HP Z1 Workstation Gets Its Debut

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Just when I thought that HP was going to stay out of the hardware game for good, they go and pull me back in by showing off something new and exciting. And though the HP Z1 workstation may not look all that exciting–just hearing the word “workstation” causes some people’s eye to glaze over–but it represents something much, much more exciting than you may think.

The HP Z1 workstation is an all in one PC with a 27 inch monitor. Now, that alone elevates this one to the level of “new and unusual”, but when you hear about the kind of specs this thing’s packing in, the perception on this one should go straight from “work” to “wow”.

If you don’t like what the HP Z1 comes packing standard, be of good cheer, because sliding down the display will provide you access to virtually all of the system’s internals, which allows for easy swapping thanks to HP’s standard tool-less swapping system. And the early word on the specs this thing is packing will be enough to make anyone wonder why you’d even want to swap much out, with Intel Core i7 and i9 processors being mentioned, as well as your choice of hard drives or solid state drives.

Graphics will be supplied by Nvidia (some are figuring that Quadro cards will likely be in play), and you’ll be able to get your choice of optical drives, starting with DVD-RW for a standard, with Blu-ray readers and writers to be included as well. And, for those of you out there with a bit more of a purist bent, the HP Z1 will come packing full desktop parts, which is a significant distinction from most of the all in one PC market, which commonly uses laptop parts to save space and reduce weight. There’s also a 400 watt power adapter involved, which will likely make some look askance at this one for limiting not only the size but potential upgrades as well.

The bad news here is that they’re not exactly being very forthcoming as far as the pricing and release dates go, at least, not yet. Considering it only just got its debut out at a special event out in Las Vegas, it’s not too big a surprise that they didn’t make a full announcement.

So what do you guys think about this one? Think the HP Z1 is a welcome addition to the market? Or will it likely prove to be too much price tag for too little useful computer for most? No matter what you think, head on down to the comments section and fill us in!