There are still a few reasons you might need a deskbound workstation:
- You are doing a lot of FEA or CFD.
- You like rendering too much.
- Your boss is cheap.
Everyone else has already migrated to a mobile workstation—or has it on their wishlist. A modern mobile workstation—and there are a few good ones to choose from—lets you change your workspace from the cafeteria or the coffee shop to the plane, or, if you choose to be a slave to your job, your home. All your files stay with you. Gone are the days when you have to transfer and synchronize files.
If HP is your brand of choice, the company adds a mobile workstation in the form of an Intel Ultrabook. Only 18mm thin and 4.4 lbs., the ZBook Studio G3 can pack 32GB of RAM, an NVIDIA Quadro graphics with 4GB RAM that easily supports multiple large-screen monitors.
HP recommends the following configuration for running SOLIDWORKS:
- Windows 7 Pro
- Intel Xeon 2.8Ghz, 2.1GHz quad-core processor
- 32GB RAM
- NVIDIA Quadro M1999 with 4GB RAM
- 256GB solid state drive
- 4K 15.6” antiglare screen (3840x2160 resolution)
All that will cost a shade over $3,100, according to the HP online store. Clearly, there is a premium for mobility.
If you are still hanging onto a desk-bound HP workstation that is a year or two old because you think you have the highest possible performance, you are going to want to check your specs against what the ZBook 15 G3 is offering.