HP Pavilion Wave’s Triangular Design Takes Desktops Beyond the Box

HP didn’t give its Pavilion Wave a triangular design just for aesthetic reasons. It better disperses heat through the system and delivers immersive audio experiences. Here’s what makes the Wave a nice home computer option.

The HP Pavilion Wave has a design unlike most others. The computer comes with a triangular look that’s designed to disperse heat through the system. In addition, the device’s exterior is covered in “audio fabric” that makes it look like a small speaker on the desk. There’s also a plastic cap atop the computer that helps audio and warm air to escape.

The HP Pavilion Wave PC will run Windows 10 Home out of the box rather than Windows Pro. For corporate customers looking for the “Pro” experience, the HP Pavilion Wave might not be the right desktop model.

Although the HP Pavilion Wave starts out at a relatively low price, that price can quickly soar if users want more processing power. According to the company, the Pavilion Wave can be configured with up to a sixth-generation Intel Core i7 quad-core processor. No clock speeds have been announced, but you can expect the PC will deliver plenty of power to run any application most home users want to use.

There might not be much room inside the Pavilion Wave PC, but that doesn’t mean it has to be lacking in power. In fact, HP noted that customers will be able to upgrade its graphics chip with an AMD Radeon R9 M470 chip. Microsoft, which helped HP introduce the computer, says it’ll work well for “photo and video editing or light gaming.”

When choosing the storage in the Pavilion Wave PC, customers will have some options. According to HP, the computer will ship with up to 2TB of storage on a hard disk drive. Those who want faster performance but less storage can opt for a 128GB solid-state drive.

The HP Wave might be small, but it comes with a large number of ports. The device will ship with three USB 3.0 ports, as well as one USB 3.1 Type-C port for data transfer compatibility. Plus, there are an HDMI port, one DisplayPort and Gigabit Ethernet. There’s also a combination microphone/headphone jack.

The idea behind HP’s design is to deliver better audio performance than traditional desktops. One reason for the improved audio performance is professionals at Bang & Olufsen have tuned the speakers to deliver better audio quality. Once sound is emitted, it’s pushed up through the top of the desktop, where it can travel 360 degrees, delivering what HP says is better sound than competing devices.

Since the desktop comes with an angular design and is wrapped in fabric, HP needed to help the Pavilion Wave breathe. To do so, the company says that it has “optimized” the device’s layout. Each side contains different components, including the motherboard, processor, graphics card and others. One side also comes with a thermal system that has copper pipes designed to extract heat and move it across cooling fins that push it out the top.

The HP Pavilion Wave might be a desktop, but it was also designed to fit nicely in the living room where users can connect it to an HDTV or 4K TV. In fact, the computer comes with full support for 4K displays. Users can also use it as a media-streaming hub by connecting it to the television, and thanks to its Bluetooth support, it can be paired with Bluetooth speakers for multiroom music listening.

HP’s Pavilion Wave will be available both on HP.com and at select retailers starting Sept. 23. Prices start at an affordable $550 for a lower-end models, but quickly go up as users add higher-end components. Still, the Pavilion Wave should be affordable for those who want a well-appointed home computer with some nice features.