Lenovo announces the Thinkstation P-Series

Lenovo has announced the reworking of its P-Series line of workstations. The design has been reworked from the ground up.  Lenovo says they have focused on Ease of Use, Thermal Management, Flexibility, and Performance when updating the P Series.  In May of 2014 Lenovo announced the entry-level P300 workstation. Today they add the P500, P700 and P900 to that model.  The P-Series workstation is designed for professionals in engineering, architecture, media & entertainment, oil & gas, medical & science, finance and other industries that need a powerful computer on a daily basis.

The Lenovo P-Series has been completely redesigned with a focus on performance through temperature control and ease of use. The chassis is completely tool-less and can be completely broken down in a matter of minutes (Lenovo makes this claim on their website and videos). That’s a big deal when maintenance is required especially when your IT department has multiple workstations to maintain.

Review HP Z1 All-in-One Workstation

I had a chance to take a look at Hewlett Packard’s all-in-one workstation the HP Z1.  Here is what I found.

Overview

The HP Z1 was a great machine to use.  I loved that it was compact but yet big enough. It was easy to transport and it performed as well as any other workstation.  With all of its components being literally in your face I expected the noise to be a bother. I found that it wasn’t. The HP Z1 runs very quietly and noise was not an issue. It had plenty of ports and functioned just like any other workstation. Not having to bend under my desk to insert media was a nice little benefit that I wanted to make sure I mentioned. Opening the body of the machine was quite easy to do and all components are easily accessed. The lack of wires was also very nice.

Main Specs

• 27” Monitor
• Intel Xeon Processor
• 16 GB DDR3-1600 ECC RAM
• Nvidia Quadro 4000M GPU
• 1 TB SATA Hard Drive
• Windows 7 Pro Operating System
• HP SATA Blu-Ray Writer Slot Load Optical Drive
• 400W Power Supply
• ISV Certification
• Tool-less Design Chassis
• Dual Display Capable

Review-HP EliteBook 8570w Mobile Workstation

I tested the HP EliteBook 8570w Workstation.  Here is my review.  It is broken down into two parts; Brief Overview and Full Review.  The brief review is short and covers the major points.  The Full review goes into far greater detail.  Sometimes you just want to know the basics and sometimes you need to know everything.

Brief Overview

Main Specs

The EliteBook 8570w that I tested was on the high end of HP’s spectrum.  Here is a list of the main specifications for the hardware:

• CPU:  Intel® Core™ i7-3740QM (2.7 GHz, 6 MB cache, 4 cores)
• Display: 15” LCD (15.6”) active color with built-in webcam (1920x1080)
• Memory:  16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• Graphics: Nvidia Quadro K2000M 2GB 
• Storage: Seagate 750 GB 7200 rpm SATA
• Multimedia Drive: DVD read/write & SD Card slot
• Security: Fingerprint reader, Face recognition
• Operating System: Windows 7 Pro 
• Wireless/Communications: Wi-Fi, 56K v.92 Modem, Optional HSPA+ Broadband Radio

The Good

The HP EliteBook 8570w mobile workstation is just that.  It has the full power of a desktop workstation, good graphics, interesting security options (fingerprint scanner), plenty of ports (USB, VGA, Display Port, Esata), the keyboard was easy to use, good looking screen, possible broadband data connection (built in), wi-fi, DVD player/recorder, and a backlit keyboard.  This mobile workstation has everything.  It is very expandable (up to 32 GB RAM on quad core i7), has a PCI slot, SD Card slot, and a great industrial design look.  It is very sturdy and rugged feeling.  A bonus is that the keyboard is full size and has a full numeric keypad.  Most laptops lack this feature.

Lenovo Announces the ThinkStation E32 Entry Level Workstation

Lenovo announces its latest addition to its Thinkstation line of workstations the Thinkstation E32.  This new model comes in a SFF (Small Form Factor) as well as a Tower case.  The ThinkStation E32 features Intel’s® Xeon® E3 1200 v3 product family, the option of NVIDIA’s latest Quadro graphics cards (up to K4000 in the tower and K600 in the SFF) as well as Intel P4600 HD graphics, up to 32 GB of Error Correcting Code (ECC) RAM in both models that feature 1600 MHz DDR3 Memory DIMMs and sports six USB 3.0 ports.

