The 1" thick lightweight display of the clip-on LCD monitor (right) is part of the NextDimension system.

HP xw9300
SUM_RESULTS3DSMAXSUMMARY.TXT
3dsmax-04 Weighted Geometric Mean = 20.67

SUM_RESULTSCATIASUMMARY.TXT
catia-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 26.58

SUM_RESULTSENSIGHTSUMMARY.TXT
ensight-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 16.03

SUM_RESULTSLIGHTSUMMARY.TXT
light-08 Weighted Geometric Mean = 25.72

SUM_RESULTSMAYASUMMARY.TXT
maya-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 50.99

SUM_RESULTSPROESUMMARY.TXT
proe-04 Weighted Geometric Mean = 23.93

SUM_RESULTSSWSUMMARY.TXT
sw-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 26.56

SUM_RESULTSUGNXSUMMARY.TXT
ugnx-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 8.519

SUM_RESULTSTCVISSUMMARY.TXT
tcvis-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 7.376 Initially, I was a little surprised by the fact that the NextDimension scored higher on several SpecViewPerf tests until I considered the fact that the NextDimension has a Quadro FX 3500 in it, while the 9300 just has a Quadro FX 1500.

Due to its diminutive size, the system can be neatly tucked away under a desk.

3ds Max
A hardware review just wouldn't be complete without them, so here are the results of rendering the “Displacement & DOF.max” and “Light Gallery.max” scenes in 3ds Max, with the HP xw9300 as a reference system:

Light Gallery
HP xw9300 2:44
NextDimension 5:45

Displacement & DOF.max
HP xw9300 12:21
NextDimension 24:59

Obviously, the NextDimension lagged behind the HP xw9300 in the 3ds Max render tests, which is unsurprising since the latter is equipped with two dual core Opterons clocked at 2.4GHz. Along with 3ds Max, the NextDimension is equally content crunching away in Maya or XSI. In fact, some high-end 3D software makers are using NextDimension systems to demonstrate their products.

Going Mobile, Getting Portable
Due to its diminutive size, the system can get warm and needs a lot of cooling, resulting in an abundance of fan noise. It’s not much louder than a desktop workstation, but since the display is part of the system, it's a little more noticeable than it would be if it were neatly tucked away under your desk. Of course, the new clip-on displays can make that possible. It's also lacking audio and wireless networking, which would be nice to have in a portable system. But if you require portability and your laptop just doesn't have the guts, this may be what you're looking for. Only requiring one power outlet for your system is an added bonus.

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