Dell refreshes Precision workstation and server models

Dell has introduced two Precision workstation models and a rack server, which it claims will provide high-end processing power in the smallest form factors to date.

The line-up includes the Precision T1700 workstation, which will be available in two varieties, and the Precision R7610 rack server.

Dell T1700 rangeDell claims the T1700 Small Form Factor (SFF) model is the world's smallest workstation and it is designed to be used on a desk.

The SFF workstation will be powered by Intel's Haswell Xeon E3-1200 chipset, has support for up to 32GB of EEC memory and 4 DIMM slots. Users will be able to choose between one 3.5in SATA disk or two 2.5in SATA disks.

Despite the small chassis, Dell has packed in a range of ports onto the T1700. The front will include 2 x USB 2 and 2 x USB 3 ports. The rear will pack 4 x USB 2 and 2 x USB 3 as well as 2 x PS2, 2 x DisplayPorts, 1 x VGA and 1 x RJ45 connections.

The SFF supports entry-level graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD including the Quadro 310/510 and FirePro 2270. The device also supports the Quadro K600 which draws up to 50 watts of power and will allow designers to create entry-level 3D animations in programs such as Solidworks and AutoCAD.

The larger Mini Tower (MT) edition will feature mostly the same specifications, but it will support graphics cards that can draw up to 150 watts of power such as the Nvidia Quadro K4000. This will allow for mid-range 3D content to be created and edited.

Both the SFF and MT models will support Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. There will be space for two optical drives, and the MT will also be able to ship with an optional 19-in-1 multi-card reader.

Malcolm Hay, technical account manager at Intel, noted the forthcoming Haswell chips will provide a quantifiable boost in graphic performance.

"Integrated graphics are where the boosts in performance are coming generation-on-generation. In the entry-level space, the integrated graphics have got some nice crunchy performance, so discrete graphics may not be needed," he said during the launch.

The Dell Precision T1700 Mini-Tower and Small Form-Factor will be available from 4 June worldwide, and pricing will be announced on this date.

Precision R7610 Meanwhile, the Precision R7610 is a 2U rack form-factor designed especially for use in datacentres or OEM embedded products. Dell claims it's the most powerful rack workstation available on the market.

The server will run on the older Intel Sandy Bridge architecture, but will be upgradable to Ivy Bridge chipsets when Intel makes them available for servers in the third quarter.

Dell has built in support for up to four single wide graphics cards including the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 and AMD FirePro W5000, or up to three double-wide NVIDIA Quadro K5000 cards. Nvidia's Grid, which features virtualised graphics capabilities, is expected to be available later in 2013.

There will be a variety of configurations available ranging from dual-core to eight core racks and each will support up to four users at launch. Dell is planning on upping the number of users each rack can support later this year.

Memory has been expanded to four channels with up to 256GB in 16 DIMM slots. Dell plans to make 512GB available in the future.

This will allow users to run heavy duty analysis, rendering and virtualisation applications. The inclusion of the redundant power supply also makes it ideal for hosting business critical applications in a datacentre or using it for medical imaging, for example.

The Dell Precision R7610 rack workstation will be available on May 21 starting at 1,837.