HP Unveils Quartet of Workstations

By DE Editors

Four new workstations for engineering and compute-intensive environments were announced by Hewlett-Packard (HP; Palo Alto, CA) Monday: The HP xw6400 and xw8400 desktop workstations and the HP Compaq nw8440 and nw9440 mobile workstations. Each of the units uses Intel processors.

The new 64-bit desktop—desk-side in HP parlance—xw6400 and xw8400 workstations feature dual-core Intel Xeon processors and HP's toolless chassis design, which facilitates servicing, upgrading, and maintenance. (For more on the dual-core Xeon, click here.) The HP Compaq nw8440 and nw9440 mobile workstations offer the power of a workstation with the convenience of a notebook, according to HP.

The high-end HP xw8400 can be equipped with a pair of dual-core Xeon processors. This, says HP, means it offers the power for such compute-intensive workouts as engineering, visualization, and oil and gas exploration.

According to HP, the HP xw6400 and its 64-bit dual-core Xeon processor is suitable for such environments as manufacturing, digital content creation, print/electronic publishing, and financial services. Additionally, an HP spokesperson told DE that he believes the xw6400 to have the smallest footprint of any dual-core system currently available.

The new HP Compaq systems are said to offer workstation performance with notebook mobility. Additionally, the company says that it is working with Microsoft to ensure that both mobile workstations fully support the Vista operating system when that OS becomes available later this year. Both workstations, says HP, are compatible with the company's business notebook accessory solutions.

The HP Compaq nw9440 mobile workstation is its most powerful mobile workstation to date, according to the company. It has NVIDIA Quadro FX 1500M graphics as well as a 17-inch display, and its Intel Core Duo processors enable you to users to run multiple applications simultaneously. (Intel's Core Duo processors are designed to handle concurrent applications efficiently. Click here to go Intel's web page on Core Duo.)

The nw9440 measures 1.3 inches and weighs 7.5 pounds. It's available with your choice of Microsoft Windows XP Professional or FreeDOS operating systems. Miscellaneous features include wired and wireless communications, a portfolio of security tools, and a variety of application certifications.

The 6-pound HP Compaq nw8440 mobile workstation also deploys Intel Core Duo processors. Its screen, which measures 15.4 inches wide, leverages ATI Mobility FireGL V5200 graphics.  Its offered with the same operating system choices plus XP Home edition.

Both the HP xw6400 and the xw8400 desktop workstations are available with either Windows XP Professional (32 or 64-bit) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4 (64-bit) preinstalled. Also preinstalled are tools for tuning and customizing system performance.

Click here to go to HP. On the bottom right-hand sides links to each of these systems.

Sources: Press briefing with the company as well as press materials received from the company. Additional details gleaned from the various vendors' websites.