HP Reveals Keyboard Computer with Ryzen AI Chip

https://www.hp.com/us-en/desktops/business/eliteboard.html

by tonymet • 7 months ago

89 124 7 months ago

halperter• 7 months ago

How does cooling get implemented? I can only really think of a Pi500 as a similar concept, except that the Pi is (likely) much less power intense. If they're using a Ryzen 300, wouldn't heat dissapation become an issue? The keyboard looks too thin for extensive heat transfer. I guess they could use a undervolted Ryzen 300 but it just seems like there is too much power delivery needs inside such a small frame.

tonymet13• 7 months ago

specs are unclear, but given the size, TDP and optional battery, it almost certainly has a laptop-scale fan and heat sink. Modern fans are pretty quiet, nearly silent at idle, so it's not an issue.

tonymet13• 6 months ago

there was a teardown showing the fan. very typical laptop fan

LoveMortuus• 6 months ago

One of the YouTubers had open it up, it uses laptop fans, it itself, is basically a squished laptop.

I’m excited though. I always liked that form factor. Add some good HUD glasses and a mouse and were sailing free!

brudgers• 6 months ago

In a few years, there will be more (relative} gold in thriftshop keyboard sludge-piles.

kstrauser2• 6 months ago

Yep. Found my cyberdeck, a couple years out!

amlib• 6 months ago

making a beowulf cluster out of keyboards, maybe that's the future given the increasing scarcity around computer parts...

claaams• 6 months ago

I want less microsoft/copilot in things, not more.

I don't know who this is for.

Nextgrid• 6 months ago

I don't understand the advantages of this over a laptop (this is essentially laptop-grade hardware and thermal profile but without the screen & battery).

ghshephard• 6 months ago

It has an optional battery. This could be pretty epic for a glasses interface.

AdrianB1• 6 months ago

You don't have to pay for the small laptop screen. That makes it cheaper, smaller, lighter, in theory.

toyg8• 6 months ago

It's for businesses that don't need high computation, achieving effectively the same "monitor and keyboard" effect as the iMac; and for people using AR glasses like XReal One, Viture, etc.

diffeomorphism• 6 months ago

Companies often have flex offices with docking stations.

So previously you would have a screen, mouse and keyboard at every desk and people would move a laptop (ignoring its low res screen and bad keyboard).

Here you would have just a screen at every desk and people move their mouse and keyboard.

Also, this does have a battery.

jayd162• 6 months ago

I guess think of it as a different form factor for a NUC?

Tempest19812• 6 months ago

Numeric keypad? Spill-resistant.

happymellon• 6 months ago

Office PC thats easier to steal?

nucleardog• 6 months ago

I don't know who this is for.

I think I could build a pretty clean and stylish looking office out of it.

No laptop banging around, no PC to hide away, etc. Could throw this on a minimalist or partially glass desk with an (unfortunate) single cable up to a monitor on an arm for video and power, use wi-fi, and essentially have a fully functional workstation for most people seemingly out of nothing. No bulky AIO, no PC strapped to the back of the monitor, etc.

So I guess that's my guess.

Though my impression from the linked page is more "HP doesn't know who this is for either". There's not much in the way of clear messaging, lifestyle photos, or anything else.

tonymet13• 6 months ago

copilot is an easy toggle. It's a PC with UEFI so you could boot linux as usual.

If they strike the right price I will buy one. I currently carry a raspi + keyboard + power supply and I would prefer something clean with a backup battery (one less tether)

gnabgib• 6 months ago

Editorialized title (The powerful AI PC that hides in plain sight)

Actual coverage from Ars: HP's EliteBoard G1a is a Ryzen-powered Windows 11 PC in a membrane keyboard (3 points) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46551335

hunterloftis• 6 months ago

Given the weird take on x86 being inherently "more powerful" and the copy-pasted error from the marketing site (32W vs 32WH) this "article" looks like gently massaged advertising copy:

Alternatively, HP’s EliteBoard will bring Windows and a more powerful x86 architecture to the keyboard-PC form factor. HP says the EliteBoard will support Windows 11 Pro for Business and an AMD Ryzen AI 300-series processor with an up to 50 TOPs NPU. The device will be sold with a 32 W internal battery and is part of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC program.

KerbalNo15• 6 months ago

Incorrectly advertising battery capacity as 32W instead of (presumably) 32WH is a hilarious mistake for a company the size of HP

kstrauser2• 6 months ago

You beat me to it. 32W, but for how long? 8 hours? 11 seconds? 32W would be true in both cases.

atoav• 6 months ago

5 attoseconds

ksec• 6 months ago

I mean at least they didn't use mah. I am surprised it actually have a battery in it I thought you would have to plug it in to use it.

dragonwriter2• 6 months ago

The battery is optional, and from the ad copy not intended to power active “use” only moving between different (presumably nearby) work locations without shutting down (probably sleep.)

