PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 8, 2014 — HP today introduced its most powerful Z Workstations combining increased system expandability, higher-speed memory and multicore updates, as well as access to the latest technologies to help customers future-proof their investment in HP’s broadest workstation portfolio.
HP Z Desktops and HP ZBook Mobile Workstations are built to address the constraints of compute-intensive industries, including media and entertainment, graphic design, CAD, architecture, photography, manufacturing, finance, healthcare, scientific imaging, and oil and gas exploration.
The new additions to the portfolio include:
The new HP Z840, Z640 and Z440 desktop workstations feature the latest Intel Xeon processor product family, and NVIDIA and AMD professional graphics options.
The new HP ZBook 15 G2 and 17 G2 Mobile Workstations take advantage of powerful processing, including optional Intel quad-core processors and NVIDIA Quadro and AMD FirePro professional graphics that are ISV-certified.
“Our unwavering commitment to professional customers, investments in technology and HP engineering Z DNA are the secret sauce that have led to exceeding the needs of the world’s most demanding customers,” said Jim Zafarana, vice president and general manager, Commercial Solutions Business Unit, HP. “HP continues to invest in technology that allows our customers to push the limits of innovation when designing everything from running shoes to managing billions of dollars of tradable securities.”
HP Z Desktop Workstations
Adding to the market share–leading HP Z Workstation portfolio, the new HP Z Desktop Workstations offer availability of tested workstation applications from Adobe, Autodesk, Avid, Dassault, ESRI, SolidWorks, Siemens and many others. The new line of HP Z Workstations embrace Thunderbolt 2 for faster throughput of large files, HP Z Turbo Drive to help eliminate storage bottlenecks, HP Performance Advisor for system monitoring and HP Remote Graphics Software for remote collaboration of graphics-rich applications. In addition to offering Microsoft Windows 7 or 8.1, HP offers broad coverage of Linux support—including Ubuntu.
With continued focus on performance, innovation and reliability, the three new HP Z Workstations offer a tool-less chassis, integrated handles and visually cable-less design to deliver radical ease of service, systemwide efficiency and superb expandability. To better address the New Style of IT, the workstations include a charging port for mobile devices, 14 percent faster DDR4 memory for improved application performance and BIOS enhancements to enable higher system performance and better security.
* Built for high-end computing and visualization, the dual-processor HP Z840 Workstation delivers outstanding performance, award-winning industrial design and tool-free serviceability in a highly expandable chassis. This superb system expandability provides seven expansion slots, up to 10 expansion bays, 16 memory slots and support for up to 2 TB of memory.
* With up to 50 percent more discrete processor cores and 33 percent more memory, the HP Z640 Workstation packs significant computing and visualization power. With its innovative design, the HP Z640 Workstation’s tool-less chassis features integrated handles and a tool-free power supply providing a near-silent computing solution for space-constrained environments.
* The HP Z440 Workstation features professional expandability in an easily accessible, tool-free mini-tower form that includes a 100 percent increase in system memory compared to the HP Z420. The HP Z440 chassis was redesigned to best meet the needs of instream workstation customers, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that embed the HP Z440 in custom solutions.
HP ZBook Mobile Workstations
The new ZBook Mobile Workstations offer an innovative, easy-access door for tool-less removable hard drives. New drive options like the Z Turbo Drive and the fast connectivity of Thunderbolt 2 help increase the speed of creativity. The full-performance HP ZBook 15 G2 Mobile Workstation sports a thin design and offers a very-high-resolution 15-inch diagonal, 3,200 x 1,800 Quad-HD display. The HP ZBook 17 G2 Mobile Workstation offers a vivid 17.3-inch diagonal optional HP DreamColor display for a consistent color experience throughout a workflow.
HP Power Up festival
To showcase the New Style of IT that workstations enable and highlight the power of HP Z Workstations, HP is hosting Power Up, a five-day celebration of creativity in New York City, Sept. 23-27. The festival will include innovative programming featuring some of the
leading production houses, animation studios, music studios, architecture firms and more.
