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. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, He previously covered the consumer tech beat as a news reporter for PCMag in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, where he rode in several self-driving cars and witnessed the rise and fall of many startups. HP Z2 Mini G4 Review: Most Powerful Mini PC Yet . The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. © 1996-2020 Ziff Davis, LLC. Two SO-DIMM slots can be filled with as little as 4GB RAM to up to 32GB of memory, with DDR4-2667 and ECC memory support. Thankfully, the Z2 Mini G4 kept things relatively cool, with external temperatures reaching 94 degrees Fahrenheit on the top panel of the chassis and 100 degrees on the underside. In most of our tests, the Z2 Mini G4 posted not just impressive results, but category-leading performances. This certification goes beyond simply ensuring the program will run, and includes stability testing and certification that the programs will run error-free. Our review unit also came with a VGA connection, but because it's situated in one of the configurable Flex I/O slots, it isn't necessarily a standard port. Thermal management is always a concern on these pint-size PCs, since the small confines of the chassis don’t leave much room for cooling fans and air circulation, and you don’t want your little computer to be a fire hazard. All in all, the HP Z2 Mini G4 manages to be a potent workstation, a versatile and powerful mini PC and a highly configurable system that can be almost anything you need it to be. They don't have a lot of space to work with, though. That’s more than three times as fast as the Intel Hades Canyon NUC (310.60 MBps), and exponentially faster than the 2017-model HP Z2 Mini G3 (101 MBps) or the Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q Tiny (169 MBps). The Z2 Mini G4 is just a quarter of the size of a traditional small form factor (SFF) desktop. Even if you leave this flexible I/O slot blank during the ordering process, the absence of Thunderbolt 3 is not as critical as it otherwise might be. QuickSpecs HP Z2 Mini G4 Workstation Overview c05987462 — DA – 16216 Worldwide — Version 17 — July 18, 2020 Page 2 HP Z2 Mini G4 Entry, back view 1. HP Z2 Mini G4 – With a high frequency 6-core Xeon CPU and several GPU options, HP’s updated micro workstation is a great alternative to standard CAD desktops. Within the Z2 line, the Z2 Tower G4 is the most powerful, with the Z2 Small Form Factor and the Z2 Mini trading performance for size. The only major downside is that this diminutive PC simply doesn't have enough room to offer the truly powerful workstation components of a full-size desktop workstation like the Dell Precision 5820. If you're primarily running CPU-intensive apps and mainly relying on the Quadro GPU to provide steady video output for a half-dozen monitors, though, these lower frame rates shouldn't be a problem. The Z2 Mini G4 can be set up with either Windows or Linux, and our review unit came with Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) preinstalled. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Each vent is protected with a bumper-like bar that ensures you can stick t… That said, you can configure your Z2 Mini G4 to include one, a key improvement over last year's model. To gauge its performance, we put the HP Z2 Mini G5 workstation through four resource-intensive tests, which will allow us to see what it is capable of when equipped with an Intel i7-10700K, 2x16GB of DDR4 RAM, an NVIDIA Quadro T2000, and two Z Turbo 2280 NVMe SSDs. That's a big step up from last year's model (3,019), but it does fall slightly behind the gaming-oriented Intel Hades Canyon NUC (8,451), which features Radeon RX Vega M graphics. In the Geekbench 4.0 performance test, the Z2 Mini G4 scored 22,314 points, easily outpacing the 2017 Z2 Mini G3 (15,287 points, with an Intel Core i7-6700 and 32GB of RAM), and leaving basic office desktops in the dust, like the Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q Tiny (8,010, with Intel Core i5-7500T and 8GB RAM). The Z2 Mini G4 unit I tested comes with an Intel Xeon E-2176G CPU with an impressive six cores, 12 threads, and base clock speed of 3.7GHz. We also ran the more intensive 3DMark Fire Strike, where the Z2 Mini G4 scored a decent 4,609 points. You will receive a