Upgrading to AutoCAD 2013? Is Your Hardware Good Enough?

If you are upgrading to AutoCAD 2013, I hope you take the time to see if your current hardware can handle Autodesk's latest version of their flagship software.  If you aren't sure, then you are in luck.  I wrote a four part series for CADspeed on this very topic.

Here are links to the four articles:

The Best Hardware Configuration for AutoCAD 2013, Part 1: Can Your Current Workstation Handle The Upgrade?

The Best Hardware Configuration for AutoCAD 2013, Part 2: Current and Future Needs

The Best Hardware Configuration for AutoCAD 2013, Part 3: Review Recommended Hardware

The Best Hardware Configuration for AutoCAD 2013, Part 4: Processor, Video Card, RAM and Hard Drive

I hope this helps.  I know I learned quite a bit researching the topic.

Dell Announces New Precision Mobile Workstations – M4700 and M6700

Dell adds to its workstation product line with two new systems, the Dell Precision M4700 and M6700.  The M4700 is Dell’s 15-inch mobile workstation and the Dell Precision M6700 provides higher performing graphics with a 17-inch display.  The popular Covet Edition is back on the 17-inch version, featuring a Phoenix Red color finish and edge to edge Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2 for brighter images and increased resilience and protection.
 
The Dell Precision M4700 and M6700 incorporate the latest Intel Core i5, i7 and Extreme Edition processors with Turbo Boost Technology for optimal performance and an choice of professional graphics including the NVIDIA Quadro K-series GPUS and AMD FirePro graphics. The M6700 is the first and only to offer AMD FirePro M6000 with PCIe x16 Gen 3 for fast data throughput.

Hands On Review - HP z420 Workstation

Brief Overview

I had a chance to review one of HP’s Z series workstations, the HP z420 Workstation.  The z420 Workstation is a mid-range workstation.  It is a balance between price and performance and at the time of this writing is HP’s best-selling Workstation (per my interview with HP.)  Here is a brief review going over the basics and hitting on what I felt were the most important points.  If you want more detail and a look at my review process keep reading.

Main Specs
The HP z420 Workstation can come in a variety of hardware specifications.  We will discuss those later.  The unit I reviewed had the following major specs:

HP Announces new HP Z220 Workstations and EliteBook Mobile Workstations

HP Z220 Workstations

HP has announced some new additions to their workstation lineup.  First up is an entry level workstation called the Z220.  It features next-generation Intel® Core and Intel® Xeon® processors, the latest integrated and discrete professional graphics from Intel, NVIDIA and AMD and four integrated USB 3.0 high-speed ports. The Z220 entry-level workstation is available in a choice of an exceptionally expandable, Convertible Mini-Tower (CMT) or a highly compact Small Form Factor (SFF) that’s 65 percent smaller.

Cadalyst Magazine’s All-In-One CAD Tip #5 (and I Helped)

Cadalyst Magazine has had a series of All-in-One CAD tips put together by one of my favorite CAD Guru’s Curt Moreno, the Kung Fu Drafter.

The series is sponsored by HP’s new “All-In-One” Workstation the Z1.

On Tip Five, Mr. KFD asked me to lend a hand.  I contributed the tip about using Autodesk Design Review.  I’m so proud!  Check it out and check out the other All-In-One tips from Cadalyst, KDF, and HP.

• All-In-One CAD Tip #5
• All-In-One CAD Tip #4
• All-In-One CAD Tip #3
• All-In-One CAD Tip #2
• All-In-One CAD Tip #1

Lenovo Announces the ThinkStation E31 Affordable Workstation

May 14th, 2012, Lenovo announced the Lenovo ThinkStaion E31, an entry-level workstation meant for professionals that need more power than a PC but are on a PC budget.  The ThinkStation E31 comes in either a mini-tower or small form factor (SFF) case and both offer an Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 with enhanced memory performance and graphics abilities.