Karliss2• 6 months ago

I would guess that it also helps with accidental restarts due to power loss while repositioning the keyboard on your desk. It doesn't take much force to pull out USB-C.

perihelions2• 6 months ago

If there was any doubt left whether Hewlett-Packard is still a company run by engineers, that was a clean way to dispel it.

Tempest19812• 6 months ago

Perhaps some rogue proofreader "fixed" a stray character

tonymet13• 6 months ago

W & watts has become a colloquialism for watt-hours in the EV space at least.

e.g. "how much did consume at the super charger" -- about 10 watts (WH).

So it's not literally correct, but it's becoming commonplace to say that.

slang , pigeons and dialects all develop based off of context like this.

plagiarist• 6 months ago

Are the little NUC sized boxes too obtrusive? I don't understand who will buy this keyboard.

tonymet13• 6 months ago

integrated keyboard & power mean only a single connection when you arrive. Even BT can be a pain, especially if it doesn't pair, you are left with a headless and keyboardless NUC box.

supermatt• 6 months ago

the worlds most serviceable keyboard PC.

Any idea why raspberry didn’t use compute modules in the pi500? IMHO that should have been trivially upgradable but will likely be the shortest lived keyboard I’ve ever had when the pi6 comes out.

bilekas4• 6 months ago

Launch Microsoft Copilot in Windows with a touch of the Copilot key,4 to write content, analyze data, and stay organized.

Oh thank goodness.

This whole product idea is further trying to gatekeep computing hardware. You will pay a cloud subscription to perform anything remotely computationally taxing.

chroma205• 6 months ago

You will pay a cloud subscription to perform anything remotely computationally taxing.

What’s wrong with that?

isoprophlex2• 6 months ago

Concentration of compute will be used as a vehicle for further concentration of power and wealth.

throwaway132448• 6 months ago

The complete lack of autonomy.

faust201• 6 months ago

Some want to use their brain.

Do you market Copilot?

SkyeCA• 6 months ago

I'd like to own things and have control over what I can and can't do on a computer.

ceejayoz• 6 months ago

The inevitable price hikes once they've killed the local PC?

TehCorwiz2• 6 months ago

"Sorry, I can't print that article on social democracy for you as it violates our content guidelines."

"Sorry, I can't provide information on sexual reproduction due to our content guidelines."

"Your account has been flagged and locked for community guideline violations. No explanation will be given and this cannot be appealed."

perihelions2• 6 months ago

The historical irony is that Hewlett-Packard was (debatably[0]) the inventor of the PC—the personal computer—the product concept which liberated users from mainframes, which replaced dumb terminals with fully-independent local computation.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_personal_computers#...

Here's[1] how HP marketed the "first personal computer", in 1968:

"Ready to relieve you of waiting to get on the big computer," the ad declares. "Willing to perform log and trig functions, even hyperbolics and coordinate transformations at the touch of a key. Able to take on roots of a fifth-degree polynomial, Bessel functions, elliptic integrals and regression analysis."

[1] https://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/personal... ("History of the 9100A desktop calculator, 1968")

They've now gone full circle, from "Ready to relieve you of waiting to get on the big computer", to "here's a dedicated key for remote computing, the core concept of this product".

tonymet13• 6 months ago

this is easily disabled with 1 click.

tonymet13• 6 months ago

we've had windows keys on keyboards for ~35 years it's never interfered with linux

outrun86• 6 months ago

“Ok hear me out, a laptop but without the screen”

isoprophlex2• 6 months ago

Not any laptop, an AI copilot laptop!

bitwize2• 6 months ago

Ah, the HP-99/4A. I'd heard of this and kinda almost wanted one, but I think skyrocketing RAM and SSD prices will make it even more not worth the money/hassle.

nl• 6 months ago

AMD Ryzen AI 300

These are great. The Ryzen AI series are the ones that allow memory to be shared between the GPU and CPU, so you can use almost all your system RAM to run local models.

The AI 395+ MAX is available with up to 128Gb RAM (and I think 256Gb is coming).

The important thing is how much RAM it comes with because it is soldered - and for some reason this doesn't seem to show the RAM!

