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Intel Skylake returns on HP desktops, 30% off deal but GTX 970 is missing

Intel’s latest 6th generation Skylake processor became available for purchase earlier September, which we wrote about briefly here — but the desktops were taken off HP’s web store within a week after its initial “release.” This changed earlier today as Skylake processors and the specific HP desktops they’re paired with, made a return on HP.com.

Unfortunately for gamers, a few graphics card swap occurred and the more “reasonable” option is now no longer available. Here’s what happened: HP removed the GeForce GTX 970 $280 upgrade option for the HP Envy 750se and the Envy Phoenix 860st.

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In place, both desktop receives the slightly less powerful GeForce GTX 960, while the Envy Phoenix 860st receives an option of a beefy GeForce GTX 980Ti (for a pricey $680 before discount).

Having said this, as with new product introduction, there is a limited time 15% and 30% coupon available for the new desktop machines as of writing. Here’s the deal breakdown below:

Skylake HP Desktop Deals (October 2015)

HP Envy 750se Core i7-6700 (Skylake), 12GB RAM, GeForce GTX 745, Win 7 Pro — $764.99 after coupon.

  • Use coupon code: HPPC15 (15% off)
  • Recommended upgrade:
  • GeForce GTX 970 4GB (+$85 after coupon)
  • 500W Power Supply (+$25 after coupon)
  • Total is $875.49 after upgrades

HP ENVY Phoenix 860st, Core i7-6700K (Skylake), 16GB RAM, GeForce GTX 745, Windows 10 — $1,189.99 after coupon.

  • Use coupon code: SEPTEMBER30 (30% off)
  • Recommended upgrade:
  • Core i7-6700k 4.0 Ghz Skylake CPU (+$34 after coupon)
  • GeForce GTX 960 4GB (+$85 after coupon)

If you’re a serious gamer, the upgrade to the GTX 960 is a must (or swap out the included GTX 745 as soon as you get a chance to). This is especially true if you’ll be playing any modern games given the GTX 960 will be able to support most new titles at medium/high settings at a respectable frame rate – particularly paired with the new Skylake CPU.

The good thing in this GPU swap is that the more premium Envy Phoenix 860st is at a significantly more reasonable price tag. If you check out our previous post linked above, a very similar setup with a stronger GPU was priced at a very expensive $1,484. Even with the recommended upgrades above, you’ll still be well under $1,300.

Shipping lead time is also better at October 22nd for the custom built machines (vs. 4 weeks lead time from last September). Curious about the performance of the GTX 745? Check out this video here. For the GTX 960, there’s a good video comparison between its 4GB and 2GB model here (the HP desktops come with the 4GB model).