14 DAY TRIAL // HP is showing that it definitely isn't leaving the PC market by unleashing what is supposed to be the fastest gaming desktop it has ever made.
Given how quickly CPUs and graphics products, not to mention RAM, have advanced over the past year, this is easy to believe.
The product bears the name of Pavilion HPE h9 Phoenix.
It was launched alongside the HP Omni27 All-in-One PC and, similarly to it, boasts the HP Magic Canvas interface.
For those not up to speed on this software, Magic Canvas is a sort of substitute for Windows' desktop, easier to expand horizontally and generally more appealing, or so HP claims.
Going back to the hardware, up to 16 GB of DDR3 memory back up the central processing unit (CPU).
To make sure prospective buyers enjoy a suitable level of flexibility while configuring the Phoenix, HP has both Intel and AMD CPUs available.
That means that future owners can go as high as Intel X79 platforms or 8-core AMD chips.
As for the graphics, HP cut no corners and tossed in an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 adapter.
Like any self-respecting high-end machine, the Pavilion HPE h9 Phoenix has a suitably embellished case.
An internally-lit tower is enclosed in faux armor plating and houses three hard disk drive bays.
It can be fitted with liquid cooling too, if owners so wish.
Finally, HP put a “valet tray” on top (charging ports for phones and iPods, audio connectors), added Beats Audio and installed the LinkUp laptop-sync tool.
January 8 is when shipments of the HP Pavilion HPE h9 Phoenix will begin in the United States, for the price of $1,149.99, which is more or less the same as 882 Euro. A copy of role-playing game RIFT will be pre-loaded as a bonus.
If and when the desktop reaches Europe, the price probably won't reflect exchange rates that well, which means that the Phoenix will cost more than 882 Euro.