The FINANCIAL — At SOLIDWORKS World, HP on February 5 announced it will power its bestselling performance workstation, the HP Z4, with a choice of Intel Xeon or Core X processors and support dual extreme graphics.
HP’s latest technology was showcased at SOLIDWORKS World, where it also unveiled its low-cost, full-color 3D printers — highlighting the company’s comprehensive end-to-end solutions for product developers.
“The revamped Z4 workstation, along with our latest HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset and new customer-friendly VR solutions and services, will transform the way products across industries are developed,” said Xavier Garcia, vice president and general manager, Z Workstations, HP Inc. “Over the past year, HP has launched the world’s most powerful workstation, the most powerful detachable PC and the first-ever professional VR backpack. Today’s news reflects our focus on continuously raising the bar with a portfolio of workstations and VR capabilities that will enable amazing new experiences and define the future of computing.”
The HP Z4 Workstation, ideal for engineering, simulation, rendering and virtual reality, delivers compelling performance for a range of applications. The HP Z4 Workstation can easily handle tasks that require high frequency processing, multiple CPU cores and dual high-powered GPUs. Besides the workstation class Intel Xeon W processors, the Z4 Workstation can be now configured with the Intel Core X processors available with up to 18 cores1 and up to two extreme graphics GPUs for disruptive performance and productivity. Developed with simulation-based design and VR content creation as key target use cases, users can move seamlessly from design, to simulation, to visualization, according to HP.
“At Motus Motorcycles, the speed of design helps us create the world’s fastest land speed motorcycles,” said co-owner Brian Case. “Our vision was to design and build the truly comfortable American sportbike. Every decision was filtered through our three guiding ideals: Performance, Comfort and Range. HP Workstations and SOLIDWORKS software help make this happen.”
HP also showcased the HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset – Professional Edition. This VR headset delivers a stunning immersive experience due to 1440×1440 resolution per eye and up to a 90Hz refresh rate3. Users will enjoy the six degrees of freedom, no tracking boundaries and the included wireless motion controllers. For businesses, this headset is the perfect combination of comfort and convenience as it comes with easy to clean, replaceable face cushions4. It also uses a double-padded headband, easy adjustment knob and front-hinged display for a superb experience for one or more users.
To address a range of cumbersome and overwhelming aspects of VR development and deployment, HP shared details on the HP VR Launch Kit for Unreal Engine9. The VR kit was created to accelerate decisions by dramatically streamlining VR development for design visualization. It enables users to quickly determine optimal computer configurations, save days in VR preparation with Datasmith5 which automates the optimization of 3D engineering assets for Unreal’s development environment, and turnkey common interactions including parts explosion and model cross-sections. The HP VR Launch Kit for Unreal Engine, a suite of tools that is based on Unreal Engine, was developed for businesses by HP and Epic Games.
HP is also extending its Device as a Service (DaaS) offering to VR solutions. HP DaaS is a modern service model that simplifies how commercial organizations equip users with the right hardware, support and lifecycle services to get the job done – improving end-user productivity, IT efficiency and cost predictability. This one-stop solution helps companies manage their multi-OS and multi-device environments combining predictive analytics and proactive endpoint and security management for a fixed price per device. HP DaaS helps reduce purchasing complexity and improve cost predictability with simple plans that are easy to tailor and scale – no matter your company size or industry.
New products that recently joined HP’s comprehensive end-to-end hardware solution for product development include HP Z Desktop Workstations, including the most powerful workstations on the planet6 – the HP Z8 Workstation; new HP ZBook Mobile Workstations, including the world’s most powerful and first detachable PC workstation7 – the HP ZBook x2; the HP Z VR Backpack, the world’s first professional wearable VR PC8; and the HP Z 3D Camera to help reinvent creative workflows and spark spontaneous real-time sharing of documents and physical work product.
Pricing and Availability
HP Z4 Workstation is available now starting at $1,499.
HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset – Professional Edition is scheduled for availability in March for $449.
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