ItsBob• 6 months ago

If you scroll further down, there's an image of a woman holding an opened keyboard with a SODIMM in her other hand so I'd guess that means it's user-swappable.

toyg8• 6 months ago

If really aimed at the business segment, as it appears to be, it's likely to have serviceable RAM.

olyjohn• 6 months ago

What's old is new again. Hasn't anybody seen a Commodore 64?

sfortis2• 6 months ago

My first PC was a Schneider Euro PC. Now, this is even slimmer!

hulitu2• 6 months ago

Compared with Commodore 64, this HP is a parody. They spared the space to a minimum (is cheap plastic so expensive ?), the keyboard is terrible.

The main advantage seems to be that, if you try to actually use it, it will force you to take a break, because your fingers will be burning from touching the keys heated by the processor.

prmoustache2• 6 months ago

I'd welcome a heated keyboard right now, temp is 17°C in my office as I am writing this and I do feel my fingers tend to be less reactive.

Funny because I don't mind 17°C outside.

mannycalavera42• 6 months ago

and to reset it you just have to type SYS 64738

toyg8• 6 months ago

I actually love the concept. It's effectively like the iMac, except more flexible and serviceable - great for kiosks and shared workstations.

One could also couple it with AR glasses like the XREAL One and have portable computing but more immersive (although it looks a little big for that).

I don't understand the scepticism - surely it's good that we see some experimentation again on the form factor of computing, we cannot just accept that the laptop is all we'll ever get. Yeah, the copy is stupid, but that's just marketing.

wolrah2• 6 months ago

great for kiosks and shared workstations.

Absolutely not.

For a kiosk, I want everything the user is touching to be effectively disposable. Keyboards and mice are cheap and trivial to replace, this design integrates the most important part of the system in to one of the easiest parts to damage/steal. It's possibly the worst way to do a kiosk.

For a shared workstation, likewise if I'm the user I want to be able to bring my own keyboard and mouse, both for sanitary reasons (have you seen the way people treat their own keyboards, much less shared ones?) and for personal preference. This design integrates the most important part of the system with the part most likely to get gunked up.

Even for the idea of a shared docking station where each user has their own keyboard PC, it's a crappy keyboard. Perhaps if it were a nice mechanical board with swappable keyswitches that might not be terrible, but as it is it's all of the downsides of a laptop without the ability to actually use it undocked.

Whatever use cases may exist where this is actually an improvement are very specific niches.

boobsbr• 6 months ago

For a kiosk, I want everything the user is touching to be effectively disposable.

Or built like a tank that is easy to powerwash.

nxobject• 6 months ago

As someone who's wrangled IT in college libraries before, that's slightly unfair - they do have a Kensington lock for the keyboard.

It's locking up the rest of the cables that'll be the issue, as well as a preference for ethernet. Mice and ethernet cables were stolen the most... inevitably the mice ending making cheapo Chromebooks less miserable, and the ethernet cables ended up at LAN parties.

The users we trusted got laptops anyway.

toyg8• 6 months ago

Perhaps if it were a nice mechanical board with swappable keyswitches

Are you serious? 99% of computer users don't even know those words.

GeorgeTirebiter• 6 months ago

I want one the size and shape of the HP-200LX. Oh, in that case, please add a 4K color OLED screen and 5G radio. Lenovo stick for mouse.

sfortis2• 6 months ago

no thanks, i prefer a https://frame.work/gr/en/desktop

Animats• 6 months ago

The fine print:

HP recommends Windows 11 Pro for Business. Not all features are available in all editions or versions of Windows. Systems may require upgraded and/or separately purchased hardware, drivers, software or BIOS update to take full advantage of Windows functionality. Windows 11 is automatically updated, which is always enabled. High speed internet and Microsoft account required. ISP fees may apply and additional requirements may apply over time for updates.

Features and software that require a NPU may require software purchase, subscription or enablement by a software or platform provider, and third-party software may have specific configuration or compatibility requirements. Potential NPU inferencing performance varies by use, configuration, and other factors.

Microsoft Copilot requires Windows 11. Some features require an NPU. Timing of feature delivery and availability varies by market and device. Requires Microsoft account to log in. Where Copilot is not available, the Copilot key will lead to the Bing search engine.

toyg8• 6 months ago

That's... standard Windows? It's 100% the same for Apple machines, if stated in more mellifluous tones (or not stated at all, because "screw you, we're Apple"), and even more so for Chromebooks.

bilekas4• 6 months ago

It's 100% the same for Apple machines,
Requires Microsoft account to log in. Where Copilot is not available, the Copilot key will lead to the Bing search engine.

An Apple account is most certainly not needed to log in. In-fact being online is not even a requirement for Apple devices. Wild idea, I know.

merelysounds• 6 months ago

I dislike how ai is a major selling point of this computer; then again, I understand it’s a buzzword at this point.

