For hard-core gamers and elite PC enthusiasts, building their own rigs is the way to go whenever they want to make a full-blown gaming machine. However, for those who don't want to go through the hurdles of researching for the best parts and installing them, there exist several prebuilt gaming desktops that come with supercharged hardware. HP has also jumped in the trend as it showcases its Envy Phoenix, a desktop designed for gaming, as well as its support for HTC's Virtual Reality headset for an ultra-immersive gaming experience.

Its hardware configuration is definitely as stellar as it gets. It will come equipped with an Intel Core i7 K-series processor, as well as a 2TB hard drive. As for the GPU setup, users can go with either an AMD Radeon R9 390x or an NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti.

HP may have seen Virtual Reality becoming a big thing in the future as developers further improve their devices. As such, the company has partnered with Taiwan-based manufacturer HTC to equip the Envy Phoenix with Vive headset support. HP says that it's in the process of fixing out the issues present on graphics cards such as driver issues, resolution and so forth in order to bring the Vive's potential to their gaming PC.

As far as the pricing goes, the HP Envy Phoenix gaming desktop will sport a US$1,700 price tag. It's a tag affordable than high-end offerings currently available in the market, and it will reportedly be officially launched on Jan. 16. However, the gaming desktop will not come bundled with the HTC Vive itself, so users would have to pick up the Virtual Reality headset separately should they wish to have the full experience. But whatever the case, it seems that Virtual Reality is about to fully kick-off as manufacturers gear for hardware and desktops that support it.