Tiny workstations

HP Z2 Mini workstation

HP’s impressive micro machine is great for bread and butter 3D CAD but, with rigid specs, buyers need to be confident that workflows won’t change

Small Form Factor (SFF) workstations like the HP Z240 SFF are becoming much more prevalent in design and engineering offices. What were once considered entrylevel workstations, with compact chassis of around 100 x 350 x 400mm, are now powerful enough to satisfy the requirements of most 2D and 3D CAD users.

HP has now gone one step further with an even smaller workstation called the Z2 Mini. Similar in stature to the Apple Mac Mini, HP’s beautifully styled machine is small enough to be held in one hand. A mere 58 x 216 x 216mm in size, it can happily sit on a desk, but can also be mounted on the back of a display or under a desk.

There are many advantages to this new mini form factor. First, and most obvious, is it takes up less desk space, which can be a big benefit in a world of rising property prices. HP reckons there has been a 60% space reduction per person in the US over last 10 years. One could argue that you simply get around this by putting your workstation tower under your desk. However, when kept down by your feet they become serious dust magnets and need to be cleaned regularly to keep fan noise in check (clogged fans need to work harder to achieve the same cooling). Floor standing machines can also create a micro climate under your desk. This can be great in winter to warm frosty toes, but not so much in summer. Even when your office is air conditioned, the environment can become unbalanced. We have heard anecdotes of people wearing jumpers on top and shorts down below.

The second benefit is portability. The HP Z2 Mini is so small and light (it starts at 2.04kg) that you can easily pop it in your bag to take home or to a meeting. And with an optional built-in Intel 8265 WLAN 802.11ac module you can connect to WiFi wherever you go.

The third is, admittedly, subjective, but we think it looks rather cool. HP has obviously paid a lot of attention to the styling of its mini workstation, but the corner detail is actually derived from functional requirements. The Product spec Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 — but a custom entry-level ‘mobile’ custom cooling system, which ■ Intel Xeon E3-1245 GPU, the Nvidia Quadro M620 features dedicated fans for both GPU and CPU, draws in air from the front two corners v5 (3.5GHz, 3.9GHz Turbo) (4 Cores) CPU ■ 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 non-ECC (2GB). The machine can support up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM across two SODIMMs, which and out at the rear two cor- SDRAM memory should be plenty for most CAD ners. As the vents shouldn’t ■ 512GB HP Z Turbo Drive G2 (NVMe SSD) workflows. become obstructed for obvi■ Nvidia Quadro Despite the thermal challengous reasons, they are protect- M620 GPU (2GB) es of producing such a small ed by the chamfered edges of ■ Microsoft Windows machine, the Z2 Mini offers the main chassis. A lot of sci10 Pro 64-Bit pretty much the same level of ence went into this. HP’s ■ 216mm x 216mm x 58 mm (w) x (d) x (h) CPU performance as one can workstation team told AEC ■ 3-year (3-3-3) find in a SFF workstation. Our Magazine that, in designing limited warranty and test machine’s top-end Intel the HP Z2 Mini, it did more service offering includes 3 years of Xeon E3-1245 v6 (3.7GHz up to simulation and analysis cooling work than on any other product. Computational Fluid parts, labour and on-site repair ■ £1,219 + VAT 4.1GHz) is only a shade slower than the Intel Xeon E3-1270 v6 (3.8GHz up to 4.2GHz), the Dynamics (CFD) was even hp.com/go/z2mini fastest model available in the used to optimise the individu- HP Z240 SFF. al spacing of the cooling fins. In use, such subtleties will likely go

