Launched Today: New HP Z Desktop Workstations and Displays

Though most people are focused on processing information from Apple’s 10-year anniversary launch of the new iPhones, there is big workstation news from HP today as the company announced the launch of their new flagship product: the HP Z8 G4 workstation. It turns out they’ve also been busy redesigning the entirety of the HP Z series with an emphasis on security and raw computing power. Along with news of the Z8, HP announced that two other workstations, the Z6 will also be available in October, and the Z4 will be on shelves in November.

As computing power continues to increase with each passing year, HP is targeting content creators, product designers, architects, engineers, scientists, teachers, healthcare workers, financial traders and other professionals. Basically, the Z series is being upgraded for customers interested in having a workstation that can keep up with new demands made by emerging technologies—such as virtual reality and machine learning.

Here’s the total list of new products, their prices and their availability.

As news like the recent Equifax hack (143 million accounts filled with personal information were compromised) continues to pile up year after year, computer security is at the top of most people’s priority lists. Of course, there are many steps individuals can take to ensure the security of their servers, networks and terminals, but not every individual has advanced security knowledge, nor do they have the time to learn.

New Security Features

Workstations that product design teams and other professionals use contain a company or organization’s most valuable intellectual property, which they are busy creating and updating.

In this new portfolio of products from HP, the set of security features include HP SureStart­—the first self-healing BIOS with intrusion detection­—and HP’s Client Security Suite, among other features.

Common New Feature Highlights for the Z Series Workstations

On the Z8 and Z6 models, users can have two CPUs, and an optional dual 10 GbE network module for faster networking that does not take up a crucial PCIe expansion slot.

High bandwidth data transfer can be sped up through optional Thunderbolt 3 and Dual 1GbE network modules; Windows 7 is supported for older workflows and data; and each of the three new offerings include a modular from IO with USG 3.1 G2 Type C ports.

Z8 G4 Tower Workstation Highlights

Compared to the Z840 Workstation, the HP Z8 Tower has:

·       67 percent more memory bandwidth

·       The capacity for a 27 percent greater processor core count

·       A 40 percent greater PCIe I/O bandwidth

·       29 percent greater power supply capability

The HP Z8 Workstation allows users to customize their hardware with the capability to perform extremely complex simulations, which frontline engineers are using more and more to digitally prototype at various stages of the product design life cycle, instead of creating physical prototypes.

HP’s flagship workstation is certified for serious design, engineering, editing and visual effects software, such as ANSYS and AfterEffects5.

Users can also edit 8K video in real-time with all 56 processing cores and 3 TB of main memory capacity.

Product teams at HP have given the Z8 a completely new industrial design with some pretty neat hardware engineering feats. One example is the innovative ducting that directs fresh air to the second CPU, rather that reusing the warm air pushed out from the ducting on the first CPU.

HP Z6 G4 Workstation Highlights  

Compared to the Z640, the HP Z6 G4 Workstation has:

·       A 22 percent higher total PCIe I/O bandwidth

·       27 percent higher processor core count capacity

·       67 percent more memory bandwidth

·       50 percent more total system memory

The HP Z6 Workstation was designed to satisfy the increasing needs of visual effects creators.  

Designed to house Intel Xeon processors from the W family, it seems like HP’s goal with the Z6 Workstation is to empower CAD users and simulation engineers with the ability to quickly visualize ideas at any time, which will help make their workflows more efficient.

HP Z4 Workstation Highlights

Compared to the Z440 workstation, the HP Z4 Workstation has:

·       A 25 percent greater processor core count capacity

·       13 percent greater PCIe I/O bandwidth

·       11 percent more memory bandwidth

The industrial design makeover produced two front and rear handles, a smaller chassis to save space, and a dust filter option to keep it running in different industrial environments. The I/O bandwidth gets a bump up in capacity thanks to HP Z4’s dual 1GbE networking and dual M.2 slots for HP Z Turbo Drive PCIe SSDs standard. The front USB can be upgraded to include two USB 3.1 Type C ports.

New HP Z Display Screen Highlights

The HP Z38c has:

·       A 4K screen

·       3800 x 1600 resolution

·       Optimized pixel density to keep text and icons at the right sizes—meaning less time panning and zooming.

I suppose this is targeted to workers who are getting tired of their dual display screen setups. The huge 37.5-inch diagonal curve has a 2300-millimeter radius and a super-wide 21:9 aspect ratio.

In addition to the HP Z38c, there are six new HP Z display screens, only two of which that will not be available until December. The others are available now.

Bottom Line

If you do not have the time or knowledge to build your own workstation and you are a simulation engineer, architect, product designer, artist, visual effects content creator, video editor, industrial designer or have a lot of rendering workflows, the redesign of the Z series Workstations and Displays from HP may or may not be of interest to you.