HP Introduces PCs for Work and Play

Hewlett-Packard will combine elements from two of its desktop PC lines by releasing an update to its Compaq Evo D510 that makes use of the small form factor of HP's e-pc, the company said Tuesday at TechXNY in New York. The system is due to be available around the start of September, HP says.

The Evo D510 e-pc is designed to fit into tight spaces, measuring 3.8 inches high by 9.8 inches wide and 12.2 inches deep. It weighs 10 pounds and can also be mounted on a wall or under a desk.

"Enterprise customers will have the best of both worlds with the combination of the e-pc and the Evo line," says Jeff Groudan, head of marketing for the business PC group at HP, in Palo Alto, California.

Slight Changes

A slight modification was made to the original e-pc chassis to accommodate the Evo D510's components, he says. The Evo D510 series is now available in four form factors: minitower, small form factor, ultra-slim desktop, and e-pc.

The new system is designed for mainstream enterprise customers. Besides its small size, the system was designed to be easy for administrators to maintain, says Groudan. For example, the back of the PC can be removed without tools, allowing them to make quick repairs or upgrade components, he says.

HP included Intel's new 845G chipset in the D510 e-pc, which features integrated graphics and either a 533-MHz or 400-MHz system bus. This chipset provides the best value for users who don't need high-end graphics to do their jobs, says Groudan.

Pricing for the Evo D510 e-pc has not been finalized, but is expected to be around $700, not including a monitor, Groudan says.

Consumer Choices

HP also updated its consumer desktop lines Tuesday, adding to both the HP Pavilion line and the Compaq Presario line.

Three new HP Pavilions were announced, two of which feature HP's dvd200i DVD+RW/+R drive, which allows DVD viewing and write-once recording. A typical configuration of the Pavilion 792N, with a 2.4-GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of DDR RAM, a 120GB hard disk drive, the DVD+RW/+R drive, and a 64MB DDR GeForce4 MX420LC graphics card, is priced at $1,799.

For $1,449, the HP Pavilion 772N comes with a 2.26-GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of DDR RAM, an 80GB hard drive, the DVD+RW/+R, and a 32MB DDR GeForce4 MX420LC graphics card.

The HP Pavilion 522N rounds out the list, featuring a typical configuration sporting a 1.8-GHz Intel Celeron processor, 256MB of DDR RAM, a 60GB hard drive, an HP CD-RW drive, and a DVD-ROM drive, selling for $799.

None of the Pavilions come with a monitor, and the Pavilion 792N and Pavilion 772N will be available through retail and HP's Web site in July. The Pavilion 522N is available this week.

The company also announced that it will offer configurations of its Compaq Presario 6000 and Presario 8000 lines with the DVD+RW/+R drive, and with CD-RW combo drives. The machines will include CD burning software from Roxio.

A sample configuration of the 6000, with Advanced Micro Devices' 1.53-GHz Athlon XP 1800, 128MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive, and a DVD+RW/+R drive is priced at $1,029. The 8000, with a 1.67-GHz Athlon XP 2000, 256MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, and a DVD+RW/+R drive, comes in at $1,219. These PCs will not be available through retail channels.