A little over a year ago, HP introduced a workstation-class computer that it said would revolutionize the computer world with its all-in-one Z1. It the Z1 certainly wasn’t the first or only all-in-one computer available, as the iMac G3 was introduced in 1998 and has evolved significantly since then. What really sets the Z1 apart from the desktop workstation crowd are two things — its easy, no-tool access to its internals for swapping out or upgrading components, and its gigantic, brilliant display.
The display measures 27 inches diagonally, so that’s big. Too bad it’s not a touchscreen — maybe the next iteration/generation will be. Also, this big guy is relatively heavy at almost 50 pounds. However, the Z1’s articulating base and mechanism are robust and more than adequate for handling the weight. When you need to access the inside of the Z1, just lock it down with the display in a horizontal position, release a couple of slide latches, and lift the display up, much like lifting the hood of a car, to access internal components, such as hard drives, RAM, etc. Keep in mind, too, that a unit this big requires a good amount of space, so be prepared to offer it adequate real estate on your desktop.
About the only deficiency I experienced with the design of the HP Z1 was the port placement. Although there are some ports on the right side of the unit, several ports are located on the back side of the unit, with the unit’s base interfering with access to the ports.
The HP Z1 received had the following specifications as supplied:
CPU: Intel Xeon E31280 V2 (Sandy Bridge)
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro K3000M
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Connectivity: 2 USB 3.0, 7 USB 2.0, 1 4-in-1 media card reader, 1 headphone, 1 microphone, 1 IEEE 1394a, 1 DisplayPort, 1 RJ-45, 1 optical S/PDIF, 1 subwoofer out, 1 audio line in, 1 audio line out
Display: 27″ diagonal IPS LED Backlit HP Widescreen Monitor (2560 x 1440) with up to 1.07 billion colors supported.
Dimensions: 26 x 16.5 x 23 in (66.04 x 41.91 x 58.42 cm)
Weight: ~50 pounds
Warranty: Protected by HP Services, including a limited 3 years parts, 3 years labor, and 3 years onsite service (3/3/3) standard warranty.
Measuring Performance
I ran both objective (formal documented generic benchmarks) and subjective (actual design and engineering software applications) tests for measuring performance.
However, as I always do, the tests were performed with the HP Z1 “out of the box,” as received – nothing was tweaked or optimized to distort the performance numbers (such as enabling multi-threading) in a positive or negative direction. As usual, I actually get more out of the subjective testing because (more…)
