HP Adds Intel's Ivy Bridge To Six Desktops

The last two days have seen a positive rain of new systems using Intel's third generation of Core processors, including an update to HP's well-received Omni 27. They just announced another five models getting the Ivy Bridge update: the 21-inch Omni 220qd and Touchsmart 520xt all-in-ones, the Pavilion HPE h8t and h8xt desktops and the top-of-the-line HPE H9t Phoenix. The Phoenix will be hitting online and brick-and-mortar retailers on April 29th, but the rest of the models including the new Omni 27qd will have to wait until June 24th for retail. They'll be offered on HP's website the same day as the Phoenix.

The bottom end of the Ivy Bridge lineup is the Pavilion HPE h8t, a mid-range desktop that starts at $699. The h8xt bumps up the specifications and upgrade options a bit and starts at $799. For the all-in-ones, the lowest-priced option is the Omni 220qd, which lacks a touchscreen but goes for $999.99. The TouchSmart 520xt is the same price, but features some lower-end components in exchange for a full touchscreen. The Omni 27qd and its gorgeous 27-inch display will start at $1199. And the high-powered HPE Phoenix h9t will start at $1149 and go up as you add expensive gaming components.

There's a lot of options for Ivy Bridge out there, but HP is adding the impressive technology to existing units. Presumably all the desktops except for the Phoenix will also get Intel's HD 4000 series integrated graphics, which will add an extra oomph. You'll be able to customize the traditional desktops with AMD or NVIDIA graphics cards, of course. Perhaps the most exciting thing about this news is that the new processors won't significantly affect the prices of these computers  - they haven't risen from their pre-Ivy Bridge list prices.