Hewlett-Packard xw6000

Hewlett-Packard

4 stars out of 5
Even among other compact tower systems, the Hewlett-Packard xw6000 workstation appears small. Housed in a gray and silver case that measures a compact 17.7" × 6.6" × 17.6" (h×w×d), it proved to be the quietest system of all tested here.

The HP xw6000 is based on the Intel Xeon 3.2GHz microprocessor.

Hewlett-Packard included an NVIDIA Quadro 4 980 XGL graphics card in this system. Though the 980 XGL is an excellent graphics card, its limited speed slowed system performance. The xw6000 would benefit from an NVIDIA FX 2000 or FX 3000 graphics card. This change would raise the total cost of the system substantially—at $6,019, it’s already on the high side—but it would show more of the real capabilities of the 3.2GHz processors. This system design gave the machine an A2 performance score.

The compact case also limits expandability options, resulting in a lower score in that area. Finally, the relatively high cost of the system lowered the grade for pricing. These factors combined to produce a 4-star rating in this fiercely competitive roundup.

The Hewlett-Packard xw6000 incorporates four USB 2.0 ports—two in front, two in back, as well as two serial and a single parallel port. As configured, the HP xw6000 also had an external SCSI port, one of the few in this roundup to be so equipped. A somewhat squishy keyboard and a Hewlett-Packard–branded Logitech wheel mouse round out the system. Warranty coverage is a comfortable 36 months for parts, labor, and onsite service.

Although the HP xw6000 has a 460W power supply that should adequately handle system expansion, the compact case limits the total number of drive bays to five.