Funnily enough, with the name being “HP EliteBoard G1a Next Gen AI PC”, I know I’m supposed to read it as “(next gen) ai”, but I can’t help seeing “next (gen ai)”.

thisislife2• 6 months ago

I think I'll just wait for Chinese to create their clones of this and buy it at half the price.

ghusto• 6 months ago

Wedge computers came out in the 80s, I'm not sure which part of this is "revolutionary".

Findecanor• 6 months ago

I have seen a new wedge computer in the news every now and then since the '90s, and not just new retro computers with new innards.

rbanffy3• 6 months ago

The TRS-80 model I came out in 1977. It took HP just 49 years to launch a competitor.

mindcrime2• 6 months ago

OK, great. I like what I've heard about the Ryzen AI chips so far. But can I install Linux on this thing?

tonyplee• 6 months ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAIzlGwEAO0&t=300s This seems provide instruction on that. There are a lot of other yt videos on this topic.

daveguy• 6 months ago

Of course you can. It's an amd64 processor with a different name and a coprocessor. Linux doesn't have any problem installing on UEFI, so unless they did something weird, it shouldn't be a problem. Apparently linux runs pretty well on the AMD AI cpus (benchmarks of lunar lake primarily vs Ryzen AI 300 in OP):

https://www.phoronix.com/review/core-ultra-7-lunar-lake-linu...

But concept-wise I think it's a dud. A laptop without a monitor. So you either carry the laptop as two pieces (some good portable monitors around) or you are limited to only plugging it in where there's a monitor available.

Also, it seems they couldn't be bothered to spring for mechanical switches when the entire product is focused around a keyboard. Sheesh.

mindcrime2• 6 months ago

so unless they did something weird

That is the concern! Hopefully not, but with HP who ever really knows?

bsoles• 6 months ago

Raspberry Pi 400 did it (TM) , minus the AI PC crap.

tonymet13• 6 months ago

like any PC you can run what you like. even on Windows it's easy to turn off AI stuff (I've done that for years , back when it was spammy Cortana and MSN content).

You want more designs like this, which will encourage more Raspberry PI and other competitors to jump in.

It's a win win for everyone

ArtemZ• 6 months ago

I don't think I am ever buying another HP product. I've had enough with their office PCs and printers

PurpleRamen• 6 months ago

So it's a laptop, without display. Can I attach my own keyboard? From the pictures, I get the impression the keyboard sucks.

jayd162• 6 months ago

It's got USB so I'm sure you could.

protimewaster2• 6 months ago

From the pictures, I get the impression the keyboard sucks.

That was my initial thought. They made the keyboard a big part of the product, and that is the keyboard they came up with?

It's like advertising a fancy new type of AIO and then putting a crummy 50% sRGB gamut 480p TN panel in it.

wildzzz• 6 months ago

Most people don't care about mechanical keyboards, they just use whatever their employer provides, comes free with the PC, or is just the best deal on Amazon.

rbanffy3• 6 months ago

And Lenovo launched an AIO with a 2560x2880 display.

delecti2• 6 months ago

I don't want one, but all the skepticism is weird. I can see it making sense for hot desking office workers, or other similar. When I worked from home at my last job, I kept the laptop closed and out of sight and just connected my own monitors. Most people aren't picky about keyboards, so this seems like a perfectly reasonable product for plenty of people.

Gracana• 6 months ago

It would work, but is it any better than existing options like a little computer on the desk, a computer on the back of the monitor, or an AIO PC?

I dunno. I like it. I think it's neat. I won't buy one, but I look forward to the Cathode Ray Dude episode about it 25 years from now.

protimewaster2• 6 months ago

It would work, but is it any better than existing options like a little computer on the desk, a computer on the back of the monitor, or an AIO PC?

I don't see how it would be better than just a mini PC. Presumably most people will be using a mouse in addition to the keyboard, so they've already got to plug in at least the mouse and the display. It seems like the added flexibility of being able to pick your own keyboard, and carry something smaller, would make a mini PC win at the cost of having one extra connector to plug in.

delecti2• 6 months ago

Well I did mention hot desking, and the options you mention definitely aren't as convenient for that. They also can't match some of the benefits this thing brings by including a battery.

mrheosuper2• 6 months ago

Well, it looks "cleaner" and more "professional" than hanging a lump behind your monitor. It may not benifit to all people, but it is not worse than exist option, so, why not.

