HP has announced a variety of affordable, energy-efficient desk-based products and environmentally friendly features for business customers.

The new HP Compaq dx2250 Desktop PC is a reliable, full-featured business computer featuring energy-efficient processors to help lower a customer’s total cost of ownership.

HP also plans to offer 80 percent efficient power supplies on select desktop business PCs. The optional power supplies offer greater energy savings to customers and will allow HP to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently announced ENERGY STAR 4.0 requirements in January 2007 – a full six months before the new guidelines take effect.

HP additionally announced a trade-in program to make it more affordable for customers to obtain thin client technology – which uses the lowest watt processors of any business computing option – while disposing of old technology in an environmentally responsible manner.

“As the world’s largest PC manufacturer, HP understands there’s a lot at stake when it comes to energy efficiency, from the rising cost of resources to the environmental impact,” said Jeff Groudan, vice president, Business PC Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP. “We continue to proactively design, develop and incorporate energy-saving technologies into our products.”

The HP Compaq dx2250 Business Desktop microtower PC is available with a range of high-performance AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core, AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Sempron processors. It also is the second HP business desktop series to feature AMD Cool ‘n’ Quiet technology to help reduce processor heat for an overall cooler PC and a quieter work environment.

Featuring award-winning processor, chipset and integrated graphics technologies from AMD and ATI Radeon combined with HP design, engineering and testing, the dx2250 is simple to set up and use and offers convenient audio ports for greater flexibility. Front USB 2.0 ports and an optional 16-in-1 media reader provide quick access to digital files and a fast-track to productivity.

The dx2250’s 64-bit processors are designed to provide a seamless upgrade path to next-generation software and hardware and offer support for both Microsoft Windows XP and the upcoming Windows Vista operating systems. High-capacity hard drives help increase storage capabilities, and a PCI Express x16 slot allows for graphic upgrades.

“AMD applauds HP for recognizing the true value in developing energy-efficient solutions that address customer computing and business requirements,” said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president, Desktop Division, AMD. “As AMD64 processor-based systems including the new HP Compaq dx2250 and the previously released dc5750 desktop PCs come to market, businesses can benefit from the low power consumption and quiet operation that AMD Cool’n’Quiet technology enables, without compromising performance. AMD has long understood that IT departments are looking for ways to cut energy consumption costs without losing performance or reliability – and we remain committed to helping customers achieve these objectives.”

Starting at $359 direct from HP or through an authorized HP reseller, the dx2250 is also available with high-performance DDR-2 SDRAM memory in single or dual channel configurations, USB 2.0 for significantly increased data transfer speed, high-speed multi-functional optical storage drives, and support for SATA hard drives.

New power supplies offer energy savings to business customers

This January, HP’s 80 percent efficient power supplies will be an option for the recently introduced HP Compaq dc7700,(4) dc5700 and dc5750 series desktop PCs.

In a typical commercial building, as much as 10 to 15 percent of the overall energy bill is driven by energy consumption of the power supplies used in most business technology. The new 80 percent efficient power supplies are 33 percent more efficient than current power supplies because they reduce the power drawn in waste heat that is dispersed into the environment. This is according to 80 PLUS, an electric utility-funded incentive program focused on integrating more energy-efficient power supplies into desktop computers and servers. HP is the first major PC manufacturer to support the program.