This attention to detail results in a unnoticed. Indeed, in our multi-threaded remarkably quiet design, which is impres- KeyShot rendering benchmark, the HP Z2 sive for a machine of this size. When idle, Mini was only 9% slower than the Armari the workstation is virtually silent and Magnetar V25 we tested back in February noise levels are still perfectly acceptable 2017 (tinyurl.com/magnetar-AEC), which when the CPU is being pushed to its limits. had an overclocked 4.7GHz Intel Core i7 One minor criticism would be that fan 7700K CPU. speeds are not always consistent. When While the CPU is on par with most rendering a scene in KeyShot, for example, CAD-focused desktop machines, the same we found the fans cycled from can’t be said of the GPU. The Quadro M620 is very much an entry-level 3D GPU. But this doesn’t mean it’s not suitable for 3D CAD or BIM. Indeed, while our benchmark scores show it to be significantly slower than the fastest GPUs you can expect to find in a SFF workstation — the Nvidia Quadro P1000 or AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100, for example — in practice we found it to be a very capable 3D graphics card. However, it is important to acknowledge its limitations. The bulk of our tests were done at FHD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution. In shaded with edges mode in SolidWorks 2015 we had a perfectly 1 good experience with all our test models, recording frame rates in excess of 20 FPS. The Z2 Mini even kept pace when RealView was enabled on low to high every 30 sec- the PC computer model onds, or so. The noise taken from the SPECapc would actually be less for SolidWorks 2015 benchnoticeable if the fans remained on high for mark. However, the machine did become the duration of the render. Hopefully this sluggish when we switched on Ambient might be remedied in a later BIOS update. Occlusion, something that wouldn’t happen with a more powerful GPU like the The power inside Radeon Pro WX 4100. The Z2 Mini features a combination of We had a generally good experience in desktop and mobile technologies. It has a Autodesk Revit, but this came as no surdesktop CPU — Intel Xeon E3-1200 v6 or prise as this ‘BIM’ application is very

CPU limited, meaning that the performance bottleneck usually comes from the CPU, rather than the GPU.

The HP Z2 Mini started to show its limitations in the ‘game engine’ viz application LumenRT, which places a big emphasis on visual quality. Here, frame rates dropped to as little as 5 FPS which really impacted the experience.

At 4K resolution, with four times as many pixels to render, the HP Z2 Mini started to slow down. While it kept pace in Revit and SolidWorks (shaded with edges mode), in the game engines LumenRT and Autodesk LIVE (based on Stingray) it became largely unusable as frame rates dropped to as little as 2 FPS making it almost impossible to move your model into the right position. For such graphics-intensive workflows you really need a higher-end GPU like the Quadro P4000, which is only available in a desktop tower like the HP Z240 Tower.

When designing a machine of this size, the temptation would be to go all in for Solid State Drives (SDDs). However, HP has allowed room for both 2.5-inch HDD/ SSD and an NVMe, M.2 form factor SSD (HP Z Turbo Drive G2). This is a nice design choice as it gives users access to up to 1.5 TB of total storage (when configured with a 512GB HP Z Turbo Drive G2 and 1TB HDD). It also helps bring down the price of entry-level models, configured only with a 2.5-inch drive, though we would never recommend buying a workstation without an SSD.

Our test machine came with a single 512GB HP Z Turbo Drive G2. This PCIe NVMe SSD is actually a Samsung SM951, but HP also repackages SSDs from other manufacturers that offer similar performance and durability characteristics. The HP Z Turbo Drive G2 is exactly the same SSD you get in most HP workstations and plenty fast enough for standard CAD workflows. Boot up time was impressive — a mere 17 seconds.

The drive itself sits directly under the GPU blower, directly on the motherboard. Should it fail, you’ll need to remove the entire GPU fan assembly, which should only be done by experienced users. The only components that are easily serviceable are the 2.5-inch drive, which sits on top of the GPU blower, and the memory, which can be found under the CPU fan that flips up on a hinge. Opening up the machine is easy. Simply pull on the cover latch at the rear and the lid pops off. The 200W power supply is external, borrowed from a HP ZBook mobile workstation, we believe.

Despite its compact size, the Z2 Mini is well equipped with ports. There are 2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C at the rear and 2 USB 3.0 (1 charging) on the side. The ‘always on’ port has the obvious benefit of being able to charge phones and other devices when the machine is off, but also has an added benefit. Once enabled in the BIOS, you can plug in a USB keyboard, then simply press any key to switch on the machine when it is powered down. This is particularly useful when the machine is out of sight. Indeed, while the Z2 Mini will look great on any desk, HP has gone to great lengths to help it be hidden away. To this end, HP has developed an ingenious VESA Mount solution, which encloses the HP Z2 Mini in a metal sleeve that can be mounted behind a display, on a wall or under a desk. The sleeve also doubles as a security device, featuring a Kensington lock slot and pad lock loop, plus a means of restricting access to the USB ports. Simply rotate the security sleeve by 90 degrees and all the ports get physically blocked off.

Considering the ease with which the Z2 Mini can be attached to a desktop display, one wonders what the future holds for HP’s All-In-One workstation, the HP Z1.

Conclusion Having spent several weeks testing the HP Z2 Mini, we have to say we are very impressed. It delivers pretty much everything one needs for bread and butter 3D CAD work and does so in a beautifully styled micro chassis. With temperatures hitting 26°C in London over the past few days, we’ve also noticed a big difference in comfort when using the 200W Z2 Mini on the desk and a 400W tower on the floor.

