HP Z2 Mini G4 Workstation - Review 2022

Putting serious computing ability into a mini desktop PC isn't easy. Why? Desktop-form CPUs, graphics chips, and other components count on the support of large cooling fans and heat sinks that but tin can't fit into a small-scale square box like the HP Z2 Mini G4. Merely HP has managed to fit an Intel Xeon processor and a Nvidia Quadro GPU in this diminutive, snazzy-looking black slab. Those components qualify the Z2 Mini G4 as a bona fide workstation for architectural firms, hedge funds, research labs, and other potential customers who must have immense amounts of extremely stable computing power at their disposal. Add in a reasonable price for a desktop workstation (information technology starts at $799; $2,149 as tested), and you become a PC that punches far above its size and earns an Editors' Choice award.

Entering the 4th Generation

The Z2 Mini family has actually been around for a while. The model I'one thousand reviewing hither, which started shipping in July, is part of the fourth generation. That ways that HP'south designers have already settled on a form factor and physical design, which remains mostly unchanged from the Z2 Mini G3. Here, they take focused on packing in ever-more-powerful components and better connectivity options.

They don't accept a lot of space to work with, though. The Z2 Mini G4 is just a quarter of the size of a traditional pocket-size form cistron (SFF) desktop. Information technology measures two.28 by 8.v past 8.5 inches (HWD) and weighs only 4.5 pounds. That's about the same size footprint as the Zotac ZBox Magnus EK71080 (5.04 past 8.86 by 7.99 inches) that 1 of my colleagues recently tested; it includes similarly powerful components, just it's significantly shorter.

Less vertical space means less room for air to circulate, and HP can't become around that police of physics, but it is able to help hot air escape more than easily past including four vents, one at each corner of the chassis. These vents have been redesigned for the fourth generation, 1 of the few concrete alterations to the family chassis.

Amid the design attributes that remain constant is the less-than-ideal power-delivery state of affairs. Like other pocket-sized desktops, the Z2 Mini G4 requires yous to plug in a great, big external power brick, which in this case is nearly as wide as the PC itself. One of the most iconic minor desktops, the Apple Mac Mini, non only has a built-in power supply but is thinner than the Z2 Mini G4, too (ane.4 by 7.seven by vii.7 inches). Last refreshed in 2022 with a fourth generation Intel Cadre i5 processor, the Mac Mini is nowhere well-nigh as powerful as the Z2 Mini G4, of course.

Connectivity You Can Customize

The Z2 Mini G4's port choice is plentiful, albeit missing a few key options. Along the side, you'll spot ii USB iii.0 ports, ane of which supports quick-charging connected devices. In that location's also a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm audio input/output jack.

Around back, this review unit features no fewer than three DisplayPort i.2 outputs for connecting the latest external displays, as well equally a second USB Type-C port, ii more USB 3.0 ports, the power connector, a Gigabit Ethernet jack, and a series port to facilitate connections with legacy devices.

The Z2 Mini G4 supports up to six displays—screens connected straight to the DisplayPort outputs, plus additional daisy-chained displays. This makes it a fine pick for a brokerage firm, an architectural studio, or a CCTV monitoring station. Notation, though, that if you opt for HP's entry-level model in this line, yous lose one of the DisplayPort connectors and the rear-side USB Type-C port.

Conspicuously absent from the port selection on this test unit is a Thunderbolt 3 port. That said, you can configure your Z2 Mini G4 to include i, a cardinal improvement over last twelvemonth's model. In addition to a Thunderbolt three port, the new flexible I/O slot can adapt your choice of a second Gigabit Ethernet port, an HDMI output, or even legacy options such as a VGA port or the serial port on our unit of measurement.

Fifty-fifty if you leave this flexible I/O slot blank during the ordering process, the absenteeism of Thunderbolt iii is non as critical as it otherwise might be. That'south because 1 of Thunderbolt three'southward big appeals is daisy-chaining displays and other peripherals, and the Z2 Mini G4 can already accommodate up to six monitors via DisplayPort connections. Perhaps the simply potential customers who will miss out on Thunderbolt 3 support are those hoping to supplement the internal storage with a lightning-quick Thunderbolt 3 portable or desktop bulldoze.

So much for the wired connectivity. Every bit for the wireless, an optional wireless card installed in the unit that I tested offers Bluetooth 4.ii and 802.11ac Wi-Fi connections.

Defining a True Workstation: ISV Certifications and More

If you are an architect interested in the Z2 Mini G4 every bit a platform on which to run CAD software, you'll exist pleased to note that it comes with certifications for more 20 such apps, including AutoCAD, Solidworks, and Revit. This independent software vendor (ISV) certification is a primal benefit that distinguishes workstations from PCs that are merely very powerful. Another key distinction is support for error-correcting code memory (ECC), which the Z2 Mini G4 too supports and is a requirement for many fiscal-modeling and laboratory-assay software tools.

Enterprise-level security features grow on this workstation, including Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and secure-boot encryption options. HP also offers a generous three-year standard warranty that includes onsite service. The company too specifically mentions that "24/7 operation volition not void the HP warranty," so feel free to run those financial models at iii a.thousand. equally needed.

