As you may already suspect, the ZX Spectrum was a bit before my time. Still, a whole home computer crammed inside a relatively svelte keyboard is something with timeless appeal. Enter HP's latest update to the EliteBoard, a modern day keyboard-PC costing far more than the ZX Spectrum ever did.
HP's Eliteboard series debuted with the G1a at CES 2026, which boasted a Kraken Point APU and a Radeon 860M integrated GPU (this made it roughly as powerful as the Steam Deck).
Already the company has come out with a refresh in the form of the HP EliteBoard G2a, which is pitched as a 'Next Gen AI PC' complete with a Copilot key. This follow-up sequesters some serious hardware inside its svelte frame for AI-geared workloads.
Within what I must admit just looks like a regular office keyboard, there is up to 32 GB of RAM and an AMD Gorgon Point CPU. Pricing starts at $3,028, with the most 'basic' model available in the US featuring 16 GB of RAM and an AMD Ryzen AI 5 Pro 435 processor. You can also only plug it into a monitor that supports a USB-C connection.
Three grand is already a lot for a prebuilt gaming PC, let alone for something that looks like it could all too easily find itself in the path of a disastrous coffee spillage. Even more head-scratching, you can't detach the integrated USB4 cable—the model that lets you detach it starts at $3,053.
The most powerful model incorporates a Ryzen AI 7 Pro 450, plus 32 GB of RAM, and weighs comfortably under 700 grams (for comparison's sake, the G1a weighed 780 grams). It will set you back an eye-watering $4,191, though. As neat as the 14.1 x 4.7 x 0.7 inch form factor is, I think I'll save my pennies for a much more sizable gaming rig, thanks.