HP is showing off two interesting SFF computer designs today, the PC-in-a-speaker Pavilion Wave and the stackable-computer Elite Slice. AnandTech has details on the both of them.
The Pavilion Wave is a triangular, fabric-covered unit with a Bang & Olufsen speaker core and then the parts of the computer are arranged around it, Mac Pro fashion. Dimensions come in at 173mm x 168mm x 261mm for a volume of around 7.6L. According to the above image, cooling is provided by a laptop-style heatsink, connected via heatpipes to the CPU, with airflow coming from a small blower fan.
According to Liliputing, specs range from an i3-6100T to i5-6400T for the CPU (with the possibility of an i7 option later), 4-16GB of DDR4 RAM, 1-2TB of storage space with or without a 128GB SSD, and even the option for discrete graphics in the form of a Radeon R9 M470! While this is not anywhere near as powerful as the MSI Vortex, the Pavilion Wave is also much cheaper, starting at $530 for the i3, 8GB, 1TB, and integrated graphics model.
For connectivity, we can see from The Verge’s post that it has a USB 3.0 port and headphone jack on the front. On the rear is a card reader, 3x USB 3.0 ports (one of which is a Type-C), and one each ethernet, DisplayPort, HDMI, and power ports.
The other unit announced was the HP Elite Slice. The base unit resembles the Intel NUC in size and form factor but it features modular “slices” that can be stacked together to add extra functionality.
While not as ambitious as ASUS’s wireless modular PC concept (from 2006!) it has the big advantage of actually existing as a product that will be available to purchase soon. The module options so far consist of an ODD drive, Bang & Olufsen speaker, and a VESA mount. Not the most inspiring selection, but maybe we’ll see more slices in the future. In particular I’d love to see a GPU module but the modules seem to be connected to each other with USB, so unless they’re also Thunderbolt 3 ports a graphics module seems unlikely.
In addition to the stackable modules, the top cover will have options for wireless phone charging or conference calling touch buttons.
There is a single Type-C port on the front (it’s unclear if it’s USB 3.0 or 3.1). On the rear is the DC jack, ethernet, two USB Type-A ports (3.1?), DP, and HDMI. There is also a USB 3.0 Type-C port on the rear that can double as the power source for the unit in place of the DC jack. HP is promoting their new EliteDisplay S240uj which has an appropriate port to use as that power source.
Again Liliputing has details on the specs, which are similar to the Wave. The base model is an i3-6100T, 4GB RAM, and 500GB for $699 up to $999 for an i7-6700T, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. AnandTech says a 512GB NVME drive will be an option so presumably this unit features both a 2.5″ bay and a M.2 port.
While I would have liked to see a bit more ambition with the Slice and I’m skeptical of the sound quality of the Wave’s speaker, I think these two units are very neat little units from HP and I hope to see more products like these in the future.
Thoughts? Discuss them in the forum here.
