HP Launches Z1: Power without Tower

On Tuesday 14, at a press luncheon at SolidWorks World 2012, HP literally unveiled a new workstation, dubbed Z1. To promote the new machine, HP’s MCAD & AEC Segment manager Tom Salomone noted, “It’s power without tower.”

Running on Intel Xeon processor and NVIDIA Quadro GPU, HP Z1 is an all-in-one workstation. The mechanism is built into the 27—inch monitor itself, bypassing the need for a separate desktop tower. According to HP, “Built for computer-aided design, digital media and entertainment professionals, the HP Z1 provides blazingly fast rendering and performance. It offers a full range of workstation-class graphics cards and processors, and is thoroughly tested and certified to work with today’s leading industry applications.”

The all-in-one form factor is not new for consumer-class Mac and PCs, but Z1 is the first from HP to debut in the workstation class, generally targeted at the professional market.

HP Z1 is outfitted in the company’s tool-less chassis, designed to make it easy for users to swap hard drives, upgrade memory, or access the graphics card. The 27-inch white LED display features a 178-degree viewing angle. The machine comes preloaded with HP Remote Graphics software and HP Performance Adviser. Wireless keyboard and mouse add to the new workstation’s freedom and flexibility.

With prices starting at U.S. $1,899.00,  HP Z1 will ship in April.