HP bundled a cheap-looking and uncomfortable plastic keyboard and mouse with the Z2 Mini G4, just y'all tin can society one without whatsoever peripherals at all and bring your own (almost certainly far more comfortable) mechanical keyboard and a mouse of choice.

Six Cores and 12 Threads for the Win

The Z2 Mini G4 unit I tested comes with an Intel Xeon East-2176G CPU with an impressive six cores, 12 threads, and base of operations clock speed of 3.7GHz. It'south comparable to other hexa-core processors from Intel's 8th-generation Core lineup, but since it'southward office of the Xeon family, it offers ancillary enterprise features like the aforementioned back up for ECC memory that a consumer-form Cadre i7 or even a Core i9 can't match.

The story is much the same when it comes to the detached graphics flake, an Nvidia Quadro P1000 with 4GB of dedicated graphics retention. Its functioning is comparable to lower-end models of the visitor's gaming-focused GeForce GTX lineup, just instead of eking out every last gaming frame, it prioritizes GPU-accelerated operation for apps that demand it, such every bit 3D-rendering tools or CAD software.

Add together in 32GB of memory and a combo storage setup consisting of a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) and a 1TB difficult drive, and y'all are looking at a seriously powerful car. Indeed, compared with other similarly priced, non-workstation compact PCs like the Zotac ZBox Magnus EK71080 and the MSI Vortex G25VR, the Z2 Mini G4 offers a noticeable operation bump on specialized tasks like exporting video and rendering 3D images.

Possibly the best measure out of its reward hither is the Cinebench R15 rendering criterion, which harnesses all CPU cores and threads. The Z2 Mini G4's score (i,345) was significantly higher than the Zotac (734), though only a few hundred points higher than the MSI (1,178). The latter arrangement has a Core i7 that likewise packs half dozen cores and 12 threads.

In fact, the Z2 Mini G4 was faster than both systems, as well as the Dell Precision 5720 All-in-One workstation, at applying filters in Photoshop (two minutes and 22 seconds) and exporting a brusque HD video into a smartphone-friendly format using Handbrake (36 seconds). Also, it trounce all of the other systems on the Cinebench exam. The functioning differences on these tests between the HP and the Dell are especially notable since it demonstrates how much of an impact additional cores and threads have. (The Dell has a Xeon processor with four cores and eight threads.)

When it comes to graphics performance, though, the MSI and Zotac have the Z2 Mini G4 beat by a broad margin, both on our Sky and Valley frame-rate benchmarks and our 3DMark tests, which output a proprietary performance score. In terms of gaming performance, the Quadro struggles to meet the 30 frames per second (fps) threshold we consider to be the minimum for smooth gaming, at least if y'all max out the detail settings, like nosotros did on the Heaven and Valley tests at Ultra quality.

Thanks to their more capable GeForce GTX yard-series graphics, the MSI and Zotac both accomplished more than 100fps on these tests. Even the Dell performed better, with its workstation-class AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 GPU. If you're primarily running CPU-intensive apps and mainly relying on the Quadro GPU to provide steady video output for a one-half-dozen monitors, though, these lower frame rates shouldn't be a problem.

Even though the Z2 Mini G4 is plenty powerful when pitted against its similarly priced diminutive peers on CPU-intensive tasks, it's not a substitute for a full-size desktop workstation. To meet why, consider that extremely powerful workstations like the Apple iMac Pro are far more expensive ($5,000 is a common price for them) and tin can exist configured with more than powerful Xeon W CPUs that include as many as 18 cores.

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You can tell just how much of a difference these additional dollars and cores make on our POV-Ray workstation-specific performance test. The Z2 Mini G4 completed the all-cores POV-Ray 3.7 benchmark in 105 seconds, compared with but 61 seconds for the Dell Precision 5820, a tower with a 10-core Xeon CPU that rings up at $five,567. In the same benchmark, the Precision 5820 accomplished 4,107 pixels per second (pps), compared with the two,481pps the Z2 Mini G4 recorded.

In a (Compact) Grade of Its Own

Equally a mini desktop with a Xeon processor and all the other accoutrements of a workstation, the HP Z2 Mini G4 is a rare animal. Compact workstations just aren't that common; its closest culling is likely a workstation all-in-i like the Dell Precision 5720 or the Apple tree iMac Pro, but fifty-fifty our high-end configuration is a far cheaper solution than either of those two machines. That'southward all the same the instance even when you factor in the cost of a midrange monitor.

You also get decent connectivity options, a generous warranty, and a stylish metal design, which together make the Z2 Mini G4 even more than attractive, both on newspaper and on your desk. The but major downside is that this diminutive PC simply doesn't accept enough room to offer the truly powerful workstation components of a total-size desktop workstation like the Dell Precision 5820. As long every bit yous're comfortable with fewer cores and threads (but nonetheless a lot of them, compared with well-nigh consumer PCs), your budget and available desk infinite will thank you for choosing the Z2 Mini G4.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/desktops/29273/hp-z2-mini-g4-workstation

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