HP's new Z2 Mini billed as the 'world's smallest workstation'

HP takes aim at Apple's ageing line of Mac Mini workstations

Following up on the launch of the ultra-slim Spectre x360 laptops in October, HP has unveiled the Z2 Mini, a workstation that is 90 per cent small than the average PC workstation.

And, just as the HP Spectre x360 took aim at Apple's ageing line of laptops prior to the recent MacBook launch, the Z2 Mini takes aim at Apple's equally ageing Mac Mini workstations.

The HP Z2 Mini Workstation, outed at Autodesk University 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada is aimed at users of CAD and other compute-intensive applications, with HP hoping to appeal to the 42 per cent of designers who still don't use a professional workstation.

HP has bigged-up the pint-sized PC, which measures just 215x215x58mm, as "twice as powerful as any commercial mini PC on the market today" and 90 per cent smaller than a traditional business-class tower.

The Z2 Mini Workstation is also 63 per cent quieter than an HP business-class mini PC, according to the firm.

Despite the small footprint, the octagonal Z2 Mini supports Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors in addition to Intel's server-class Xeon E3 processors, and comes with a 2GB Nvidia Quadro M620 GPU, up to 3GB of DDR4 SO-DIMM RAM, HP's Z Turbo Drive for speedy file transfers, a PCIe M.2 connector and space for a 2.5in hard drive.

The Z2 Mini has three USB-C ports (one for charging) and four USB 3.0 ports. It can support six displays, and can be configured with Windows 10 Pro or Linux.

Jeff Wood, vice president and general manager of workstations and thin clients at HP, said: "The HP Z2 Mini, the world's first mini workstation, delivers breakthrough power and versatility in a small, iconic design.

"HP redefined the workstation in 2009 with the introduction of the HP Z series, and now once again is disrupting the category with the new HP Z2 Mini Workstation - the ultimate combination of space, efficiency, elegance and power for our customers and partners."

The HP Z2 Mini Workstation will be available in the UK in December from £750.