HP unveiled workstation offerings that include the first small form factor workstation to be available in every region of the world, multicore processor updates to its Z Workstation series and a mobile workstation with DreamColor display technology.

• Adding to the award-winning HP Z Workstation series, the HP Z200 SFF Workstation delivers workstation performance and reliability in a sleek, ultracompact and affordable package, and is a great choice for space-constrained environments including the health care, engineering, education, financial and original equipment manufacturer markets.
• New six-core, 32nm Intel Xeon 5600 series processors are now available on HP Z800, Z600 and Z400 workstations, which deliver greater parallel processing performance.
• Dressed in a gun metal anodized-aluminum finish, the HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation is HP's most powerful mobile workstation to date. It delivers advanced graphics and performance capabilities, along with the ability to produce accurate, predictable and consistent color through its HP DreamColor display.

Jim Zafarana, vice president and general manager, Workstations, HP said, "HP has invested in research and development through the economic downturn, innovating on top of our industry-leading workstations to provide an undeniably differentiated experience in our new product. HP customers are famous for pushing the limits of innovation, and as their industries undergo digital transformations, their next generation of breakthroughs is being powered by HP technology.”

According to Anthony Neal-Graves, general manager for workstations at Intel, “The new Intel Xeon Processor 5600 series runs multithreaded workstation applications up to 45 percent faster than its predecessor, the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 series. Workstations powered by the new Intel Xeon Processor5600 series give application developers the reliability, capacity and performance to help them bring innovative ideas to life faster than ever before.”

Pricing and availability

• The HP Z200 SFF Workstation is expected to be available worldwide starting April 5. U.S. pricing starts at $739.
• The HP Z400, Z600 and Z800 are available today worldwide. U.S. pricing starts at $929 for the HP Z400 Workstation, $1,579 for the HP Z600 Workstation and $1,799 for the HP Z800 Workstation.
• The HP EliteBook 8740w is expected to be available worldwide starting in April. U.S. pricing starts at $1,999.

More information about the products, including product specifications and images, is available at www.hp.com/personal

Commentary By Jeffrey Rowe, Editor

We just returned from the introduction of these workstations in California. As a matter of fact they were actually introduced at two Hollywood studios - Raleigh Studios (today, the oldest movie studio still operating) and Dreamworks Animation. Over the course of the two-day event, HP introduced several desktop and mobile workstations that were well-suited to demanding computational tasks, such as MCAD and animation.

During the event, HP discussed some interesting market statistics, including:

• HP has just surpassed Dell in terms of overall workstation market share (42.4% vs. 42%)
• HP is the #1 workstation in terms of market share for engineering and MCAD applications
• Although desktop workstations still outsell mobile workstations by a 3:1 ratio, there is a definite and continuing trend toward mobility.

Below are some of the new computing platforms that we saw up close and personal.

With a starting price rivaling those of traditional desktop computers, the HP Z200 SFF breaks new ground with a space-saving design that is almost two-thirds smaller than the Z200 minitower workstation. The HP Z200 SFF offers dual-core processor options based on the new Intel Core i3 and i5 series, as well as quad-core processor options based on the enterprise-class Intel Xeon 3400 series.


All of the major subsystems (power supply, RAM, hard drive, etc.) in the HP Z200 SFF Workstation are user accessible and replaceable.
The HP Z200 SFF supports up to 16 GB of ECC memory and up to 2 terabytes (TB) of high-speed storage. It also includes professional 2D and 3D graphics options. In addition, the HP Z200 SFF is designed for ease of use and serviceability - with a tool-less chassis, convenient USB ports located on the front of the system and a FireWire 1394a card option.

The HP Z200 SFF Workstation includes an 89 percent efficient power supply, has ENERGY STAR 5.0 qualified configurations and is registered as Electronics Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold, the highest rating available.

For multithreaded workstation applications such as engineering, 3D digital content creation, and science, HP Z Workstations with the new Intel Xeon Processor 5600 series offer up to 12 cores with integrated memory controllers, Intel Turbo Boost Technology and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology. Available on the HP Z800, Z600 and Z400 workstations, the new processors allow for up to 24 threads to run at one time when using two 6-core processors with Hyper-Threading turned on.

The HP Z Workstations offer a variety of options for diverse needs, including:

• The HP Z800 offers the latest Intel Xeon 5500 and 5600 series processors, providing up to 12 processing cores, up to 192 GB of ECC memory, up to 10 TB of high-speed storage and up to dual NVIDIA Quadro FX 5800 graphics.
• The HP Z600 also offers Intel Xeon 5500 and 5600 series processors with up to 12 processing cores. It additionally provides up to 48 GB of ECC memory, up to 6 TB of high-speed storage, and professional 2-D and 3-D graphics up to NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 or dual NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800 graphics.
• The HP Z400 offers up to six processing cores using the latest Intel Xeon 3500 series processors, providing up to 24 GB of ECC memory, up to 8 TB of highspeed storage and up to NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 or dual NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800 graphics.

HP is dramatically reducing the environmental impact of its products. For example, the HP Z Workstation line includes the exclusive HP WattSaver feature that manages power in the off state at less than one watt. In addition, HP Z Workstations include at least 85 percent efficient power supplies - 89 percent efficient power supply on the HP Z200 and HP Z200 SFF and as an option on the HP Z800 - reducing both overall energy usage and the amount of waste heat released. The HP Z line offers ENERGY STAR 5.0 qualified configurations. All HP Z Workstations are more than 90 percent recyclable by weight and are registered as EPEAT Gold.

The HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation offers ISV-certified workstation-class performance in a mobile package. Featuring a 17-inch diagonal display, a range of Intel processors including Core i7 Extreme Edition, and support for up to 16 GB of memory, the 8740w can meet the needs of the most demanding applications.

The inclusion of USB 3.0 provides increased bandwidth and performance, while an optional backlit keyboard is offered for the first time on an HP EliteBook. The DreamColor display option enables professionals to work with deep, accurate colors for precise results. Able to display more than 1 billion active colors - 64 times the capabilities of a traditional display - the 8740w utilizes a 30-bit notebook LCD panel to provide a level of color control previously found only on the desktop HP DreamColor LP2480 Professional Display.

The HP mobile display assistant and optional HP color calibration kit further allow control, adjustment and alignment of the DreamColor notebook display to ensure predictable color. Workstation-class graphics solutions maximize onscreen performance. The 8740w offers a choice of the ATI FirePro M7820 with 1 GB of GDDR5 video memory or the NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M or NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800M - both with 1 GB GDDR3 video memory. Users selecting the ATI FirePro configuration benefit from Direct X 11 and multidisplay support. Through a single GPU, the mobile workstation can simultaneously support up to four independent display outputs, plus the native notebook panel, for a total of five displays.



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-- Jeff Rowe, MCADCafe.com Contributing Editor.