verification email shortly. The top lid of the small chassis can be removed without tools, and the internals of the system are far more accessible than most mini PCs allow. Compact design, powerful functionality Boosting the same low-profile chassis as its predecessor, the HP Z2 Mini G4 workstation maintains the compact design users lauded. Here, they have focused on packing in ever-more-powerful components and better connectivity options. We love almost everything about the Z2 Mini, but it does get loud. Why? That's bigger than other ultrasmall desktops, like the Asus VivoPC (7.5 x 7.5 x 2.2 inches, 2.6 pounds) or the Alienware Alpha R2 (7.9 x 7.9 x 2.2 inches, 3.4 pounds), but it boasts some beefier components and a chunky design that includes corner-mounted cooling vents. HP Z2 Mini G4 Home and Business Desktop (Intel i5-8500 6-Core, 16GB RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD + 500GB HDD (2.5), NVIDIA Quadro P600, Wifi, Bluetooth, 4xUSB 3.0, 3 … Noticeably smaller than its predecessor, it still manages to offer significant customization options that can boost its performance to the next level including support for full-size add in cards. Measuring only 8.5 x 8.5 x 2.3 inches, the HP Z2 Mini G4 lives up to its name. The external design of the Z2 Mini G4 remains unchanged, with the same low-profile chassis as its predecessor. Like other small desktops, the Z2 Mini G4 requires you to plug in a great, big external power brick, which in this case is nearly as wide as the PC itself. New York, HP Z2 Mini G4 Workstation - 1 x Core i7 i7-8700 - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD - Mini PC - Space Gray, Black Chrome Accent - TAA Compliant - Windows 10 Pro 64-bitNVIDIA Quadro P600 4 GB Graphics - Serial ATA/600 Controller - Intel Optane Memory Ready - English Keyboard - Gigabit Ethernet - … If you're looking for workstation power in a smaller-than-small form factor, the Z2 Mini G4 is the way to go. So much for the wired connectivity. It measures 2.28 by 8.5 by 8.5 inches (HWD) and weighs just 4.5 pounds. A lot of that is due to the design, which puts ventilation grilles at each of the four corners of the chassis. You get the same stylish, space-saving design at a similar price point, but with potentially 50% more CPU cores at higher frequencies. The Z2 Mini family has actually been around for a while. Opening the Z2 Mini G3 takes only a few seconds, and the first thing you’ll see is a 2.5-inch hard drive (or in our case with this review sample, an empty bay that can house one) and two fans. That's higher than last year's Z2 Mini G3, which was already a strong performer with 104 fps at 1080p and 30fps at 4K. If you're using the workstation to design products that need to be safe, or to run analyses for multimillion-dollar businesses, you need it to run properly every time, and that’s the peace of mind offered by ISV certifications. The easily accessible design includes a hinge-mounted cooling fan that flips up out of the way to let users reach the two SO-DIMM slots, and easy-to-access screws let you remove the fan and hard drive to access the rest of the internals. It looks rather like a bulkier, armour-plated version of the Mac Mini, but is still extremely compact, standing just 58mm high and 216mm square, and weighing 2.2kg for the high-end 'Performance' model tested here. For wireless connectivity, the Z2 Mini G4 is outfitted with 802.11ac WLAN and Bluetooth 5.0. Gaming performance also gives us an idea of the graphics capability the Z2 Mini G4 offers. In Dirt 3, the workstation averaged 166 frames per second (fps) at 1080p, and still delivered strong frame rates (51 fps) at 4K resolution. On the back of the box you'll find a second 10 Gbps USB Type-C port, as well as two USB 3.0 ports, three DisplayPort connectors and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Specifications document for HP Z2 Mini G4 Workstation. As long as you're comfortable with fewer cores and threads (but still a lot of them, compared with most consumer PCs), your budget and available desk space will thank you for choosing the Z2 Mini G4. In our updated version of the test, which uses Excel instead of OpenOffice to test multithread processing, the Z2 Mini G4 was even faster, ripping through the task in 34 seconds. All in all, the HP Z2 Mini G4 manages to be a potent workstation, a versatile and powerful mini