Insanely powerful HP 'Z' workstations could cost up to US$40000
HP has just announced new additions to their high-end workstation product line — the Z4 G4, Z6 G4, and Z8 G4. These are aimed at three distinct levels of the market, starting with general workstation (Z4), visual effects artists (Z6), and precision engineers (Z8).
First let’s look at HP’s Z4, historically the best-selling of the three products:
- US$1239 barebones
- Up to 1 x Xeon W2155 10C/20T
- Up to 256 GB of RAM
- Up to 2 x Nvidia Quadro P4000
- Up to 22 TB storage
- 2 x 1 GbE LAN
- 2 x M.2 slots
- 465 W, 750 W, or 1000 W power supply
Second, we have the HP Z6 G4, a dual-CPU-slot workstation which HP says is targeted towards visual effects artists:
- US$1919 barebones
- Up to 2 x Xeon Platinum 8180 28C/56T
- Up to 384 GB RAM
- Up to 2 x Nvidia Quadro P5000
- Up to 22 TB storage
- 2 x 10 GbE LAN
- 2 x M.2 slots
- 700 W or 1000 W power supply
Finally, there is the Z8 G4, which HP claims are the fastest desktop workstations on the planet. They have designed this computer to “run the most complex simulations” and have targeted it at the designers of precision products such as “race cars [and] rockets.” A fully kitted out machine should have the power to run 3D simulations and edit 8K video in real time:
- US$2439 barebones
- Up to 2 x Platinum 8180 28C/56T
- Up to 3 TB RAM (which is higher than Intel’s maximum specifications)
- Up to 3 x Nvidia Quadro P6000
- Up to 48 TB storage
- 2 x 10 GbE LAN
- 1700 W power supply
If you’re trying to work out just how expensive the Z8 G4 could get, then factor in around US$21,000 for two Xeon Platinum 8180, US$16,500 for 3 x Quadro p6000, and then US$1600 per 100 GB of DDR4-2666 ECC RAM. (Note: Consumer pricing, no wholesale or volume discount applied).
The Z4 G4 is due in November starting at US$1239, the Z6 G4 is due in October starting at US$1919, and the Z8 G4 is due in October starting at US$2439. Just in case anyone was worried, HP has said these workstations are all VR ready.
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