As part of HP’s Omen X gaming PC line, the as-yet-unnamed machine will be created to be worn on your back. I suppose one could strap a high-end gaming laptop to their back… which is kind of what HP and MSI are proposing with their latest creations.
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HP, on the other hand, wants to cut the cord to give you a truly untethered VR experience, and it aims to do this by getting your PC off the floor and putting it on your back.
HP and MSI have both revealed new backpack PCs which are designed for virtual reality gaming on the likes of the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. HP’s announcement follows the recent VR PC backpack trend. What that means is that you’re tethered to a desktop which of course, limits movement in the virtual world. The batteries will also be “hot swappable:” If you’re in the middle of a game, and you get a warning they’re running low on juice, you can remove the batteries and replace them with a fresh set.
HP’s new Omen X backpack PC is expected to feature an Intel Skylake processor, up to 32GB of RAM, discrete graphics, a dual-fan system, and two batteries. Though they go by different names, the idea is the same: cram powerful PC guts into a backpack powered by a large battery pack. Zotac teased in April that it will release a backpack Zbox miniature computers. We’ll hear more soon enough, doubtless, and we’d expect more companies will jump on board the portable VR PC bandwagon. This VR-ready backpack is just in the concept stage right now, and while HP says it plans to sell a similar device at some point in the future, it may or may not look or work like this in its final form, and it nearly certainly won’t be called the Omen X VR PC Pack. It will have a Core i7 processor and a GeForce GTX 980 graphics card.
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One thing no one’s announced about a backpack PC yet: a retail price.
