Workstation vs PC OverviewThere's no doubt that a high-end desktop PC can handle a decent range of computing needs. In fact, being flexible and general are among its prime strengths.
But in the end they're simply not built for numeric or graphic intensive applications - and if you find you're outsourcing this type of work, it could be a good indicator you need a more powerful workstation.
Put simply, a workstation's all about number-crunching and power, and for industrial-strength computing, they're the logical choice over a desktop PC.
They offer higher-speed processors, tremendous disk speed and very high quantities of RAM. Combine that with support for high-end graphic cards and you can see they're definitely built to get through a lot of data - whether that's analysing statistics or rendering animation.
Choosing the right HP Workstation
HP's family of personal workstations have a variety of characteristics that can give an organisation a competitive advantage, increase business productivity, and allow users to work with confidence and peace of mind. HP offers a full range of workstations (including workstation blades) that are exclusively designed and engineered to give customers an edge up on their competitors. HP personal workstations feature:
System reliability - Features such as larger and faster ECC (error checking and correcting) memory, helping you manage more data and run more jobs concurrently. ECC memory is a key benefit offered by workstations, enhancing data integrity and avoiding potential system crashes and data corruption by eliminating single-bit memory errors. The latest-generation processors from Intel represent the next step in performance and dynamic stability and more sophisticated cooling mechanisms help ensure expandability while maintaining high reliability.
Superior return on investment - Features that increase ROI include a large number of I/O slots, tool-less chassis design, and the additional performance possibilities from dual and quad-core processors, combined with HP's unique value-added personal productivity tools, can give you a healthy ROI helping you do things your competitors can't do, won't do, or haven't even thought of yet.
Professional graphics - Drive up to 8 displays and meet the requirements of your most visually demanding applications. HP combines its vast graphics expertise with industry leading products from ATI and NVIDIA to provide the most expansive, fast and flexible set of graphics solutions available on any Workstation range.
ISV application certification - ISV certification means application and workstation combinations have been thoroughly tested together, giving predictable and reliable results from one application run to the next. HP works closely with the leading software application providers to ensure that their applications are tested and certified on HP workstations. Without certification, applications can perform unpredictably or not at all. HP's relationships with top ISVs enable close collaboration, performance tuning, and hardware platform certification to help ensure compatibility, reliability and the best application performance possible on HP workstations.
HP Workstations in the Entertainment industry
A new way to make movies
Built in two former Army Air Corps hangars, the IMD studio specializes in performance capture and computer graphic imagery (CGI). Performance capture is a technique that records the movements and expressions of live actors via sensors for processing into digital animation. The information is sent to HP Workstations - the studio has approximately 700 - where artists and technicians layer skin and clothes onto animated characters, and build scenes rich in detail and action. The work requires powerful workstations, a robust data centre and strong connectivity between them - especially with the growing popularity of 3D animation. "Everything we do in movies takes a ton of computing power," says Kevin Baille, digital effects supervisor, IMD. "We're always at the cutting edge technologically."
"The demands are ever-increasing and on occasion dynamic. We have the ability to introduce more computing power and scale across the infrastructure while maintaining high levels of connectivity and interactivity between the artists and their HP Workstations."
Phil Peterson, chief technology officer, ImageMovers Digital, San Rafael, Calif.
"Technology should enable the creative process. We have a long relationship with HP. Its technology strategy fits IMD and its philosophy. Animation artists are always pushing the envelope. HP understands this and works closely with us to meet those needs."
Michael Jedlicka, vice president of technology and strategy, The Walt Disney Studios
HP technology aided DreamWorks Animation in utilizing the largest number of moving cameras on any of its films to date. The company was able to take creative elements in "Monsters vs. Aliens" to new levels by using several hundred HP Workstations plus the largest and most powerful "render farm" - a grouping of HP ProLiant blade servers that quickly work in concert to process the animation sequence - ever used by DreamWorks Animation.
"DreamWorks Animation is constantly pushing the limits of creativity to bring the best visual realities to audiences around the world," said Phil McKinney, vice president and chief technology officer, Personal Systems Group, HP. "HP thrives on working with customers like DreamWorks Animation, who continually impel us to bring them the next breakthroughs in technology."