HP's desktop with solid-state drive packs 16GB

If consumers and businesses are going to be convinced to switch to solid-state drives over hard disks, it's going to take something more compelling than 16GB.

On Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard will introduce a new version of its Compaq DC7800 series desktop PC. The product line was initially introduced last September, but now has an option of adding a 16GB solid-state drive (SSD) from SanDisk.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET News.com)

Sure, fewer moving parts when storing data is more reliable and saves power, but when an audience is conditioned to expect 80GB minimum in a desktop, 16GB appears a bit puny. (That's like running your office from an iPod, but a desktop-size iPod. It's limiting.) The software image--a load of software that includes the Windows Vista operating system and other software that corporate customers use--takes up roughly half of the available space, or 8GB, leaving the other 8GB for productivity apps like Microsoft Office and storage.

"This is not a mainstream product," said Kirk Godkin, HP's senior product manager for business PCs. The option is aimed at commercial customers, like those in the hospitality industry, who have limited space and run a single application repeatedly. Godkin said he believes SSD in desktops won't be mainstream until at least 2010. Eventually HP will move to a 32GB and perhaps even a 64GB SSD, he said, but did not give a specific target date.

The biggest reason is cost. Right now solid state is more expensive than a hard disk drive (HDD)--a 16GB SSD costs about $300, compared with $120 for an 80GB HDD, Godkin said.

Solid-state drives in desktops are new. The option for a solid-state drive in notebook PCs is still relatively rare, and is usually reserved for a PC maker's higher-end mobility products. Some hard drive makers, like Seagate and Samsung, are beginning to offer hybrid drives for notebooks, which combine the use of flash memory chips with a hard disk, but even those have been slow in gaining any sort of mass appeal among the top PC makers.

[Groucho6]

Um...hellooooooo....MacBook Air anyone?

So 16GB is the best HP can do, and we won't see mainstream <br />notebooks with SSD drives until 2010? Seems to me Apple is selling <br />a notebook with a 64GB SSD drive as an option-- the new MacBook <br />Air...and I do believe Apple products qualify as mainstream. As <br />usual, HP and Winblows will catch up in about two to three years.

[this1!]

any proof?

like an article or something to back up that claim?

[RabidPopTart]

Did you check the cost?

There are two specs for the MacBook Air right now. Adding .2 <br />Ghz to the processor and switching from HDD to SSD jacks the <br />price from $1800 to $3000 (if memory serves)! Three grand <br />works for Apple because the fashionable types who will buy this <br />product won't mind the price tag for the sake of being on the <br />cutting edge. However, An HP system like this isn't going to <br />reach that audience and therefore cannot justify the massive <br />price tag.<br /><br />My question though is, if it costs 300 bucks for a 16GB SSD, <br />how is the 16GB iPod touch 400 bucks? Bulk sales or what?

[maverick_nick]

Yeah, Macbook Air isn't mainstream!

It's more of a nice to have (aimed at a niche market), while HP sells to the greater audience, therefore making it mainstream.<br /><br />As you said, "64GB SSD drive as an option". Well you could buy a 64GB SSD drive for an HP if you're willing to pay the premium.<br /><br />You Apple fanboys always think you've got the answer, which is hilarious, because you obviously don't.

[sleeknub]

That's what I was saying!

Not only does Apple offer a 64GB SSD in its MacBook Air, but it is <br />sure to follow suit with its other notebooks relatively soon.

[triexel]

haha

You should mention the cost of the 64 GB SSD drive for the macbook air laptop. I'll give you a hint, it's in the hundreds.

[kool_skatkat]

His Highnes Jobs said...

"These drives are pricey but they are fast". <br />HP is trying to mix non-pricey with pricey. Good luck.

[jpsalvesen]

Great for large corporations!

This should be great for large corporations. You have a lot of people who don't use more than 16gb of space on their hard drives, because their documents are stored on file servers anyway!

[sandor_f]

Bolt my computer to my monitor...

Just one comment, this computer is pretty darn ugly. I think there <br />are probably home-modded all-in-ones that look more finished.

[Drpixelphd2]

80 gb for $120.00

Where do these people shop? I can get a 500 gb Western Digital 3 year warranty drive for $115.00 or cheaper!

[aka_tripleB]

See above post

See above post titled "HP is aiming this more for a thin client option." It explains why it would be cheaper to go with SDD.

[TheUnixGuy]

Perhaps...

It might take more than 16GB for consumers to switch... However, businesses have long ago learned, or should have, that data shouldn't be kept on the the local PC anyways.