HP Packs xw9000 Workstation Full of Six-Core Opterons

Gamers don't always get the big rigs: HP has packed up to two six-core AMD Operton 2400 processors in its new xw9000 workstation...and that's just the start.

Sure, gamers might shell out lots of many for overclocked behemoth computer systems loaded with graphics cards and storage, and hooked up to enough audio gear to heat a small home. But gamers aren’t the only ones who get big toys: computer maker Hewlett-Packard has taken the wraps off its new xw9000 workstation, and while it’s aimed at high-end applications like 3D modelling, oil and gas exploration, scientific visualization, if notghing else it’s a hint at what’s to come to consumer systems—and even gamers—in the future.

“HP understands the immense pressure its customers are under to deliver more return on investment in a shorter period of time,” said HP’s director of worldwide marketing for workstations Jeff Wood, in a statement. “By providing the most extreme combination of technologies—up to 12 cores in one workstation—HP continues its commitment to bringing customers leading-edge technologies.”

The new xw9000 workstations include AMD Opteron 2400 processors with six processing cores…and HP will put in two of them, offering up to 12 processing cores to boogie along those multithreaded applications. The workstations also feature AMD’s HyperTransport 3 technology for up to 4.8 gigatransfers per second for super fast data processing. (A gigatransfer is a billion transits across the processor bus; the amount of bandwidth that represents depends on the width of the bus.) HP can also equip the xw900 with the ATI FirePro V7750 3D graphics accelerator for pushing serious visualization and rendering projects.

The xw9000 is available now at prices starting at $1,899, but prices go up steeply as customers add processors, memory, storage, and accessories.