Combining slick industrial design with bleeding edge innovation has long been a defining characteristic of Voodoo and VoodooDNA systems. As part of the team that helped launch the Voodoo Envy 133 and Omen, along with HP Blackbird 002 and HP Firebird, I am intimately aware of how important this philosophy is to the Voodoo team.
I’ve since moved from the Voodoo business unit into a new role with the HP desktop team, and have been pleasantly surprised to see others touting the same principles. Yesterday, HP announced the launch of the HP Workstation Z series, a new product line that could turn the professional graphics and power user community on its head, much like the HP Blackbird 002 did for gaming.
It’s easy to see true HP design innovation shine through in the design and feature set of the HP Z800 Workstation, and its brothers the Z600 and Z400. Slick-looking aluminium chassis? Check. Tool-less architecture and expandability? Check. Clutter-free interior for maximum air flow? Optional liquid cooling? Removable side panel? Check, check and check!
But what I like most about the newcomer is its customer-centric approach. Everything from its built-in handles and beefy Intel Xeon-based configuration to the diagnostics (HP Vision Field Diagnostics) and tuning tools (HP Performance Tuning) is clearly engineered to improve life for customers.
HP launched the system at an event co-hosted by Intel and the BMW Group DesignworksUSA, the automotive and industrial designer leader that inspired the chassis ID (you’ll notice more than one comparison between the Workstation Z and a BMW car in the media coverage.) Rob Enderle attended and posted a great review of the system, along with an account of his encounter with Bob the Monster from the new animated DreamWorks movie “Monsters vs. Aliens.”
For more coverage, check out posts from our friends at Geek.com, vnunet.com, and SlashGear. What do you think of the system? Could it be a new standard for workstation design?
- Brian (BZGuy002)
