At the HP Global Partner conference held in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced the most compact workstation thus far - the Z1 Workstation, which is the first all-in-one form factor computer incorporating workstation-class hardware.

To be available at a cost of US$1,899, the Z1 will come with workstation hardware including full-sized server-class processors, a graphics card as well as power supply covered in one single 27-inch LCD screen. In addition, the Z1 also boasts storage, RAM and Quadro (mobile) graphics.

According to SlashGear, which was among the first lot to get a hands-on experience the Z1 hardware, the highly-impressive machine - just like any other full-sized Z-line workstation - has heat separated into four zones, with fans and panels isolating the 400w power supply, Quadro graphics card, CPU and memory. All of these can be removed and upgraded by users easily, along with the hard drive chassis and DVD/Blu-ray drive.

The HP Z1 Workstation also features three mini-PCI slots; a built-in mount for USB-based license keys; a 1080p webcam; four front-facing SRS speakers; standard audio in and out; two USB 3.0 ports; and a 4-card multifunction reader, along with Firewire and the external view of the disc drive.

With the workstation essentially aimed at corporate customers, ranging from small graphics shops to medical imaging clients to high-end Hollywood 3D rendering, Jim Zafarana - general manager of the workstation division at HP
- said that the designing of the workstation into an all-in-one, with impressive performance, was essentially HP's response to the customers' demand for increased desk space.