Wild Six-Screen Mobile Workstation Upgraded with 192 EPYC Cores and 3TB DDR5
Mediaworkstations provided a-X2P with a deserved upgrade. The new model features a pair of AMD EPYC 9654 processors with 192 cores and 384 threads combined and 3TB of DDR5 memory.
Technically, the a-X2P could be a laptop, but most people see it as a pluggable or portable PC. In terms of aesthetics, Mediaworkstations stuck to the same design as the previous a-X2P. However, the 2023 model is a little heavier, so it is a little thicker than the previous model. The mobile workstation measures 16.35 x 24.6 x 10.6 inches, up from 15.10 x 23.10 x 9.03 inches in previous versions. The upgraded model also weighs between 45 and 55 pounds, up to 13% heavier than the older model.
The most important upgrade for a-X2P is logically under the hood. The two-year-old one utilized AMD’s EPYC 7002 (Rome) processor with Zen 2 cores. However, Mediaworkstations skipped his EPYC 7003 (Milan) series and jumped straight to his EPYC 9004 (Genoa) series, so the a-X2P uses AMD’s latest Zen 4 cores. In addition to architectural improvements, Genoa offers system integrators a wealth of options, from 16 cores up to 96 cores. Additionally, consumers can equip the a-X2P with two of his EPYC 9654 chips to choose configurations up to 192 cores.
Mediaworkstation did not share a model with a dual socket SP5 motherboard. However, given the specs, the a-X2P probably uses the Gigabyte MZ73-LM1. The motherboard offers 24 DDR5 memory slots supporting DDR5-4800 3DS RDIMMs up to 256GB. Media workstations seem to offer up to 3TB, which is half the maximum capacity of the motherboard.
Genoa supports the latest PCIe 5.0 interface, but Mediaworkstations chose to stick to PCIe 4.0. Gigabyte’s MZ73 comes in PCIe 5.0 (MZ73-LM0) and PCIe 4.0 (MZ73-LM1) variants. The a-X2P goes for the latter, so it only offers four PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slots directly connected to EPYC processors. Mediaworkstations allow consumers to equip a-X2P with up to two graphics cards. But you can always buy a mobile workstation and buy graphics, so it’s a great device for multitasking.
The a-X2P has a PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slot to accommodate one M.2 2280 or M.2 22110 drive. PCIe 5.0 SSD is out of the calculation. A single M.2 slot might sound stingy, but the a-X2P uses a server motherboard, so it has more storage options than it seems. The motherboard provides one SlimSAS 4i connector with four SATA III ports and two SlimSAS 8i connectors with four PCIe 4.0 or 16 SATA III ports.
The Aspeed AST2600 Management Controller is featured on the MZ73-LM1. The controller combines a dual-core Arm Cortex A7 with an embedded Arm Cortex M3, supporting 1920×1200 at 60 Hz. In terms of connectivity, the a-X2P features two high-speed 10 Gb/s Base-T LAN ports and one MLAN port from Broadcom BCM57416. However, considering Mediaworkstations touts the a-X2P as a mobile workstation, the lack of wireless connectivity is disappointing. As for the rear I/O, consumers will receive two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one VGA port, and one COM port.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that a-X2P demands a king’s ransom. Mediaworkstations does not disclose pricing for a-X2P. A single 96-core EPYC 9654 chip retails for $11,805, so you can imagine how much an expensive 3TB of DDR5 memory and he six screens, plus two of them, would cost.
