Hewlett-Packard unveiled their latest Z-class workstation series, making use of Intel’s expanded Xeon processor family. These HP Z workstations include the Z8, Z6 and Z4 desktop systems. Each are also surprisingly upgradeable and boast the latest in connectivity. This includes USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C ports and optional Thunderbolt 3.
HP Z8 Workstation
The HP Z8 is the big daddy of the bunch, having the option to fill all of its 24 RAM slots with up to 3TB of RAM. That is not a typo. That is T as in Terabytes. Its motherboard also supports up to two Xeon CPUs for a total of 56 cores (28 cores each), and dual NVIDIA Quadro graphics card. The HP Z8 does not compromise on storage speed as well, having dual M.2 SSD slots. This workstation has enough power to let any graphics professional or VFX artist do whatever they want.
The HP Z8 also has up to 10 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C ports, dual Gig-E ports, and seven PCIe slots (supporting full height). It comes with a 1,700 watt power supply which should also be able to handle any upgrades that comes its way. To make upgrading even more user friendly, HP designed the chassis to be cleanly laid out and tool-free.
Understandably, this workstation does not come cheap. The base model starts at $2,439 USD which is not bad. Although if you want to go for broke and plug in two Xeon Platinum 8180M CPUs with a pair of NVIDIA’s P6000 graphics card, prepare to shell out at least $35,000 more.
HP Z6 Workstation
The HP Z6 is a lot more affordable, starting at a modest $1,911. However since it is highly configurable, users can still load it up with up to 384GB of memory while retaining the dual-CPU option. Together with the Z8, the Z6 will be available starting October 2017.
HP Z4 Workstation
The Z4 is HP’s entry-level Z-class workstation in this line. It starts at a modest $1,239 and can host a single Xeon W-series CPU. That is available with up to 10-cores/20-threads and supports up to 256GB of RAM so it is still plenty powerful. This model will be available in November 2017.
