HP Z1 All-in-One Workstation PC Review

Introduction

We've got HP's Z1 all-in-one workstation in the lab. It's somewhat unusual for a workstation to be an all-in-one machine, but the Z1 appears to pull it off quite nicely. The machine features a large display that hides all of the rest of the components.

The Z1 expands upon HP's reliable workstation lineup by providing workstation-class reliability, in an attractive all-in-one package. Workstations feature nearly identical hardware to desktop PCs, but are put through a rigorous testing schedule to verify reliability, and compatibility.

Since this is our first workstation review, we've introduced a new benchmark, and the methodology hasn't been fully set in stone. Benchmarks may be added or removed as we verify results across multiple machines.

Without further ado, let's dive into the meat of this review, and see what the Z1 is made of -literally.

Specifications, Configurations and Pricing

Our specific configuration of the HP Z1 features an Intel Xeon E3-1245v2, a 77-watt server chip. Intel's Xeon designation is for chips that are usually used in servers, a place where reliability is important, as downtime is costly. The E3-1245v2 is specifically a four-core, eight-thread beast, clocked at 3.4GHz, with TurboBoost taking it up to 3.8GHz.

The E3-1245 is paired with an NVIDIA Quadro K3000M professional video card. NVIDIA's Quadro line of GPUs is designed to utilize drivers that have been tweaked for professional applications, rather than gaming. It features 2GB of VRAM, and is an entry-level Quadro GPU.

The Z1 is equipped with 16GB of RAM, which should be plenty for most professionals. The RAM is configured with four 4GB sticks. It clocks in at 1,600MHz, and features ECC, which also adds to the stability of the overall system.

The operating system pre-installed on our system's 256GB SSD is Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. Users can customize the Z1 to come with a variety of different hardware depending on their needs on budget.

Our system specifically retails for around $3,580, though the Z1 all-in-one can be had for as cheap as $1,899.