HP Envy Phoenix h9-1420t review: Gaming power in a subtle form

By gaming standards, the HP Envy Phoenix h9-1420t's appearance is positively subdued. This midsize tower PC has some red backlighting and a clear pane so that you can gaze at the liquid cooling unit, but aside from that it could easily pass for a conventional HP desktop. Although it doesn't have much in the way of bling, the Phoenix delivers better-than-average performance at a cheaper-than-boutique price. Down-the-road upgrade options, on the other hand, are limited by its decidedly nonenthusiast motherboard.

Our $1840 h9-1420t test configuration sported an unlocked 3.5GHz Intel Core i7-3770K processor. Thanks to the liquid cooling unit, the system had no problem maintaining 4GHz, and it likely has at least a little more headroom. The Pegatron (that’s Asus’s OEM arm) 2AD5 motherboard offers minimal overclocking controls in its BIOS, but it isn't completely locked down. You can set each core's maximum frequency multiplier separately, but you get no provisions for tweaking the operating voltage, for instance. The board also has just a single full-size PCIe slot, so you can forget any dual-card graphics upgrade via SLI or CrossFire.

Fortunately, HP picked a strong graphics card, inserting an Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. With that card in place, the Phoenix managed a playable frame rate in Dirt Showdown right up to the 2560 by 1600 resolution of our 30-inch test display. The game wasn’t as silky smooth at that resolution as it was at lower ones, but it was certainly playable. Should you decide to buy an h9-1420t online, HP allows you to customize the configuration to a degree, but your options don’t include Nvidia’s best GPU, the GeForce GTX 690.

The other core components on our test machine included 12GB of DDR3-1600 memory and a 2TB, 7200-rpm hard drive, which helped the h9-1420t produce a very good WorldBench 8 score of 87. A solid-state drive would have boosted the score even more, but that option wasn’t available when we ordered our evaluation unit. HP has since corrected that omission, but there’s no getting around that single multilane PCIe slot, which is a puzzling design decision in a PC whose primary reason for existence is performance.

While you can’t add a second video card, the system has lots of room for other components, including one open 5.25-inch drive bay and two free 3.5-inch drive bays, all of which are accessible from the front panel. The graphics card and the liquid cooling unit dominate the area over the motherboard, leaving only two x1 PCIe slots exposed (a third x1 PCIe slot is blocked).

Even though the h9-1420t doesn't have a lot of free slots, it does boast a ton of exterior ports. Slide down the front panel, and you'll find four USB 2.0 ports, as well as the usual array of memory card slots. On top of the front panel, facing rearward, are two USB 3.0 ports plus audio-in and -out. The PC has rear audio outputs to support up to a 7.1-channel surround system, plus an additional four USB 2.0 ports, two more USB 3.0 ports, a single gigabit ethernet port, and an optical S/PDIF port.

You also get two DVI ports, an HDMI port, and a DisplayPort connection on the back of the GTX 680, plus two capped DVI ports off the motherboard that are supported by the integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics (should you ever ditch the discrete GPU).

Most gamers will already have their favorite gaming peripherals, but HP does bundle a keyboard and mouse with the Phoenix. Both input devices are relatively lightweight with a serviceable feel, but no one would ever mistake them for gaming- or even business-grade models.

HP includes Adobe’s Photoshop Elements for editing photos and Premiere Elements for editing videos, but you’ll need to pay extra for Blu-ray player and disc-burning software. The company’s Quick Start app is provided to mimic the Start menu that Microsoft dumped from its latest OS. If you're looking for an even better Start replacement, check out Stardock's Start8 or Iobit's Start Menu 8; the former is $5, while the latter is free.

Our test configuration, with its upgraded video card, unlocked CPU, and midrange storage and memory options, costs $1840, but you can get into the h9-1420T for as little as $1150 with a slower GPU and a locked CPU. At the other end of the scale, you can configure the machine with 32GB of memory and a 4TB RAID 5 setup (three times 2TB, minus 33 percent for redundancy) and hit your bank account to the tune of $2740.

The Envy Phoenix series carries a healthy two-year parts-and-labor warranty, and HP offers extended warranties for up to four years, with on-site service, for less than $200.

