Compare Prices : HP XW4600

Review summary: Lately the SlashGear test bench has been playing home to a number of midrange workstations from HP. The 4600 and 6600 ranges from low end to mid-level quad

Review summary: As a result of the escalating processor arms race between Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, processors from desktop processor families are now finding themselves in workstations. HP' s latest workstation family, the xw4600, is interesting in that the ...

Pros: Powerful Energy-efficient Great warranty

Cons: Can get expensive, depending on configuration

Verdict: A workstation that will let you hit the ground running, though depending on how you configure it, it might cost quite a bit.

Review summary: Even for a single-processor model, the xw4600 has a dinky chassis that will slip under even the smallest desk - and it's well-designed, too.

Pros: Small but capacious and well-designed case ; very low cost ; excellent graphics card

Cons: Single drive reduces performance

Verdict: We were also very impressed with the xw4600's price. Next to the Imagine X64 price tag of £1,465 plus VAT, our xw4600 is an absolute bargain. If you're on a tight budget, this is an excellent choice - and with more powerful components, it has the ...

Review summary: On paper, HP's latest entry-level workstation barely qualifies for the label 'workstation', at least as far as hardware is concerned. There's no sign of a Xeon processor, and not even a high-end quad-core desktop chip.

Verdict: Not much raw hardware for the money, but the package as a whole inspires confidence and software is impressively well-integrated.