Price and availability
* The HP Z440, Z640 and Z840 Workstations are expected to be available worldwide beginning in late September. Estimated U.S. pricing starts at $1,299, $1,759 and $2,399, respectively.
* The HP ZBook 15 G2 and ZBook 17 G2 Mobile Workstation are expected to be available worldwide in late September. Estimated U.S. pricing starts at $1,499 and $1,749, respectively.
Also HP today announced two new HP DreamColor Displays, once again disrupting the color-critical display market by achieving new levels of affordability and color accuracy.
The HP Z27x and Z24x displays for PCs and Macs feature HP’s second-generation DreamColor Engine and provide up to 1.07 billion on-screen colors, achieving color error so small that it is not discernable to the human eye.(1) Compared to the previous-generation product, the new displays include up to 60 percent more pixels, contain up to a 4,000 percent increase in the internal color palette and are up to 57 percent thinner.
The HP Z24x DreamColor Display delivers the color accuracy and consistency that has become synonymous with the HP DreamColor brand, at less than 25 percent of the price of the original HP DreamColor display. The HP Z27x DreamColor Display breaks new technology barriers by providing:
* Three times the color accuracy over the previous generation
* The first color-critical display featuring HP’s hostless integrated calibration engine with built-in support for third-party professional color measurement instruments
* Ethernet-based remote management with an integrated web server that provides unprecedented control of the display
* A published software development kit (SDK) that allows customers to fully integrate the HP Z27x into their color workflows
* The most affordable color-critical display capable of 4K support
“The HP DreamColor Engine and our line of DreamColor products have become the gold standards for professionals who demand color accuracy,” said Jun Kim, vice president and general manager, PC displays and accessories, HP. “This next generation of HP DreamColor
Displays will once again disrupt color technology, providing customers with richer and more accurate colors than ever before.”
The HP Z27x and HP Z24x DreamColor Displays are designed for professionals for whom accurate color management is essential, and consumers who seek to use only the best in technology innovations. Key features of the new displays include:
* Consistent 10-bit color accuracy from design to production with push-button color space selection and easy color calibration
* One-button access to presets including sRGB D65, sRGB D50, Adobe® RGB, BT.709, BT.2020 and DCI-P3
* Ability to easily create a custom color space with full control over primaries, white point and tone response
* Easy connection to existing workflows through support by Windows, Mac or Linux operating systems
The HP Z27x DreamColor Display also offers:
* An ultrawide Digital Cinema color gamut with 100 percent of sRGB, 100 percent of AdobeRGB and 99 percent of DCI-P3
* The HP Night Vision interface with auto-fade button backlights and selectable red button backlight color for better low-light viewing in darkened working conditions
The result of an unprecedented technology collaboration with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) and other leading studios, the first HP DreamColor Display, the HP LP2480zx, addressed an increasingly critical need for affordable and consistent color accuracy in the animation, photography, film/video post, broadcast, product design and graphic arts categories.
“HP technology has enabled our studio to deliver amazing visual effects to our audiences,” says Kate Swanborg, Head of Technology Communications and Strategic Alliance, DreamWorks Animation. “The new Z27x raises the bar in accuracy and ease of use for ensuring perfect color consistency from scene to scene and empowering further creativity in our artists.”
With the new DreamColor Displays, HP has once again pushed the limits of innovation to bring users unrivaled accurate and consistent color from displays, to the big screen to print. Each new feature is a result of direct feedback from key advisory council members and customers looking for new ways to transform the way they work.
“The new DreamColor Z Displays are amazing and will be a game changer for many photographers,” said Chris McLennan, an international, award-winning adventure and travel photographer and Nikon Ambassador. “The price point will mean that everyone who is into photography—whether a full time pro or a keen enthusiast—should be looking into this product.”
Pricing and availability
The HP DreamColor Z27x and Z24x are available today for $1,499 and $599, respectively.
Cinema Without Borders interviews and report about the new HP announcement will be posted soon.