Category: Hardware

So, it may (or may not) surprise you that for the past few weeks I’ve been the happy user of a very sweet, and big, HP Z1 all in one workstation. This is courtesy of some new friends (and old HP fiends from Fort Collins, Colorado) from HP that I made at the ESRIUC last July who so graciously connected me with a demo unit to put through the paces.

For those of you not yet familiar with the “all in one” devices from HP, simply put, the Z1 is a very handy and powerful workstation that comes conveniently bundled in a single piece of hardware.  The result is a powerful PC workstation that is fully configurable upon order and all the hardware is squeezed inside a package along with the monitor – the world’s first all in one workstation! Oh, did I mention it has a delicious 27″ screen?

I’ll keep my comments here somewhat brief as a more detailed spotlight will follow, however, I will share that the Z1 is an extremely handy, powerful device that is ideal for the likes of any tech consultant, small business consultant, contractor, or even a hardcore enterprise user!

The Z1 is built to order so you can expect to build yourself a device that will cost any where from $2,000 to $$6,000 depending on the hardware configuration – I’ll let you know that I’ve been working with a sweet until that is sub $3,000 and for all purpose, an ideal workstation for any small business owner or home-based consultant that will definitely pack enough punch for any demanding project!

The Z1 is portable (sort of), powerful, expandable, flexible and meets the needs of any demanding tech professional. the crisp, 27″ monitor is amazing for working i9n 3D or with detailed graphics. the powerful CPU can render drawings in a flash and panning around a map or an image scene is enjoyable mainly due to the brilliant colors, clarity, and detail afforded by the graphics card and screen resolution.  The workstation is somewhat portable, folding up into one box and being easily transported or shipped if desired.  The tilt monitor provides much flexibility for your display needs and the easy open access to the hardware is a real bonus and a breeze for maintenance… I will say though that the first few attempts at tilting the device are intimidating and one has the sensation that they may break the monitor from the hinges, a scary thought when manipulating a $3,000 piece of hardware! The all-in-one is designed so that anyone can easily open it up and access any of the key components, anything safe to touch and handle is conveniently labelled with a green tag. Parts are easily swapped in and out and simple maintenance is pretty easy to accomplish. Setup requires one simple cord to be plugged in for power, otherwise the device is pretty much wireless. Inside there’s loads of memory (8 GB or RAM in my caase), a massive hard drive, and a speedy quick processor and graphics card – again, my options for "upgrade" are possible. The coolest thing inside is all the fans which enable the device to operate almost completely silent and it stays very cool – you really won’t even realize that the device is powered on!

I could go on and on but for now I’ll share my Top 10 Features that I love about the Hp Z1 All-In_One Workstation:

1. HUGE, sharp, crisp 27″ display is a “wow” factor
2. Fast, simple setup… out of the box, plug it in and BAM!
3. Highly configurable and plenty of options
4. Completely wireless except for the one power cord – so clean
5. Highly Flexible for placement within the office frees up much office space (hence the power without the tower tagline)
6. Screen manipulation and tilt enables many seating and work location options
7. Extremely quite – you can’t hear the unit at all!
8. Fast!! From boot-up to processing (although there are options for hardware)
9. Cool… the device runs cool thanks to numerous, quite fans inside
10. Access to hardware is a breeze, tilt and open and anyone can insert/remove peripherals
11. BONUS … SCALABLE.. the Z1 can be beefed up to a lightning fast machine with all the perks if you have the $$ to spend. On the flip side about $2K can get you into one!

HP Z1 folded flat and looking inside

The HP Z1 with the 27" display and speedy processor is a sweet GIS workstation

More photos here

 

The configuration of this HP Z1 was as follows (coming in retail at less than $2800:

• HP Z1 Microsoft Windows Workstation
• Windows 7 Professional 64
• Intelr Xeon E3-1225v2 3.2 GHz (up to 3.6 GHz) 8MB 77W GT2 4C CPU
• NVIDIA Quadro 1000M 2GB UEFI Graphics
• 8GB DDR3-1600 ECC (4x2GB) Unbuffered RAM
• 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 1st Hard Drive
• Slot Load 8X SuperMulti DVDRW Drive
• HP Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
• HP 3/3/3 Warranty
  

Downside:

• The manipulation and tilting is a little tough at first and intimidating
• Heavy… being all in one you feel its portable, however, at 50 lbs its a big weight to lug around
• Tough access to ports and peripherals – some features are quite awkward to reach

Overall, this workstation is in my my a tech geek’s dream. It’s highly configurable and the portability and power make it an ideal solution for a developer, programmer, or other Geo pro who needs power, an amazing display, and speed. In the office environment you won’t need much space at all and the workers will be fighting over it. For the consultant who has a small office or works from home the Z1 is ideal and in my mind, a complete business technology solution in one box with one cord! I can imagine a large project being designed and then delivered to a client pre-installed on a Z1, now that would turn some heads!

See this flickr set for photos of the HP Z1

 See complete details and specs for the Hp Z1 HERE

Note: Yours truly has been provided with the all-in-one courtesy of HP with no strings attached and no expectations. The device was shipped to me at the expense of HP – HP is not an advertiser or sponsor of this site