HP Boosts Voodoo Notebook Speed

Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday introduced a speedier version of its Voodoo high-performance notebook.

The Envy M:152 is the first Voodoo PC to feature Intel's latest Centrino Duo processor technology, which includes the Core 2 Duo mobile processor, the PM965 Express chipset, and the Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN. The system is also available with Intel's Core 2 Extreme X7800 CPU.

The Envy weighs 7 pounds with a battery, and sports a 15.4-inch 1680 x 1050 matte-finish display. Targeted at gamers, content creators, and mobile enthusiasts, the PC is one of HP's quietest Voodoo notebooks to date, the company said. The new machine also has a built-in 2.0 megapixel Webcam and a microphone.

"The Envy M:152 combines the best in processing power and performance with a hot design and the latest in wireless technology," Rahul Sood, chief technology officer for HP's global gaming business unit, said in a statement.

In boosting graphics over the Envy M:151, the new notebook supports Microsoft's DirectX 10, the latest graphics technology in Windows Vista, and features the Nvidia GeForce 8600GT 512-Mbyte video card. Other features include support for Bluetooth wireless technology for connecting to peripherals, a fingerprint reader, and up to 4 Gbytes of memory when used with the Windows Vista 64-bit operating system.

Pricing for the Envy M:152 starts at about $3,300.

HP's Voodoo computers stem from the company's acquisition nearly a year ago of Canada-based VoodooPC, which HP operates as a separate business unit under its personal systems group. CTO Sood is the former co-owner of VoodooPC.

HP bought VoodooPC after Dell's acquisition of gaming PC maker Alienware. In buying the high-performance PC makers, the two computer rivals were laying stakes in the small, but influential, market for machines that target gaming enthusiasts and power users.