HP Imagine 2026: HP Announces High-Performance PCs for the Most Demanding Local Compute and AI Workloads

HP announced a new generation of HP Z Workstations, and AI solutions to give people world-class high-performance compute, while also helping IT organizations modernize their infrastructure for a hybrid future.

 

Across industries, power users such as engineers, architects, product designers, AI developers, and professional creators are facing unprecedented pressure as workflows grow more complex and performance demands accelerate. At the same time, IT leaders must balance these needs against cost, security, and manageability. HP’s latest Z portfolio addresses both challenges and delivers uncompromising performance, future‑proof design, and solutions that help customers deploy the right compute in the right place at the right time.

 

“Technology and high-performance workflows are evolving faster than ever,” said Jim Nottingham, SVP and Division President, Advanced Compute Solutions. “HP Z workstations are built to equip the best and brightest professionals with the tools they need for specialized workflows and AI at the edge, while giving IT decision makers the ability to scale performance responsibly.”

 

 

The HP Z8 Fury G6i is designed to meet the most demanding compute and AI workloads. With support for up to four NVIDIA RTX PROTM 6000 Blackwell Max-Q Workstation Edition GPUs and next-generation workstation Intel® processors, the Z8 Fury is purpose-built high performance for advanced AI development, visual effects, and simulation workloads, and is purpose built to be the ideal host for sharing scarce GPU resources with HP ZBoost.

 

HP is also introducing the HP Max Side Panel for Z8 Fury and Z4 workstations, an industry first‑ chassis expander that increases internal volume by 15 percent2. The new HP Max Side Panel allows power users and IT to install larger graphics cards tool free, while maintaining thermal performance and IT approved serviceability.

 

 

For professionals who need workstation class performance on the move, HP announced updates to its mobile portfolio with the HP ZBook X G2i, HP ZBook 8 G2i, and ZBook 8G2a. These powerful light mobile workstations deliver next-generation AI workstation performance which includes AMD and Intel options, integrated or discrete graphics, scalable memory, and improved portability without sacrificing battery life.

 

The HP ZBook X is world’s most powerful 16" mainstream mobile workstation3, and features powerful 3000-level graphics and 128GB RAM, eliminating bottlenecks during rendering. This kind of performance helps shorten project timelines for architects, engineers, and designers by accelerating photorealistic renders and real-time reviews.

 

Collaborating with industry leaders like Intel and Autodesk empowers our customers to iterate quickly and reduce time to real results, driving business outcome, faster.  A mobile engineer using Autodesk Inventor on a ZBook 8 G2i can render designs 3.3x faster4.  The ZBook 8‘s fast 3D design capabilities and a compact form factor is enhanced by a new GaN adapter that’s up to 40% smaller and 50% lighter, boosting portability for professionals on the move.  

 

Together, the HP ZBook X and HP ZBook 8 enable architects and engineers to run complex, multi-software workflows wherever work happens.

 

 

HP is also bringing updates to HP Z Boost, a GPU sharing solution that turns workstations into on demand, shared resources, removing the limits of local devices. Initially introduced for AI workloads, HP Z Boost is now expanding to rendering, helping increase GPU utilization and accelerate productivity without moving files or disrupting creative flow.

 

HP customers using Z Boost for AI workflows have enabled hundreds of additional AI training runs by sharing GPUs. With ZBoost expanding to support rendering workflows, initial customer deployments show up to 5.7x faster rendering in applications such as Catia and Siemens NX5. The HP ZBook mobile workstations serve as ideal Boost clients and HP Z desktops serve as ideal hosts, delivering an ecosystem for accessing strong local performance anywhere.

 

 

As organizations rethink their reliance on cloud only approaches, HP’s expanded Advanced Compute Solutions ecosystem supports hybrid AI strategies that balance local and cloud compute. HP Z Workstations and AI Stations, from the deskside ZGX Nano to the upcoming ZGX Fury, deliver scalable, high-density local performance for AI inference and finetuning, while integrating seamlessly into managed IT environments.

 

With support for largescale models, advanced workstation management, and rack ready designs, HP enables IT leaders to give their best and brightest talent more control and performance without compromising security or efficiency.

 

As AI workflows evolve beyond inference, customers are beginning to experiment with agentic systems that can take action across data, tools, and code. Emerging platforms and open source stacks such as OpenClaw and NVIDIA NemoClaw are accelerating this shift by working to deliver policy and governance enterprises need to trust AI agents at scale.

 

HP Z Workstations provide a trusted, high-performance future-ready foundation. Delivering the performance power users demand while giving IT leaders control over security, data residency, and cost as agentic AI workflows move from experimentation to production.

 

 

HP’s Z portfolio extends beyond workstations, encompassing a broader HP technology ecosystem that includes displays and peripherals, collaboration solutions, large-format printing, and software innovations. Together, these offerings are designed to remove friction across high-performance workflows while simplifying IT management. Additionally, as part of the broader HP solutions ecosystem, IT managers can leverage the HP Workforce Experience platform to gain comprehensive visibility into device performance, employee feedback, and workplace technology usage.

Source: HP media announcement