Light Gallery render.

Some SpecViewPerf 9 Test Results
I also ran the SpecViewPerf 9 benchmarking test on the xw8400. Then, just to torture myself, I ran them on my current system. Here are the results:

HP xw8400
SUM_RESULTSDSMAXSUMMARY.TXT
3dsmax-04 Weighted Geometric Mean = 29.98

SUM_RESULTSCATIASUMMARY.TXT
catia-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 36.45

SUM_RESULTSENSIGHTSUMMARY.TXT
ensight-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 21.83

SUM_RESULTSLIGHTSUMMARY.TXT
light-08 Weighted Geometric Mean = 34.42

SUM_RESULTSMAYASUMMARY.TXT
maya-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 24.22

SUM_RESULTSPROESUMMARY.TXT
proe-04 Weighted Geometric Mean = 28.59

SUM_RESULTSSWSUMMARY.TXT
sw-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 36.90

SUM_RESULTSUGNXSUMMARY.TXT
ugnx-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 10.86

SUM_RESULTSTCVISSUMMARY.TXT
tcvis-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 6.357

Dual Athlon 1200
SUM_RESULTS3DSMAXSUMMARY.TXT
3dsmax-04 Weighted Geometric Mean = 5.343

SUM_RESULTSCATIASUMMARY.TXT
catia-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 7.648

SUM_RESULTSENSIGHTSUMMARY.TXT
ensight-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 2.978

SUM_RESULTSLIGHTSUMMARY.TXT
light-08 Weighted Geometric Mean = 7.470

SUM_RESULTSMAYASUMMARY.TXT
maya-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 7.739

SUM_RESULTSPROESUMMARY.TXT
proe-04 Weighted Geometric Mean = 5.180

SUM_RESULTSSWSUMMARY.TXT
sw-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 8.768

SUM_RESULTSUGNXSUMMARY.TXT
ugnx-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 2.132

SUM_RESULTSTCVISSUMMARY.TXT
tcvis-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 1.969

To see a comparison of systems running SpecViewPerf, visit the website. The only system that came close to meeting — or beating — this system in any of the categories was another HP system, the xw9300, which included dual NVidia Quadro FX 4500 video cards. These results are unsurprising, considering the fact that SpecViewPerf is OpenGL-intensive. The odds are very good that if the xw8400 included dual Quadro FX 4500 cards, it would have beaten the xw9300 in every category.

What Do You Mean I Can’t Keep It?
Systems like this one don’t grow on trees, and they’re not for sale in your local big box retailer, either. You’ll need to order one of these systems through HP or your reseller.

My only real complaint — aside from the fact that I have to box this system up and return it to HP — is the fact that it got a little loud when the fans kicked in. But that’s to be expected with a high performance machine such as this. Windows XP x64 also misbehaved at times, but that’s no fault of HP. It just meant that no matter what I tried, and what Softimage support tried, I couldn’t get the dongle licensed and Softimage running. It would have been nice to see how it performed. My guess is it would have been stellar, much like 3ds Max and Maya.

The system looks slick, with its black and silver finish, and the tool-less design of the interior makes adding and removing cards and drives a snap — literally. The xw8400 includes Intel’s groundbreaking new Xeon processors and is tailored to today’s demanding high-end video broadcast and 3D applications. While no match for the super computers looming on the distant horizon, the xw8400 is a great way to hedge your bets and boost your productivity until computers begin to anticipate your intentions before you even make them known. Hey — it could happen.

Bryan Hoff is a multifaceted artist and writer. A web designer, digital artist and animator, his credits include movie and television effects, online games, 3D corporate animation, Flash and traditional web site design. His writing credits include articles for LinuxWorld, Element K Journals and InformIT, covering such topics as Photoshop effects, Linux 3D graphics applications, web and HTML design, RSS feeds and painting with a graphics tablet. Hoff has written ebooks on blogging and web site creation for beginners and co-authored the book, Moving from Windows to Linux.’