased reliability, ultimately enabling a more productive workplace experience,” he added in a statement.
The HP Z Turbo Drive Quad Pro is priced at $ 1,376 for a fully loaded card with four 256-GB modules, while the HP Z Cooler sells for $ 120.
HP also recently launched a new ZBook Studio quad-core workstation Ultrabook. The company said this new 15.6-inch device is the “thinnest and lightest full-performance model ever brought to the market.”
Other recent releases from HP include the Z240 Tower and the Z240 SFF Workstations, which feature Intel entry-level Xeon processors. Priced starting at $ 879, the tower and workstations each support the option for an HP Z Turbo Drive. The HP Z240 provides users “a compact, affordable solution packed with the power of a traditional workstation,” said Jim Zafarana, HP Inc’s vice president and general manager for Workstations and Thin Clients, in the statement.
Workstation Market a ‘Two-Horse Race’
Lloyd Cohen, director of worldwide market analysis for IDC’s Global Enterprise Server Solutions group, told us that one of the major highlights of the new workstations is that they can incorporate Xeon processors. “These were previously only available in desktop workstations,” he said.
HP’s newest workstations are not only lighter weight than the company’s previous models, but also provide longer battery life, Cohen said.
“The workstation market at present is a two-horse race between Dell and HP,” he said. Both of them have introduced mobile machines that are better than their predecessors.
Cohen also pointed out that IDC has forecasted an increase in the growth rate of shipments for mobile workstations, noting they may take away from desktop-workstation shipments since their performance capability has improved.
