Today, HP has released information on the update to its Z4 workstation line. The Z4 workstation is now available with both Xeon W and Core-X based processors for the new generation, both based on Intel's latest high-performance Skylake-SP core. Options for Xeon W, which will enable RDIMMs to be used, include the range of eight on-roadmap processors, from the quad core W-2123 ($294) up to the flagship W-2195 offering eighteen cores ($2550) in a 140W envelope. The Z4 lineup is also able to support the Intel Core X (Skylake-X) processors from the consumer high-end desktop line.

Access to the Skylake-X processors will give customers the ability to step into the workstation platform at a slightly lower price point than with the Xeon W based systems. The W series offers a bit more security and lifecycle management with vPro enablement, while the X-series is more affordable and offers higher clock speeds in many SKUs. There are a few other differences in system configurations, such as ECC RDIMM memory and network/storage differences which will also contribute to a difference in cost.

The Core X-based Z4 systems will have a single gigabit ethernet port and a single M.2 slot, while the W-series machines offer dual gigabit ethernet ports (supporting teaming NIC) and dual M.2 slots. Both systems use professional video cards, are able to use up to dual NVIDIA Quadro P6000 GPUs or AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 GPUs.

HP anticipates their indutrial clients, particularly in the Healthcare, Civil Engineering, and AEC, will use the Xeon W systems for the processor and memory reliability, expandability, manageability, and security reasons. The Core X variants are expected to be aimed at clients from the PC space, such as those in game development, rendering, and VR development. 

HP Z4 G4 Workstation
  Xeon-W Core-X
CPU Support Xeon W series Core X series
Core Count From Xeon W-2123 (4C/8T) 
to Xeon W-2195 (18C/36T) 
From Core i7-7800X (6C/12T)
to Core i9-7980XE (18C/36T)
Memory Up to 256GB ECC RDIMM Up to 128GB Non-ECC UDIMM
NVIDIA Graphics Up to Dual NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (3840 CUDA Cores, 24GB GDDR5X)
AMD Graphics Up to Dual AMD Radeon WX9100 (4096 SPs, 16GB HBM2)
Intel vPro Yes No
Network Dual 1 GbE ports w/teaming Single 1 GbE
M.2 Slots Dual M.2 Single M.2

The Z4 Workstation is available now. Pricing will start at $1499.

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Source: HP

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  • AdditionalPylons - Monday, February 5, 2018 - link

    I wish these companies would start integrating Nbase-T networking so that there would be some incentives for others to make more affordable switches and start the wired multi-gigabit revolution. It's almost ironic that 1GbE speeds will soon be beaten by cellular data!
  • smilingcrow - Monday, February 5, 2018 - link

    Not beaten in real world usage though.
  • FreckledTrout - Monday, February 5, 2018 - link

    True but we are talking wired LAN not even internet speeds. I do find it a bit silly 1GbE is still the fastest option for any reasonable price that 99.9% home users would consider. Usually you would see some trickle down and I think we are starting to but boy has it been *slow*.
  • Elstar - Thursday, February 8, 2018 - link

    [Old man mode] Some things never change. I remember the same complaints during the transition to Fast Ethernet, and then again to Gigabit Ethernet. The problem is that most customers care more about price than being ahead of the curve. Also, computer vendors are reluctant to upgrade to "Better" Ethernet until consumer version of "Better" Ethernet switches becomes reasonably priced too.
  • peevee - Thursday, February 8, 2018 - link

    Yes, it is hard to understand why 1GbE is stuck there for 19 years now, when 10G is available for 12. Hell, 100GbE is standard from 2010, you'd think the industry would choose and implement a particular optical standard (100BASE-DR for example) by now in every cheap PC.
  • Elstar - Thursday, February 8, 2018 - link

    This doesn't contradict what I wrote. The problem is demand and cost, not proof of concept. The demand for "better" Ethernet just isn't there and the cost of "better" Ethernet still need to come down before vendors see it as worthwhile.
  • peevee - Thursday, February 8, 2018 - link

    Transitions to 100 and 1Gb were much faster.
  • Samus - Monday, February 5, 2018 - link

    I agree there needs to be a push somewhere. It's just such a slow adoption not just because of switches but the utter lack of CAT6 in most buildings that haven't been renovated. CAT5e does not guarantee Nbase-T, let alone 2.5/5Gbps connections, because there are distance limitations that are easily broken in a decent sized office with a network closet.

    Another thing people don't talk about is patch panel compatibility with beyond-1Gbps connections. Most patch panels screw up the handshake if they aren't CAT6-compliant, and although it's a relatively cheap fix, it's just another infrastructure problem holding N-base back.
  • HStewart - Monday, February 5, 2018 - link

    What would be interesting is a review of same level processor with same graphics, memory storage but one being Xeon-W and other being X-core.

    Of course on additional test one should take account of dual M.2's, dual 1gbs network and extra memory. Especially if M.2's could be configured in Raid. Xeons have been known to have better IO performance.
  • Cooe - Monday, February 5, 2018 - link

    18-core/36-thread Skylake-SP HCC + dual full fat 16GB pro Vega's = one absolute mother of a compute/render box. I fully imagine the MSRP of such a beast to be just as insane.

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