An offer I couldn't refuse.
As mentioned in my last post, after a considerable amount of research I decided to purchase a workstation from HP.
Just to give you some reference, in June of this year HP announced their new line of workstations- the xw4200, xw6200 and xw8200. This lineup offers a number of impressive new technologies that include an Intel 925X Express chipset using the Pentium 4 "Prescott" CPU for the base model and an Intel E7525 chipset with Xeon "Nocona" processors for the higher-end models. All models use the new PCI Express x16 graphics and DDR-2 memory interfaces.
The xw4200, xw6200 and xw8200 Workstations from HP.
Since upgrading my PC wasn't absolutely essential, I was only window shopping HP's website on a periodic basis. Just occasionally looking to see what special deals were being offered, mind you. Then I discovered a hot deal on their Specials and Promotions page that I simply couldn't pass up. For a limited time, HP was offering free upgrades towards the exact entry-level workstation I was eyeing-the xw4200! This fit perfectly into my plan to purchase the xw4200 at it's most minimum configuration and upgrade the high markup components using other online resellers. By taking advantage of this promotion there would be two less components to worry about. Cool. But it got better. The deal was sweetened with a $75 instant rebate and free shipping. Done deal!
So here are the specifications on my xw4200:
HP Workstation xw4200
MS Windows XP Professional US
HP xw4200 Localization Kit US
2.80GHz/1MB P4 800FSB
128MB (1x128MB) DDR2-400 non-ECC
ATI Entry 2D 64MB PCI-E
160GB SATA/150 7200 (1st) - Free Upgrade from 40GB SATA/150
8X DVD+RW - Free Upgrade from 48X CD-ROM
No Floppy Disk Drive Kit
HP PS/2 Standard Keyboard US
USB Optical 3-Button Mouse
Symantec Norton Anti-Virus 2004 US
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub Total: 874.00
Freight: .00
Estimated Tax: 72.11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Order Total: 946.11
Aside from the promotional upgrade of the hard and optical drives, this is as basic as it comes from HP. I did splurge an extra $5 on the optical scroll mouse. ;) I didn't want to spend the extra $10 for a USB keyboard so I left it as is.
So what parts do I plan on upgrading? Well the anemic amount of RAM is my main concern right now. At the time I ordered the workstation, the sales rep informed me that Windows XP would perform much better with at least 256MB. I couldn't have agreed more but politely said "no thanks". In fact I was surprised to find out that XP is even able to run with as little as 64MB, much less 128MB. I will probably purchase 1GB of DDR-2 533 RAM from Crucial for now, and another 1GB later.
My second major concern is the graphics card. I couldn't find any information from ATI about HP's ATI 2D only PCI Express graphics card. Could a manufacturer today really produce a video card without a GPU? I suppose so, but this really bites if true as I won't be able to do any 3D work or gaming until I can purchase a real 3D card. The current lack of a high end Nvidia based gaming card using the PCI Express interface is worthy of its own posting (which Mark might touch on at a later time). If I become really impatient or desperate, I could always purchase a GeForce 6600 based card.
Lastly there is the processor. While I'm not entirely thrilled to purchase a system with a clock speed of less than 3 GHz, I can always upgrade at a later time. In the meantime 2.8 should be noticeably faster than my current 1.9. Also, the new socket design of my motherboard should help minimize any potential incompatibility with future processor releases from Intel.
Overall I believe I made a great choice with HP. Their workstations use toolless, convertible mimitower form factors, utilize low acoustic technologies and wrap them up in slender, black and metallic enclosures. It's no Power Mac G5, but the looks say all business (finally no more beige!) without the needless flash. Don't forget that all of this includes a 3/3/3 (parts/labor/next business day on-site) limited warranty with top notch service. According to UPS my xw4200 shipped on October 7th and should arrive by October 13th. Check back later for a full review.
Just to give you some reference, in June of this year HP announced their new line of workstations- the xw4200, xw6200 and xw8200. This lineup offers a number of impressive new technologies that include an Intel 925X Express chipset using the Pentium 4 "Prescott" CPU for the base model and an Intel E7525 chipset with Xeon "Nocona" processors for the higher-end models. All models use the new PCI Express x16 graphics and DDR-2 memory interfaces.
The xw4200, xw6200 and xw8200 Workstations from HP.
Since upgrading my PC wasn't absolutely essential, I was only window shopping HP's website on a periodic basis. Just occasionally looking to see what special deals were being offered, mind you. Then I discovered a hot deal on their Specials and Promotions page that I simply couldn't pass up. For a limited time, HP was offering free upgrades towards the exact entry-level workstation I was eyeing-the xw4200! This fit perfectly into my plan to purchase the xw4200 at it's most minimum configuration and upgrade the high markup components using other online resellers. By taking advantage of this promotion there would be two less components to worry about. Cool. But it got better. The deal was sweetened with a $75 instant rebate and free shipping. Done deal!
So here are the specifications on my xw4200:
HP Workstation xw4200
MS Windows XP Professional US
HP xw4200 Localization Kit US
2.80GHz/1MB P4 800FSB
128MB (1x128MB) DDR2-400 non-ECC
ATI Entry 2D 64MB PCI-E
160GB SATA/150 7200 (1st) - Free Upgrade from 40GB SATA/150
8X DVD+RW - Free Upgrade from 48X CD-ROM
No Floppy Disk Drive Kit
HP PS/2 Standard Keyboard US
USB Optical 3-Button Mouse
Symantec Norton Anti-Virus 2004 US
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub Total: 874.00
Freight: .00
Estimated Tax: 72.11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Order Total: 946.11
Aside from the promotional upgrade of the hard and optical drives, this is as basic as it comes from HP. I did splurge an extra $5 on the optical scroll mouse. ;) I didn't want to spend the extra $10 for a USB keyboard so I left it as is.
So what parts do I plan on upgrading? Well the anemic amount of RAM is my main concern right now. At the time I ordered the workstation, the sales rep informed me that Windows XP would perform much better with at least 256MB. I couldn't have agreed more but politely said "no thanks". In fact I was surprised to find out that XP is even able to run with as little as 64MB, much less 128MB. I will probably purchase 1GB of DDR-2 533 RAM from Crucial for now, and another 1GB later.
My second major concern is the graphics card. I couldn't find any information from ATI about HP's ATI 2D only PCI Express graphics card. Could a manufacturer today really produce a video card without a GPU? I suppose so, but this really bites if true as I won't be able to do any 3D work or gaming until I can purchase a real 3D card. The current lack of a high end Nvidia based gaming card using the PCI Express interface is worthy of its own posting (which Mark might touch on at a later time). If I become really impatient or desperate, I could always purchase a GeForce 6600 based card.
Lastly there is the processor. While I'm not entirely thrilled to purchase a system with a clock speed of less than 3 GHz, I can always upgrade at a later time. In the meantime 2.8 should be noticeably faster than my current 1.9. Also, the new socket design of my motherboard should help minimize any potential incompatibility with future processor releases from Intel.
Overall I believe I made a great choice with HP. Their workstations use toolless, convertible mimitower form factors, utilize low acoustic technologies and wrap them up in slender, black and metallic enclosures. It's no Power Mac G5, but the looks say all business (finally no more beige!) without the needless flash. Don't forget that all of this includes a 3/3/3 (parts/labor/next business day on-site) limited warranty with top notch service. According to UPS my xw4200 shipped on October 7th and should arrive by October 13th. Check back later for a full review.
posted by Robert at October 07, 2004
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