HP launches diet desktop with solid-state drive

Hewlett-Packard Wednesday introduced a business desktop with a slim form factor that packs a flash-based solid-state drive, giving the system faster boot times than PCs with hard drives.

The HP Compaq dc7800 Ultra-Slim Business Desktop, dubbed by HP as its smallest enterprise desktop model, provides improved power efficiency and support for tools, including Intel's vPro, that makes it easier to manage PCs.

Measuring 2.60 by 9.90 by 10.0 inches (6.6 by 25.15 by 25.4 centimeters), HP said this desktop is 46 percent smaller than previous models. The PC is loaded with power-efficient features, including solid-state drives (SSDs) that consume less power than hard drives, said an HP spokeswoman.

The SSD can replace a hard disk as the PC's primary storage drive and delivers performance and durability improvements, including quicker access to data, the spokeswoman said.

Random reads require the head to continuously seek the exact location of data on a hard drive. SSDs have no moving parts or rotating platters, which results in instantaneous seek times, leading to faster boot times and quicker data access.

A 16GB SSD will be available with the system, although users can select hard drives with storage capacities of up to 160GB when buying the product.

The system includes support for TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 1.2, a hardware-based authentication technology for system security.

The Compaq dc7800 Ultra-Slim Business Desktop runs Intel's Core 2 Duo, Celeron D, or Pentium processors, and supports Intel's vPro technology, a platform that helps service and manage PCs. It comes with Gigabit Ethernet and an integrated Intel graphics media accelerator. Users can select between the Windows Vista, Windows XP, or FreeDos operating systems.

Pricing for the desktop, which is available now, starts at $1,258 with the solid-state drive.

There are already a few vendors that include SSDs in their hardware. Dell's Alienware, a gaming systems manufacturer, includes them in its gaming desktop PCs, and Toshiba includes SSDs in its laptops. Intel is providing SSD storage as an option to put on motherboards for its upcoming ultramobile Menlow platform, and Lexar Media is offering SSD storage under the Crucial brand.

HP also announced the HP Compaq dc5800 Business PC. The business desktop will be powered by Intel's Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Pentium dual-core, or Celeron D processors. It will include up to 500GB of hard drive storage, Gigabit Ethernet networking, integrated Intel graphics, a DVD drive, and a 16-in-1 media card reader.

Priced at $579, the desktop will be available starting next month.