The HP xw8600 Workstation Review: Worth a Second Look
Four seconds may not sound like a lot, but it starts to add up -- especially if you tweak your scenes and render dozens or even hundreds of times until you get everything just so. Twenty-three seconds begins to show the performance increase a little better. Just three tests and you've already saved over a minute. Multiply as necessary to figure out the time savings you'll experience.
Of course, 3ds Max 8 is a little out of date these days, but I use it to retain some consistency between tests. So how does the system fair with the newest versions of 3ds Max 2009 and Maya 2008? As you'd expect, both run smoothly, with nary a hiccup. If your system is suffering from the jitters every time you open your three-year-old copy of Max or Maya, you just might want to give a brand new xw8600 system a spin.
Time for Another Upgrade Like the previous xw8600 I reviewed, HP has applied a case skin from HP's skinit site, as shown in Figure 4. If you can't get a redesigned case, skins are the next best thing. This one covers the entire workstation (front bezel, side panels and top), and costs $64.95. It gives the xw8600 a fresh new look, and will catch the eye of anyone who visits your office, even that next big client.
Granted, it's only been six months or so since my last review of the xw8600, but if you didn't upgrade then, you may want to take the plunge now. It's a fast and extremely expandable system with options to preload Linux, Windows XP or Windows Vista in both 32- and 64-bit configurations. So no matter what your workflow is, you'll be able to switch to a newer, more powerful system without missing a beat.
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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 Website design. His writing credits include articles for LinuxWorld, Element K Journals and InformIT, covering topics like 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 Website creation for beginners and co-authored the book, Moving from Windows to Linux.
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