HP Revs Up Workstation, Unveils New VR Products

HP’s comprehensive end-to-end solution for product development workflows showcased at SOLIDWORKS World

News Highlights:

• HP Z4 Workstation to support Intel® Xeon® or Core™ X processors along with support for dual extreme graphics.

• HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset – Professional Editionadded to commercial VR portfolio.

• HP VR Launch Kit for Unreal Engine specifically designed to accelerate VR development and optimize VR deployment for high-fidelity use-cases.

At SOLIDWORKS World, HP announced it will power its bestselling performance workstation, the HP Z4, with a choice of Intel® Xeon® or Core™ X processors and support dual extreme graphics. HP’s latest technology was showcased at SOLIDWORKS World, where it also unveiled its low-cost, full-color 3D printers— highlighting the company’s comprehensive end-to-end solutions for product developers.

“The revamped Z4 workstation, along with our latest HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset and new customer-friendly VR solutions and services, will transform the way products across industries are developed,” said Gwen Coble, director, Workstations, Thin Clients, Retail Solutions and Immersive Computing, EMEA, HP Inc.. “Over the past year, HP has launched the world’s most powerful workstation, the most powerful detachable PC and the first-ever professional VR backpack. Today’s news reflects our focus on continuously raising the bar with a portfolio of workstations and VR capabilities that will enable amazing new experiences and define the future of computing.”

The HP Z4 Workstation, ideal for engineering, simulation,renderingand virtual reality (VR), delivers compelling performance for a range of applications. The HP Z4 Workstation can easily handle tasks that require high frequency processing, multiple CPU cores and dual high-powered GPUs. Besides the workstation class Intel® Xeon® W processors, the Z4 Workstation can be now configured with the Intel Core™ X processors available with up to 18 cores1 and up to two extreme graphics GPUs for disruptive performance and productivity. Developed with simulation-based design and VR content creation as key target use cases, users can move seamlessly from design, to simulation, to visualization.

“At Motus Motorcycles, the speed of design helps us create the world’s fastest land speed motorcycles,” said co-owner Brian Case. “Our vision was to design and build the truly comfortable American sportbike. Every decision was filtered through our three guiding ideals: Performance, Comfort and Range. HP Workstations and SolidWorks software help make this happen.”

HP also showcased the HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset – Professional Edition2. This VR headset delivers a stunning immersive experience due to 1440×1440 resolution per eye and up to a 90Hz refresh rate3. Users will enjoy the six degrees of freedom, no tracking boundaries and the included wireless motion controllers. For businesses, this headset is the perfect combination of comfort and convenience as it comes with easy to clean, replaceable face cushions4. It also uses a double-padded headband, easy adjustment knob, and front-hinged display for a superb experience for one or more users.

To address a range of cumbersome and overwhelming aspects of VR development and deployment, HP shared details on the HP VR Launch Kit for Unreal Engine9.The VR kit was created to accelerate decisions by dramatically streamlining VR development for design visualization.It enables users to quickly determine optimal computer configurations, save days in VR preparation with Datasmith5 which automates the optimization of 3D engineering assets forUnreal’s development environment, and turnkey common interactions including parts explosion and model cross-sections. The HP VR Launch Kit for Unreal Engine, a suite of tools that is based on Unreal Engine, was developed for businesses by HP, Intel and Epic Games.

New products that recently joined HP’s comprehensive end-to-end hardware solution for product developmentinclude HP Z Desktop Workstations, including the most powerful workstations on the planet6 – the HP Z8 Workstation; new HP ZBook Mobile Workstations, including the world’s most powerful and first detachable PC workstation7 – the HP ZBook x2; and the HP Z VR Backpack, the world’s first professional wearable VR PC8.

Pricing and Availability

• HP Z4 Workstation with Intel® Core™ X processor will be available in EMEA in March starting at €1,500. The HP Z4 Workstation withIntel® Xeon® processor is available now in EMEA starting at €2,000.

• HP Windows Mixed Reality HMD – Professional Edition is expected to be available in EMEA in April for €550. The Quick Spec document is available here.