The AbsoluteVista.com HP xw4600 Review
HP xw4600 Personal Workstation
I have been testing the HP xw4600 Personal Workstation these past few weeks.
The xw4600 is near the low end of a range of extremely powerful and very customizable workstations from HP. However, it is priced starting against some of the more pedestrian systems we find at mega-mart. Have no fear though, this is one serious machine
My test unit came with a Core 2 Duo processor, 8GB of RAM, and Windows Vista Business x64.
I promptly erased Vista Business and installed Windows Vista Ultimate x64.
In reviewing this unit, I decided on three scenarios:
- An architect's desktop, using AutoCAD,
- A virtualization workhorse, using Microsoft Virtual Server to manage several VMs, and
- A power user's system.
Architect's desktop
For this scenario, I installed AutoCAD 2009 on the system and proceeded to create something, in this case, an extremely detailed drawing of a desktop chassis.
In all instances, I was checking for the responsiveness of the system under a load.
The system responded decisively. I was further impressed with the seemingly effortless way large files were handled by this workstation.
Unfortunately, I have not had the time to convert drawings to 3D animation. However, the Quadro FX3700! That baby smokes!
Virtualization
In today's world, virtualization is necessary, be it for backwards compatibility, security and OS isolation, and increasing the utilization of the system. To this end, I decided to see how well the xw4600 handled VMs.
I installed Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1, and transferred a few VMs over.
I then decided to stress test the xw4600 by running several Microsoft Windows Vista™ VMs simultaneously. I got to six (6) before I saw any degradation in responsiveness with the unit. I also ran VMs of Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2. That workhorse of the small business world ran swimmingly on the xw4600.
Power User
The greatest draw on corporate and personal resources for any IT manager is the power user. It is my considered opinion that the xw4600 was expressly designed for them.
Whatever you throw at this system does not faze it.
Multiple windows, some VMs, desktop productivity applications aplenty, the xw4600 marched resolutely ahead.
Suffice it to say, this reviewer was impressed.
Conclusion
The HP Personal Workstation line which for me has been an eye-opener, continues to impress with the performance and expandability built into the systems
This xw4600, while almost an entry level SKU, has made a total fan of me. I was able to work at several usage scenarios without a drop in performance or responsiveness.
The system was powerful, solid, and did not once require any calls to the mother ship in order to change software components.
It goes without saying that I believe that any business user out there who needs a capable desktop/desk side system would benefit themselves greatly and enhance their productivity by choosing a workstation solution from HP.
System Specs: