Making Perfection Even Better on the HP xw8600 Workstation

摘要

If the HP xw8600 workstation that arrived at our office recently looked familiar, that's because we had indeed reviewed this system before (see DE June 2008) and because it also came wrapped in a colorful graphic skin similar to the HP xw4600 we also reviewed earlier this year (see DE March 2008). But while the system was virtually identical in appearance, thaf s where the similarities ended, because inside this new iteration of HP's top-of-the-line Intel-based workstation were a pair of 3.4GHz Intel Xeon X5492 processors and a new NVIDIA Quadra FX 4800 graphics accelerator.rnThe Xeon 5400-series, formerly code named "Harpertown," consists of dual-die quad-core CPUs manufactured on a 45nm process. The X5492 is one of four halogen-free Intel Xeon processors recently introduced. Intel also announced that all previously launched versions of the Xeon 5200 and 5400 series will also now be halogen free. The CPUs use a Hafnium-based high-k metal gate formula and the X5492 is drop-in compatible with existing systems based on the Intel 5400 chipset, which explains how HP was able to quickly roll out the new CPU in its existing workstation platform.