HP Personal Workstations: Design, Performance Goals
Workstations in general, and HP workstations in particular, were introduced to me as a viable alternative to the fully configured desktop computer system.
Pursuant to that, I received a couple of HP workstations to review. My review of the xw4600 follows below. The xw6600, which shares the same design and performance philosophies; as a result, that review will focus on the performance scenarios run by SmallBizVista.com.
HP Personal Workstations
The HP Personal Workstation line is a range of workstations designed to use the latest and greatest technologies the world has to offer in order to allow creative people in all industries the chance to be extremely productive in their respective fields.
However, unlike in the desktop world, HP has created a workstation range that while using best-of-breed technologies, are actually finely-engineered systems in their embrace of those same top shelf technologies.
Design philosophy
One of the most important things HP did with their workstation line was to define a design regimen that would enable the creation of game-changing workstations that would holistically embrace the best the world offers. At the same time, comfort, expandability, power management, and most of all, performance
- Industry Standard Architecture or ISA. From a compatibility and longevity standpoint, this is big. Unlike the adherents to the closed systems developed by the names in the workstation space in the days of yore, this is a development that protects your investment in this hardware for years.
- A small footprint. The Personal Workstation line comes in the same form factor we have come to recognize, with the xw6600 being a somewhat slimmer unit.
Tool-less chassis. During my day at the HP Workstation BU, I saw several of the units broken down – all without any tools of any sort! For most power users, engineers, and creative professionals, this is a boon, for it allows for greater expandability at the whim of the user.
This is a very important point that cannot be underscored: all of the power to expand is now in the hands of the consumer, not the system OEM.
In HP workstations, your finger on green touch-points inside the system case is the tool you need. It is particularly telling that "all user-replaceable components in the system can be accessed, upgraded, or replaced without the use of tools." In my use and review, I concur wholeheartedly. As someone whose system configurations are always in flux, I am pleased.
Acoustics. At the (day job) office and at Uni-Matrix Zero One, my desktop systems roar constantly due to the fans that strive to keep them cool. Do not even bring the turbine-like whine of my gaming rig into the equation.
Well, for the workstation line, HP made noise attenuation and sound acoustics – no pun intended – a priority. These systems are q-u-i-e-t. Eerily so, too.
The xw6600 in particular is a paragon of quietness. I have, for the first time since we moved systems to under the desk a while ago, placed the xw6600 on my desktop with no discomfort at all. It is that quiet.
- Energy efficiency. Remember this: 80+. Also known as 80 Plus, this signifies that the power supply unit is certified 80%+ efficient. $5.29/gallon gasoline. Need I say more?
- Energy Star™ 4 compliance. Basic configurations of most of this entire line meet the Energy Star 4 standard.
Performance philosophy
- Latest-generation CPUs, GPUs, and chipsets.
- Dual Gen2 PCIe x16 graphics driving up to four 3D or six 2D displays.
- A multitude of DIMM slots
- Integrated 10/100/1000 PCIe GigE
- Several internal storage bays
- Integrated SATA controller
- Optional Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) controller.
Thrown into this mix is HP's Performance Tuning Framework, or PTF. An exclusive free tool for workstation customers, the PTF gives users an incredibly easy way to optimize system performance for the configurations that individual system is tasked with, checking for variables such as the latest certified graphics drivers for installed applications and providing tuning for them, among others.
Oh, and for legacy freaks, there is a floppy disk option!