HP updates Z Workstations with latest Intel Xeons with up to 22 cores

HP upgrades Z Workstations with new microprocessors, graphics cards and higher capacity SSDs

HP Inc has upgraded a number of models in its HP Z desktop workstation portfolio with the newly launched Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 microprocessors - alongside faster memory, uprated graphics accelerator adapters and a higher capacity version of HP's Z Turbo Drive PCIe solid state drive (SSD).

Available immediately, the updated workstation models include the Z440, Z640 and Z840, which represent HP's entry-level, twin-socket and high-end tower format PC workstation systems respectively.

The main new feature in the refreshed line-up is Intel's Xeon E5-2600 v4 processor family, which officially launched last week. These offer greater performance thanks in part to increasing the maximum number of cores per chip to 22, while introducing other benefits from the Broadwell core design.

In addition to more cores, the new Xeon chips support faster 2400MHz DDR4 memory, up from 2133MHz supported previously. This, along with other enhancements, will enable customers to see performance improvements of up to 44 per cent, Intel claimed at the launch of the chips.

HP has also updated the optional HP Z Turbo Drive accelerator, a plug-in accelerator card that puts flash-based SSD storage on the PCI Express bus for greater performance. This now provides up to 1TB of storage, and delivers up to four times the read performance of traditional SSDs at comparable cost, according to HP.

"The addition of our latest Z Workstations and Z Turbo Drive demonstrate HP Inc's unwavering commitment to professionals who consistently push the limits of technology to bring the world and the universe life-changing innovations," said Gwen Coble, HP's EMEA director for commercial and retail solutions.

The new workstations also support the latest discrete graphics accelerator options, including the Nvidia Quadro K6000 and AMD FirePro W7100, plus optional Thunderbolt 2 ports for high-speed transfer of large files.

HP's Z Series workstations are aimed at demanding application workloads, such as media and entertainment, graphic design, CAD, architecture, photography, manufacturing, finance, healthcare, scientific imaging, and oil and gas exploration.

As an entry-level model, the Z440 is a single-socket system in a mini-tower form factor, supporting up to 128GB memory and up to four drives. The Z640 has up to two processors and up to 256GB memory, while the top-end Z840 supports up to 512GB memory.

The HP Z440, Z640 and Z840 Workstations are available now in the UK starting at £1,025, £1,345 and £1,580 respectively. The HP Z Turbo Drive G2 1TB PCIe is set to be available sometime in April priced from £470.

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