Attention IT managers: Two green PCs from HP that won't get you laughed out of the office
Hello! Green tech doesn't have to be about sacrifice. Just two weeks after pledging to cut power consumption across its systems, Hewlett-Packard has introduced two new business desktops that have a definite green tech sensibility but that also feature serious innovation in design footprint and in new features. Hmmm. Could the two go hand-in-hand?
The first offering, the HP Compaq dc7800, is an ultra-slim desktop system that uses a solid state hard drive (SSD). I've been researching and writing about SSDs as a way of extending notebook runtimes over the past few months. Some vendors, like EMC, are even talking about it for enterprise storage products. So, of course, it makes sense as a way to cut back on power consumption at the desktop level, too. The theory ALSO is that data will be available more quickly. Like the "instant on" for a handheld computer. AND using an SSD could also improve system reliability and lifespan, because there are fewer moving parts to go bad on you. I'll bet you never thought about SSDs as a green tech before, did you? But there you go.
Because of its size (about 46 percent smaller than previous models), HP says the dc7800 features the company's most efficient power supply. It's an 85 percent efficient supply, whereas older technologies on the market offered efficiency of up to around 60 percent. This article does a pretty good job of explaining the concept.
The starting price tag for the dc7800 is $1,258.
The HP Compaq dc5800 business desktop (due to ship in February) also comes in a smaller form factor which saves space and power and a bunch of manageability, administrative and security options that should make IT managers happy. You can get it for as little as $579.
Both of the systems use the latest Intel Core Due microprocessor technology and will come preloaded with Surveyor, the power management software from Verdiem. (More on Verdiem in a separate post soon, I promise.)
Finally, both of the systems are registered at the Gold level as far as meeting the environmental requirements put forth by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (aka EPEAT).