HEWLETT-PACKARD Z840 REVIEW

Video editors, rejoice! Hewlett-Packard has come forth with their new HP Z840. Released in August of 2014, the Z840 is built to expand to meet whatever you would like to throw at it. With up to 36 cores, seven PCIe slots, 10 internal drive bays and 16 memory slots supporting up to 2TB of memory when 128GB DIMMs become available in Q3 2015, there should be very little this top-of-the-line workhorse can't handle. Design Due to the potential upgrades and serviceability of the Z840, the tool-free chassis is quite heavy compared to competing video editing workstations. However, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. With ease the user can switch out memory, CPUs, drives or video cards with the click of one or two tabs. The internals are protected with strategically placed plastic covers which keep the airflow efficient and directed to where it is most needed. The processors are cooled with multiple fans directing air to and away from each of them. With each processor having its own fan as well as three exhaust fans on the side, two chassis mounted rear fans and an additional two fans to direct and vent air away from the chassis, the processors and internal temperatures are kept incredibly cool and stable, contrary to what one would think based on the amount of processing power the Z840 flaunts. The low-acoustic chassis also provides dual integrated Gb Ethernet and is also lockable and 5U rack mountable. It also contains room for 5 PCIe Gen3 slots and 2 PCIe Gen2 slots, 16 DIMM slots, 10 drive bays (which includes two external 5.25-inch bays and a slimline optical drive bay), 6 SATA/8 SAS ports, a 15-in-1 media card reader, four front mount USB3 ports for charging devices, and also integrates four USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports in the rear for multiple connections. read more...

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Videoguys’ Tech Select HP Workstations are custom-configured by our technicians to hit some great price points and still provide you with a machine that we strongly recommend. HP uses only the best components, and these workstations come optimized for digital content creation. They are easily expandable and upgradable which means you’ll get a longer useful life out of them.

The new HP z840 is the power users choice, and the best dual Xeon solution on the market. We like the z440 single Xeon machines for professionals who don’t require as much horsepower, but demand the same level of reliability and stability. If you are a power user on a budget, the z640 can be upgraded to a second Xeon processor down the road.

When it comes to stability, reliability and performance HP workstations set the bar by which all others are judged. They are more expensive then a DIY build, but you get what you pay for. These workstations use the highest quality components and are designed for heavy duty editing environments. If you want the best, HP workstations are up for the test. If you’re building a professional post facility, HP z series workstations are the only way to go!

Videoguys’ Tech Select machines have all been built for superior performance with Avid, Adobe, Grass Valley EDIUS and Sony Vegas NLE software as well as Sorenson Squeeze desktop encoding software and Telestream Wirecast for live production and streaming.

Give our tech’s Scott & Eric a call 800-323-2325 for answers to all of your HP workstation questions. They can customize any of these machines with more RAM, better Quadro graphics cards and Xeon processors with more cores. They are here to help guide you into the best possible HP workstation & NLE solution for your budget.

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