If you're not dead set on your gaming PC looking as if it had just escaped from a sci-fi movie, and if you’re sure you’ll never want to upgrade to a dual-video-card setup, the HP Envy Phoenix h9-1420T will give you excellent overall performance and darn good gameplay. The warranty is comforting as well, but we're still wondering why the hardware options stop just shy of state-of-the-art.

Jon L. Jacobi has worked with computers since you flipped switches and punched cards to program them. He studied music at Julliard, and now he power mods his car for kicks.
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HP Pavilion HPE h9-1120t Phoenix: High-End Features at a Great Price

At $1689 (as configured), the HP Pavilion HPE h9-1120t pushes the "budget" part of the Budget PC category, but that doesn't mean it's not an excellent deal. This desktop has tons of great higher-end features--including multiple USB 3.0 ports and a 2TB hard drive, plus a fast graphics card with 2GB of frame buffer--all at a decent, if not dirt-cheap, price.

Our review model sports a third-generation "Ivy Bridge" Intel Core i7 processor (the i7-3770K, to be exact), 12GB of RAM, and a 2TB, 7200-rpm hard drive. This budget desktop also has an AMD Radeon HD 7950 discrete graphics card, a Blu-ray disc player/DVD-writer optical drive, and an 802.11n dual-stream wireless card. The h9-1120t runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium.

Performance

The HP h9-1120t performs well for a budget PC. In PCWorld's WorldBench 7 benchmark tests, the h9-1120t scores 121 out of 100, which means it's 21 percent faster than our base testing model. This isn't a big surprise, since our testing model only has a second-generation Intel Core i5-2500K processor and 8GB of RAM. Compared with other budget desktops, such as the MicroExpress MicroFlex 37B, the h9-1120t doesn't look so hot--the MicroFlex 37B scores 172 on WorldBench 7, but it also has a speedy solid-state boot drive, which drastically improves its WB7 score.

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The HP h9-1120t's gaming score is 87, which is slightly above average for its category. In our Crysis 2 graphics tests, the h9-1120t managed frame rates of between 29.3 frames per second (ultrahigh settings, 2560-by-1600-pixel resolution) all the way up to 96.7 fps (low settings, 1024-by-768-pixel resolution). The h9-1120t's performance is similar to that of the MicroFlex 37B's--that system managed frame rates of between 24.6 fps and 97.7 fps (at same settings and screen resolutions).

Chassis: Design and Interior

The h9-1120t is housed in a medium-sized, typical-looking tower. The case has a shiny black plastic front with matte silver plastic accents and flat black metal sides. The right side (if you're facing the machine) has a small angular plastic window through which shines red LEDs, while the left side is stamped with a large HP logo.

On the front of the tower you'll find the Blu-ray drive, an expansion bay slot, and a 15-in-1 card reader bay with four USB 2.0 ports. The card reader bay is located under a sliding plastic door, which feels a little flimsy. The power button is located on the top of the tower, along with two USB 3.0 ports and headphone and microphone jacks.

The rest of the ports are located on the back of the h9. Here you'll find two additional USB 3.0 ports (for a total of four) and four additional USB 2.0 ports (for a total of eight). There's also a gigabit ethernet port, an optical audio-out, and support for 7.1 surround sound. The AMD graphics card holds the graphics ports: one DVI, one HDMI, and two mini-DisplayPorts.

The inside of the h9-1120t is a little messy. Colorful wires are held together with white zip-ties--not neatly bundled into black mesh, but not a rat's nest either. There's one empty 5.25-inch bay, two empty 3.5-inch bays, and one PCIe x1 slot that's both empty and accessible. HP does make tinkering a little more difficult than it has to be by adding metal scaffolding inside the tower--chassis rails that must be removed using a screwdriver before you can start working inside the machine.

Peripherals

Our review model, as priced, comes with basic, USB-wired peripherals, though you can upgrade to wireless peripherals or a Beats Audio-enhanced backlit keyboard for an additional $10 on HP's website.

The included keyboard is black with silver accents and flat, regular-style keys. It's comfortable to type on, and the large keys give good physical feedback. It's also quiet. There are few frills on the keyboard--basic audio control buttons, as well as an Fn-operated Beats Audio key for toggling HP's Beats Audio software on and off.

The mouse is your typical optical affair, with two buttons and a scroll wheel. It feels a little small in my hand, which is significant--I have small hands--and the buttons are a little stiff. The scroll wheel works well, though, and the mouse is quick and responsive on-screen.