Of course, there are tradeoffs in having such a small machine, mostly centring on 3D performance. While the Z2 Mini should be able to handle most mainstream CAD and BIM workflows, it will struggle in more demanding 3D workflows, such as game engine design viz, particularly at 4K resolution. You can also forget about VR, which is an important consideration if you intend to keep this machine for 3-4 years, as is typical for most of our readers. With a standard tower you can always upgrade the GPU, so if your workflows change then you can adapt. This is simply not possible with the Z2 Mini.

In summary, if you want a small, stylish workstation with exceptional portability, then the Z2 Mini ticks all the boxes. It’s perfect for entry-level to mainstream 3D CAD work now, but it could leave you short in the future.

Greg Corke

1 HP Z2 Mini with 24-inch display for scale 2 HP Z2 Mini with HP Z240 SFF for comparison 3 HP Z2 Mini mounted behind a display 4 By rotating the metal sleeve by 90 degrees, IT managers can block off USB ports for security

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Lenovo ThinkStation P320 Tiny

In a world of shrinking workstations, Lenovo’s ThinkStation P320 Tiny is the smallest yet. But despite its diminutive form, it still delivers the goods for mainstream 3D CAD and BIM workflows, writes Greg Corke.

Last year, HP redefined the Small Form Factor (SFF) workstation with the introduction of the HP Z2 Mini. With a 216mm x 216mm x 58mm chassis, this machine was dramatically smaller than anything that had come before, but still managed to pack a punch for 3D CAD.

Now, Lenovo has gone one step further with the ThinkStation P320 Tiny, a new 3D CAD-focused workstation that is even smaller than the HP Z2 Mini. Incredibly, it takes up half the volume and is only 180mm x 183mm x 36mm in size, weighing a mere 1.3kg. And what’s more, despite this significant shrinkage, it still stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the HP Z2 Mini when it comes to performance. In some graphicscentric workflows, it’s actually faster.

Unlike the HP Z2 Mini, which was built from the ground up to be a workstation, the ThinkStation P320 Tiny has been adapted from Lenovo’s business PC, the ThinkCentre Tiny.

As the chassis is so small, the P320 Tiny keeps thermals in check by offering a choice of low-power Intel ‘Kaby Lake’ CPUs.

Our test machine came with the topend model, the Intel Core i7-7700T (4 cores, 8 Threads / 2.90 GHz to 3.80 GHz Turbo), but there are other options, including the Core i5-7500T (4 cores, 4 threads, 2.70 GHz to 3.30 GHz Turbo). However, the entry-level Core i5 should only really be considered if budgets are exceedingly tight or you’re not interested in ray trace rendering (it does not support HyperThreading).

The Intel Core i7-7700T draws 35W at peak, instead of 70W, which is typical of most high-GHz quad core desktop CPUs. With significantly less power to play with, the stock and Turbo frequencies are lower, but Product spec two service panels, one on top and one underneath. this doesn’t impact perfor■ Intel Core i7 7700T Remove a thumbscrew to mance as much as one might expect (more on this later). For graphics, Lenovo has CPU (2.9GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo) (4 Cores) CPU ■ 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 memory slide off the top panel and gain access to the CPU and GPU for maintenance and cleaning, amazingly managed to pack ■ 1 x 512GB M.2 while memory and SSDs can be in an entry-level professionNVMe SSD easily accessed from below. al desktop GPU, the Nvidia ■ Nvidia Quadro P600 GPU (2GB) The workstation can be posiQuadro P600 (2GB). This ■ Microsoft Windows tioned in desktop or tower low-profile ‘Pascal’ graphics 10 Pro 64-Bit mode (with the help of a stand). card is designed for tradi- ■ 180mm x 183mm x It can also be secured under tional Small Form Factor 36mm (w) x (d) x (h) a desk or behind a VESA dis(SFF) workstations, so to ■ 3 Year On-site warranty play with custom mounting squeeze it into the P320 ■ £999 + VAT brackets. To keep everything Tiny’s micro chassis has taken a significant engineerthinkworkstations .com tucked away, there’s even a bracket for the external power ing effort. supply. This is one of the bene-

First, the graphics card is fitted to a fits of using the same chassis as the riser board, so it sits parallel to the moth- ThinkCentre Tiny, as there are a number erboard. Second, Lenovo has removed the of ready-made accessories. card’s standard cooler and has instead If you want to go the whole hog and attached a custom heatsink that connects essentially turn the P320 Tiny into an allvia copper piping to a single system fan, in-one workstation, then there’s also the which is shared with the CPU. ThinkCentre Tiny-In-One 23.8” monitor.