tonymet13• 6 months ago

i've traveled with a Raspi + bt keyboard for this reason. Lighter, and far more durable. I don't mind stowing it in checked duffel bag. I would never put my laptop in checked luggage, certainly not a duffel

tonymet13• 6 months ago

It could be how I titled it with "Ryzen AI Chip". It's a somewhat new marketing term from AMD. The chip itself isn't much different from a Ryzen CPU + embedded graphics + TPU/NPU

izacus• 6 months ago

Ryzen AI is what AMD calls all of their latest gen laptop chips.

mgh2• 6 months ago

How would you carry it on a laptop sized backpack? Too many pieces facilitates breaking with long term handling, the form factor seems weird.

musicale3• 6 months ago

I think there could be a protective carrying case for it. It would also be cool if it could plug into an iPad to create an x86-iPad-keyboard chimera.

tonymet13• 6 months ago

in a case like a Switch

musicale3• 6 months ago

I agree completely. It's a cool product that has plausible use cases beyond hobbyists who might just want a retro-style keyboard computer. It might not be successful at $1000, but I have to applaud HP for thinking inside the box.

rbanffy3• 6 months ago

Finally HP launched a competitor to the VIC 20.

827a• 6 months ago

The HP EliteBoard runs a "AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processor", "50 TOPS NPU", with "800M series graphics" and up to 64gb of memory.

As far as I've seen, they have not publicly stated which specific processor its running. This combination means: Its not a Ryzen AI Max 300 processor, because these run the 8060S integrated graphics. (also, they'd have probably stated Max if it was). Moving down-range: the HX375 has 55 NPU TOPS, so its more likely that the best chip it could run is the HX370 (12c/24t); but it could be as low as the 330 (4c8t).

The HX370 posts geekbench 6 scores of single core ~2917 multi-core ~15249.

For comparison: the Apple M5, found in the iPad Pro and upcoming Mac Mini, scores single core ~4291 multi-core ~17469.

Overall, I think this is cool and evocative, and depending on the chip they use the performance could be pretty solid. However, I don't like the idea of a desktop PC being so integrated with a peripheral, such as a keyboard or monitor.

n8m8• 6 months ago

Interesting idea, seems like an adventurous v1 idea. Feels like it would be hard to sell this to enthusiasts who want a nicer keyboard, and hard to sell to the average consumer who’d still rather have a laptop or iPad.

rendaw• 6 months ago

I like that it's washable! I wish all peripherals had some thought for cleaning them.

I'm embarrassed to have people over because of my mouse and keyboard. My last mouse fell apart (coating started to peel) when I cleaned it and other parts were just unreachable.

stanfordkid• 6 months ago

Cool to see some innovation from HP, this is actually unique and fills a niche of going from desk to desk (home->office), without needing mobile. Much better than ripping off the latest aluminum MacBook designs.

clnhlzmn2• 6 months ago

If this is better than a laptop for mobile work why include the keyboard? Why not just make it a tiny box with a single USB C connector to plug into the dock on your home and work desks? Since you already must have monitors and mice at those locations (or bring them with you) I'm failing to see the point of including the keyboard in this package (except of course to be able to advertise the "copilot key")

tonymet13• 6 months ago

The battery + thermals give you either a large cube (like a Beelink++) or cigarette carton. It's wise to go with a cigarette carton and include a keyboard.

Especially since remote work took off, offices are full of vacant workstations. Why drag a small monitor around when you can hook into a 32'' monitor at the office?

mrheosuper2• 6 months ago

They can design a Motherboard that can be used in both laptop and this machine, so no need for double NRE.

poulpy123• 6 months ago

An amislop 500 or an atari 520 STslop ?

jiehong• 6 months ago

First thing I had in mind was "Oh, like an Atari ST"!

calin2k• 6 months ago

I want it with a TKL layout, low travel mechanical switches

baranul• 6 months ago

Think it's a good idea, whose time is way past due. Basically, a laptop without a monitor. However, think they need a version with a touchpad, so you don't need to plug in a mouse. Then it's much more portable.

musicale3• 6 months ago

HN, I find your lack of faith disturbing.

HP (ink.) has followed Raspberry Pi with a riff on the form factor of the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and other keyboard computer designs of the 1970s and 1980s.

But with a (possibly) better keyboard and 1000x (or more) the computing power of a comparable Sinclair system.

It's like a disaggregated laptop that you can plug any USB screen into (or go old-school and plug it into a TV with appropriate cable or adapter.)

This is a beautiful thing that should be encouraged. And I'm sure you can run Linux on it (or maybe DOS - I think some HP "no OS" systems ship with FreeDOS) and boot directly into a C64 or Spectrum emulator (or into Python, BASIC, or whatever environment you prefer.)

HP Reveals Keyboard Computer with Ryzen AI Chip

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