It may be presented as an entry-level workstation, but HP’s new ‘Skylake’ desktop offers plenty for even the most demanding 3D CAD users. By Greg Corke

HP Z240 Tower workstation It may be presented as an entry-level workstation, but HP’s new ‘Skylake’ desktop offers plenty for even the most demanding 3D CAD users. For years, desktop workstations came in three types — entry-level, mid-range and high-end — but in 2009 the major manufacturers threw another into the mix and the sub entry-level workstation was born.

This new class of machine was all about moving the designer with a limited budget away from a desktop PC and onto a workstation that is tested and certified to run CAD software.

The performance of the first machines was not earth shattering and there were trade-offs in storage and memory, but for just under $1,000 (£700) you could bag yourself a decent workstation for AutoCAD and entry-level 3D CAD.

Over the years, the boundaries between sub entry-level and entry-level have blurred to the extent that there is now very little between HP’s latest budget offering, the Z240, and the Z440.

Much of this is down to Intel’s new generation Skylake CPU technology, which is at the heart of the Z240. We are not talking about processing power here though, as there has only been a relatively small leap in performance over Haswell, the Intel CPU found inside the Z440. Instead, Skylake has brought with it significant advances in storage and memory.

HP has jumped on these new developments, offering not one, but two new generation NVMe Solid State Drives (SSDs) inside the Z240’s mini tower chassis. These high-performance drives are branded HP Z Turbo Drive G2; one is mounted directly on the motherboard while the other is on a PCIe x 4 add-in card.

The secondary HP Z Turbo Drive G2 uses the same NVMe SSD module, mounted on a PCIe x 4 add-in card

NVMe is a new native PCIe SSD technology that replaces SATA. A quick run through our AS SSD benchmark shows the HP Z Turbo Drive G2 to have approximately three times the sequential read performance and two times the sequential write performance of a SATA-based SSD. Copying 20GB of CAD data (19,000 files) between our test machine’s two drives took just 20 seconds, which is quite incredible.

Day to day, however, this exceptional bandwidth is only likely to benefit those with certain disk-intensive workflows — huge datasets used in video editing, simulation or point cloud processing.

For mainstream CAD, where disk read/write operations usually come in bursts, the benefits are likely to be far less pronounced.

As a result, while having two 256GB HP Z Turbo Drives certainly shows off the extreme capabilities of this so-called entry-level workstation, it is probably overkill for most designers. We would recommend stripping out one of the drives and saving yourself a bit of cash.

7: PCI Express x 4 port — location of the secondary HP Z Turbo Drive 8: Onboard M.2 slot — location of the primary HP Z Turbo Drive 9: Two 3.5-inch drive bays for HDDs 10: One 2.5-inch drive bay for SSDs

Our test machine also came with a 1TB Hard Disk Drive (HDD), which offers a much more cost-effective way to store the bulk of your CAD data. There is also room for three more 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives, so there is plenty of capacity if required. In short, there is nothing entry-level about the HP Z240’s storage capabilities.

Memory has also improved significantly. While there will likely be a small performance benefit of moving from DDR3 to DDR4 memory, it is in capacity where the HP Z240 shows its true aspirations.

Whereas its predecessor, the HP Z230, was restricted to 32GB DDR3 memory, the HP Z240 can host up to 64GB of DDR4.

Previously, this much memory was only available in the HP Z440.

64GB should be more than enough for even the most hardcore of CAD users and our test machine’s 32GB (2 x 16GB DIMMs) is a much better fit for mainstream CAD. It also leaves two DIMM slots free should your needs grow in the future.

With most processes in CAD software being single threaded or lightly threaded (that is, they can only take advantage of one or two CPU cores), the quad core Intel Xeon E3-1270 v5 (3.6GHz – 4.0GHz) in our test machine is pretty top notch. It is only a tiny step down from the much more expensive Intel Xeon E3-1280 v5 (3.7GHz – 4.0GHz).

There are a number of other processors to choose from, including various Skylake Core i5, Core i7 and Xeon E3-1200 v5 models. All of those on offer should serve CAD users well, but as they are limited to four cores, those heavily into simulation or rendering should look to the HP Z440, which offers Intel Xeon E5-1600 v3 series CPUs up to eight cores.

For 3D graphics, the Nvidia Quadro K2200 (4GB) is well positioned for mainstream CAD, backed up by a good showing in our graphics benchmarks.

Beyond the core specifications, there are some nice enhancements to the Z240’s chassis. An integrated handle, which was a hallmark of higher-end HP Z Workstations, has finally trickled down to the sub entry-level. This means you can carry the Z240 with a single hand, which is great for those that need their machine to be portable.

The primary HP Z Turbo Drive G2 slots right onto the motherboard. It features a heat sink to keep it running cool and stop any performance throttling

With a smaller motherboard than the Z230, the Z240 is easier to service. Both memory and storage are within easy reach. HP says acoustics has also improved thanks to an ambient temperature sensor on the motherboard, which helps optimise fan speeds, including one on the power supply. The machine was incredibly quiet throughout all of our tests. Even when hammering the CPU and the GPU by running a 3ds Max render and a graphics benchmark at the same time, fan noise never went above a barely audible hum.

To help ensure the machine remains this quiet over its lifetime, HP has added a dust filter to the front, where air is drawn in. Dust clogs fans and this can be a particular problem in certain environments, says HP — from under desks to manufacturing floors. The panel that holds the dust filter is exceptionally easy to remove, with a simple push and click. The filter can then be washed or replaced.

The push & click dust filter panel comes off easily

Exploded view of dust filter front panel. The filter itself can be washed or replaced

The front of the machine also gives easy access to USB ports. There are two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 (one always on), as well as a slimline optical drive and headphone and microphone jacks. There are four more USB 3.0 ports on the rear of the machine, so plenty of capacity for connecting fast external storage. Thunderbolt 2.0 is an optional extra via a PCIe add-in card.

Conclusion

With the Z240, HP has produced an exceptional workstation for CAD. With incredibly fast storage, mid to high-end graphics and up to 64GB of memory, there really is very little reason for CAD users to look beyond this mini tower machine. Only those who mix CAD with simulation or design visualisation may need to move up to the HP Z440 for more CPU cores, more memory or higher-end graphics.

Those with more mainstream requirements should also check out the small form factor (SFF) version of the HP Z240. It is a little lighter on storage and graphics, but has the same CPU and memory options. It looks to be a great little machine for those that want to save valuable desk space.

HP also offers a small form factor (SFF) version of the HP Z240 which is a little lighter on storage and graphics but has the same CPU and memory options

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