HP Announces SSD Business Desktop PC

Palo Alto (CA) - HP has updated its compact desktop PC offering for businesses with two new models - and its first PC that can be ordered with a NAND flash-based solid state disk (SSD) drive.

The first HP desktop to offer this option will be the Compaq dc7800 ultra-slim PC. Scheduled for mid-February availability, the company said it will be making SSDs available. So far, we don't know which capacity this SSD will offer, but a 32 GB model may be a good guess, since the price of the SSD dc7800 will begin at $1258: This means this desktop will carry a $529 premium over the current entry-level dc7800 ($729) with a 80 GB hard drive.

The base configuration of the dc7800 also includes an Intel E2180 (2 GHz) processor, an embedded 1 GB NAND flash module, 1 GB DDR2-800 main memory and a DVD-ROM drive. The model currently tops out at $1059, which includes a Core 2 Duo 6550 CPU, 2 GB memory, a DVD burner and a 160 GB hard drive.

Also new in HP's business desktop series is the Compaq dc5800 microtower. This PC will not be available with a SSD and will be priced from $579 when it launches on February 11.