The machine features up to 32GB of And with WiFi built-in, you don’t even DDR4 2400MHz SoDIMM memory, need to have a trailing Ethernet cable. which should be plenty for most 3D CAD workflows. Meanwhile, storage is provid- On test ed by one or two M.2 NVMe SSDs, up to When we first started testing the P320 1TB in capacity. Tiny with a variety of CAD and viz appli-

One sacrifice of having such a small cations, the clock speed of the CPU jumped chassis is that there is no room for a 2.5- about quite a lot, cycling from 3.70 GHz all inch Hard Disk Drive (HDD), so those the way down to 0.8 GHz at times. who want lots of Despite this huge variation, we found 3D performance in SolidWorks, Creo and Revit to be reliable and good. However, in Luxion KeyShot, render times were inconsistent, with the same scene sometimes taking twice as long to render than at other times. At the start of September 2017, Lenovo released a firmware update that allowed the machine to be optimised for thermal performance, instead of focusing on acoustics. This simple BIOS setting made a massive difference to our test results – not only cutting render times dramatically, but also boosting 3D performance 1 in SolidWorks and Creo (as graphics performance in these applications is heavily influenced by the speed storage for giant CAD data- of the CPU). sets will have to pay a premium for high- As one might expect, fan noise capacity SSDs. However, Lenovo has increased significantly, particularly placed significant efforts into maintain- when all four cores were being haming serviceability, a hallmark of its larger mered in KeyShot, but we didn’t find it ThinkStation models. too distracting on the whole. The most

The machine offers tool-free access to surprising observation was that all four

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CPU cores appeared to run at 3.50 GHz 2 to 3.60 GHz when rendering, even though we had expected them to slow down to 2.90 GHz, the standard clock speed of the Intel Core i7-7700T).

The end result was that our test scene only took marginally longer to render than it did on the HP Z2 Mini, despite the HP Z2 Mini having the more powerful 73W Intel Xeon E3-1245 v6 CPU (3.70 GHz to 4.10 GHz Turbo).

Continuing the comparisons with HP’s machine, the ThinkStation P320 Tiny actually had the edge in all of our 3D graphics benchmarks. This is thanks to the new Pascal-based Nvidia Quadro P600 GPU, which is more powerful than the Z2 Mini’s Maxwell-based Quadro M620.

Despite the small 3D performance advantage, the P320 Tiny is still very much a workstation for entry-level to mainstream 3D CAD and BIM. It’s not really the HP Z2 Mini in multithreaded ren- are downsides – no 2.5-inch drive, so biggeared up for game engine visualisation or dering workflows but, with the latest ger cost per GB, and it can be quite noisy GPU rendering and definitely not for firmware updates, this was not the case. under heavy loads. However, users do Virtual Reality. In addition, it’s important And, thanks to the Nvidia Quadro P600 have the choice of prioritising acoustics to note that all of our testing was done at GPU, it even has the edge when it comes over performance in the updated BIOS. FHD resolution (1,920 x 1,080) and, as we found with the Z2 Mini, there will ‘‘ Considering the thermal challenges of a small There are obvious benefits to the space-saving chassis but, as with the HP almost certainly be a slow- chassis, it’s incredible how much Z2 Mini, you could get down at 4K resolution in GPU-hungry applications. performance Lenovo has managed to pack into the ThinkStation P320 Tiny stuck if workflows change. There’s no scope for upgrades to handle VR, Conclusion Considering the thermal challenges of a small chassis, it’s incred- to 3D performance. ’’ GPU rendering or an increase in model complexity, so before parting with your hardible how much performance Lenovo has We’re big fans of the P320 Tiny. It’s earned cash, you need to be sure that managed to pack into the P320 Tiny. small, deceptively fast, incredibly porta- mainstream 3D CAD and BIM will conWith its low-power Intel CPU, we had ble and excellent value for money (our tinue to be your bread and butter for expected it to significantly lag behind test machine comes in at £999). But there years to come.

1 ThinkStation P320 Tiny with 27-inch display for scale 2 Ideal for space-constrained offices 3 ThinkStation P320 Tiny alongside HP Z2 Mini 4 One fan is used to cool both CPU and GPU 5 The bottom service panel gives easy access to M.2 NVMe SSDs and memory for upgrades or repair

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