PC and a highly configurable system that can be almost anything you need it to be. When it comes to graphics performance, though, the MSI and Zotac have the Z2 Mini G4 beat by a wide margin, both on our Heaven and Valley frame-rate benchmarks and our 3DMark tests, which output a proprietary performance score. HP Z2 Mini Rack Mounted. HP's Z2 Tower G4 measures up to the workstation competition and then some. The spec / data sheet by HP for this workstation is incredibly extensive since there are … More Info. You get the same stylish, space saving design at a similar price point, but with potentially 50% more CPU cores at higher frequencies. This includes Sure Start, which protects the BIOS and is self-healing in the event of an attack; Sure Run, which monitors essential processes – including AV and firewalls – for corruption and will actually restart the OS to protect it if an attack is detected; Sure Click, which offers secure browsing that isolates potential malware and individual tabs to prevent exploits; and a full manageability kit for IT departments. As tested with an Intel Core i9 CPU and an Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU, it … Creative professionals can use the HP Z2 Mini G4 to enhance and speed up their processes for 2D design workflows, and get lag-free performance – even when working in multiple-layers. Our informal test of browsing with multiple browser tabs open was barely a blip on the radar; the Z2 Mini didn't even break a sweat while switching between 20 open tabs and streaming 4K video, and, honestly, that's what we expect from a workstation machine like this. The HP Z2 Mini G4 is a small wonder, packing workstation-class parts and performance into a compact chassis that can stow anywhere. Users can equip the workstation with 8th generation Intel Core processors, up to 64GB of DDR4 memory, and multiple storage options form SATA to NVMe depending on storage performance needs. All together you can cram up to 3 terabytes (2TB 5400rpm HDD and a 1TB HP Z Turbo SSD) into the Z2 Mini's tiny chassis. 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. Here is what these look like together: HP Z By HP Rack Mountable Workstations In Racks. ARCHITECTS. Last year's Z2 Mini G3 completed the same test in 3:30, and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q Tiny took 3:52 to complete the same task. In fact, the Z2 Mini G4 was faster than both systems, as well as the Dell Precision 5720 All-in-One ($1,129.00 at Dell Technologies) workstation, at applying filters in Photoshop (2 minutes and 22 seconds) and exporting a short HD video into a smartphone-friendly format using Handbrake (36 seconds). For processing, you've got everything from standard Intel Core i3 and Core i5 8000-series processors, along with 4- and 6-core Core i7 and Xeon E 2100-series processors. The HP Z2 Mini G4 is a mini desktop with the performance of a far larger workstation, complete with Xeon processor options and ISV certifications. While that's a bit warmer than the 95-degree comfort threshold we apply to laptop PCs, it's not bad for a desktop. Last refreshed in 2014 with a fourth generation Intel Core i5 processor, the Mac Mini is nowhere near as powerful as the Z2 Mini G4, of course. That means that HP's designers have already settled on a form factor and physical design, which remains mostly unchanged from the Z2 Mini G3. Good Xeon multicore computing performance. 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 you max out the detail settings, like we did on the Heaven and Valley tests at Ultra quality. Our review unit is one of the better-equipped models offered by HP, armed with a beefy 6-core Intel Xeon E-2176G processor, 32GB of memory, Nvidia Quadro P1000 ISV-certified graphics, and a combination of storage solutions, with a 1TB 7200 rpm HDD and a 256GB HP Z Turbo Drive SSD. This independent software vendor (ISV) certification is a key benefit that distinguishes workstations from PCs that are merely very powerful. Its performance is comparable to lower-end models of the company's gaming-focused GeForce GTX lineup, but instead of eking out every last gaming frame, it prioritizes GPU-accelerated performance for apps that need it, such as 3D-rendering tools or CAD software. The gray plastic chassis measures just 8.5 x 8.5 x 2.3 inches, but  inside is the sort of power normally reserved for