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.

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).