The Bottom Line

The HP Pavilion HPE h9-1120t may not be the prettiest or most powerful PC around, but it's a good deal for the price. Not only do you get decent graphics and gaming performance, you also get four USB 3.0 ports, built-in Wi-Fi, a Blu-ray disc player/DVD-writer (for an additional $80 you can snag a Blu-ray disc writer), and 2TB of hard-drive space.

The h9-1120 performs well for its class, and is a good choice for budget-minded gamers. If you don't need the extra graphics power, you can also order the h9-1120t with a lesser graphics card: The base model comes with an AMD Radeon HD 7670, which will save you $429.

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HP HPE Phoenix h9 Series: Small Tower Packs a Punch

Performance desktop PCs come in many different shapes, but they usually only come in one size: really, really big. You have to squeeze the liquid cooling array and the extra fans in there somehow, right? Well, HP's HPE Phoenix h9 Series is a performance machine--with the specs to back that claim up--in a nice little micro-tower designed to fit easily on your desk.

Our review model, priced at $2899, sports an Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor, a whopping 16GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive (along with a 160GB solid-state drive), and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 graphics card. HP is currently offering a similarly configured unit with a slightly larger Solid State Drive (256GB), and an AMD Radeon HD 7950 graphics card at the same price. The HPE Phoenix h9 also features an 802.11n Wi-Fi card, a Blu-ray disc player, some pretty red interior lights, and runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium.

The slick black-and-gray HPE Phoenix h9 micro-tower measures approximately 16.2 inches long by 6.9 inches wide by just 16.3 inches high. But don't let its diminutive size fool you: In PCWorld's WorldBench 6 benchmarking tests, the HPE Phoenix h9 scored an impressive 186. While not the best score we've seen, it's still a very good mark in the highly competitive Performance Desktop PC category.

The machine also fared well on our graphics tests. On our Far Cry 2 graphics tests, the Phoenix managed a frame rate of 78 frames per second (at highest quality settings and 2560-by-1600-pixel resolution). By comparison, the AVADirect X79 Silent Gaming PC managed 80 fps on the same test.

The HPE Phoenix h9's case combines shades of gray and black on the front and top, with dark gray metal sides. The front of the tower has two optical drive bays (one filled and one empty). A shiny black plastic door slides down to reveal a multiformat card reader and four USB 2.0 ports. A medium-size plastic window on the right side panel gives you a look inside the chassis.

On top of the PC, you'll find basic a Beats Audio-enhanced headphone jack, a microphone jack, and two USB 3.0 ports. The back of the machine houses two USB 2.0 ports (bringing the PC's total to six), two USB 3.0 ports (for a total of four), optical audio-out, gigabit ethernet, and support for 7.1 surround sound. The Nvidia graphics card has two DVI ports and an HDMI-out.

The HPE Phoenix h9's small stature does leave less room for upgrading. Though the interior is surprisingly roomy, a lot of excess metal--starting with a large metal bar in the middle of the PC--obstructs access. Still, you'll find a couple of open PCIe slots (one x1 and one x16), an open 5.25-inch bay, and two open 3.5-inch bays. The wiring is all tied down, and fairly neat.

The HPE Phoenix h9 comes with a wired keyboard and a wired mouse. The keyboard has flat, regular-style keys, volume control buttons, and a special Function key (the 'b' key) for Beats Audio. The mouse is a standard two-button-and-scroll-wheel device.

Its price of $2899 puts the HP HPE Phoenix h9 in the same ballpark as our other top performance machines. HP couples the Phoenix's unlocked Extreme Edition processor with a liquid CPU cooler. That combination helps keep things quiet, and it also leaves room for intrepid users to coax a bit more out of their machine with overclocking.

The Phoenix's main drawbacks are its limited hard drive space (just 500GB), its offering of a Blu-ray player in lieu of a Blu-ray writer, and its lack of Bluetooth. Though HP invites you to upgrade to all of those features on the HP website (at a cost of $50 for a larger hard drive, $80 for the Blu-ray writer, and $20 for Blu-ray), I'd have expected these features to come standard on a nearly-$3000 machine.

If you're looking for a performance machine that won't break your back (but might break your bank account), the Phoenix h9 is worth a look.

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