larger desktop towers. Desktop-class CPUs, graphics chips, and other components count on the support of large cooling fans and heat sinks that simply can't fit into a small square box like the HP Z2 Mini G4. The HP Z2 Mini G5 has received some chassis improvements, with redesigned thermals that use copper rather than aluminium for ‘much better thermal conductivity’. Perhaps the best measure of its advantage here is the Cinebench R15 rendering benchmark, which harnesses all CPU cores and threads. File-transfer speeds were blazing fast, copying our 4.97GB test folder in 5 seconds flat, which works out to 1,017.8 MBps. Please refresh the page and try again. That's still the case even when you factor in the cost of a midrange monitor. Relatively inexpensive for a desktop workstation. That brick is one of the largest I've seen, measuring 7.8 x 3.9 x 1.0 inches, large enough that you'll need to think about where to stash it. HP also includes several built-in security tools, which protect the system from the BIOS to the browser, and are part of HP's top-of-the-line enterprise offerings. PCMag Digital Group. CPU: Intel Xeon E-2174G quad-core w/ 8MB cache Memory: 32GB DDR4 2667MHz ECC (2x16GB) 128GB max Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro P1000 Hard Disk: 256GB Z Turbo PCIe SSD and 1TB Western Digital 7200rpm SATA data drive The Z2 Mini line was already impressive simply by fitting workstation power into the mini PC form factor. This HP Z2 Tower G4 Workstation review unit was subjected to the new SPECviewperf 13.0 program for running benchmarks that measure performance in a variety of typical engineering and product design workflows. Follow him on Twitter @branttom. In the same benchmark, the Precision 5820 achieved 4,107 pixels per second (pps), compared with the 2,481pps the Z2 Mini G4 recorded. The first is weight, where the Z2 Mini G4 weighs 4.85 pounds, heavier than the 2017 model's 4.6 pounds. The HP Z2 Mini G4 is a worthy successor to the G3 edition. Our review unit, on the other hand, came with some of the best configuration options available, and sells for $2,149, but it comes with powerful components: An intel Xeon E-2176G CPU, 32GB of RAM, Nvidia Quadro P1000 GPU and a dual-drive setup with a 1TB HDD and 256GB SSD. The HP Z2 G4 workstation is an entirely adequate entry-level desktop workstation. But don’t let its small size fool you. The Z2 Mini G4 completed the all-cores POV-Ray 3.7 benchmark in 105 seconds, compared with just 61 seconds for the Dell Precision 5820 , a tower with a 10-core Xeon CPU that rings up at $5,567. Visit our corporate site. As tested with an Intel Core i9 CPU and an Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU, it … Security Slot 4. HP Z2 Mini G5 Performance. © To see why, consider that extremely powerful workstations like the Apple iMac Pro ($4,999.99 at Best Buy) are far more expensive ($5,000 is a common price for them) and can be configured with more powerful Xeon W CPUs that include as many as 18 cores. HP bundled a cheap-looking and uncomfortable plastic keyboard and mouse with the Z2 Mini G4, but you can order one without any peripherals at all and bring your own (almost certainly far more comfortable) mechanical keyboard and a mouse of choice. That's about the same size footprint as the Zotac ZBox Magnus EK71080 (5.04 by 8.86 by 7.99 inches) that one of my colleagues recently tested; it includes similarly powerful components, but it's significantly shorter. As a hardware analyst, Tom tests and reviews laptops, peripherals, and much more at PC Labs in New York City. There was a problem. World’s most powerful mini workstation 1. Finally, there are plenty of graphics options. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. To put this in perspective, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q Tiny  scored only 69,398 with its integrated graphics, which is more than adequate for standard office work. Final Verdict. These vents have been redesigned for the fourth generation, one of the few physical alterations to the family chassis. For storage, you've got one M.2 slot and a 2.5-inch bay for a SATA drives. (And looking forward, HP tells me they plan to offer a 1 gigabit fiber NIC option sometime this year. Optional Flexible IO: Not loaded (Flex IO supports VGA/HDMI/DisplayPort™/2nd RJ-45/Fiber NIC/USB-C™ 3.1 Gen2 Charging Port with Alt mode) 2.