14 DAY TRIAL // Ever since Intel has launched officially its latest Core 2 Duo, every system developer announces its 'unprecedented computer' which, obviously, is power-driven by 'the processor's God's' latest products. Yesterday I saw more than five brand new systems that have hit the market with Intel's name on them. It is a good hallmark chosen in order to gain a new piece of market share cake.
But HP didn't need Intel to demonstrate its powers. However, it is obvious that a leader needed another leader's know-how in order to power its systems and revolutionize its line-up. Therefore, HP has previously developed its first entry-level workstation on Intel's processors. The workstation is said to be very flexible, low-cost, coming with several enhanced features, not usually encountered on an entry-level system.
Moreover, the manufacturer said that it has been created especially for mechanical computer-aided design engineers, architectural engineers, architects and other users in small and medium-size businesses, enterprises and original equipment manufacturers, as it is power-driven by Intel's 'fresh' Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processor and 975X Express chipset. This is HP's latest xw4400.
"Our customers have an insatiable demand for performance - the xw4400 offers a performance breakthrough over previous system architectures," said Jim Zafarana, vice president and worldwide marketing manager, Workstation Global Business Unit, HP. "The xw4400 boasts dual graphics capabilities, an internal USB port for secure software licensing, and leading acoustic levels, all with less power required at the plug."
As it is, at least in theory, an entry-level workstation, its pricing starts below $1,000, and sports Microsoft Windows 32-bit or x64 and has a wide range of graphics, memory and storage options, including new serial-attached SCSI hard drives. The workstation also will be Windows Vista Capable at launch and will offer Red Hat Enterprise Linux later this fall. What do you say? It is impressive, isn't it?
The HP xw4400 is also available with a wide range of PCIe x 16 graphics cards tested and certified by independent software vendors, and is designed to facilitate print and electronic design, 2D animation, web authoring, video editing, and corporate content creation. What is again, let's say weird, is that it features a tool-less chassis. Meaning that you don't need a screw-driver to open it up and work on the components. So it is very easy to upgrade and maintain. If you remember, this function is featured by the high-level computers such as Asus' latest system.
You will get some pretty additional features for your workstation such as a 8 gigabytes total memory capacity to enable manipulation of large data sets, which previously had to be split into subsets, and a 64-bit Extension Technology, which provides support for enhanced virtual memory addressing and the capability to run 64-bit operating systems and applications. The xw4400 also includes several features to help keep data safe, including a lockable chassis, chassis intrusion detection and cable lock features.
"With the xw4400, HP has proven that there's no need to compromise performance for value," said Graham Hawkes, nationally recognized engineer and founder of Hawkes Ocean Technologies. "HP workstations enable our team of engineers to efficiently design and build the industry's most advanced submersibles so we can really push the envelope in deep sea exploration. By integrating test units of the xw4400 with our existing hardware, we've seen significant gains in speed and productivity and gained peace of mind that our workstations won't let us down."
Moreover, the xw4400 comes with a three-year limited warranty, which includes parts, labor and next business day on-site support and is expected to be available online, in major retail stores, through resellers or from HP direct in early August. It is pretty nice for an entry-level. But again we are talking about a HP.