HP's New DNA Part Voodoo, Part Lamborghini

and likens it to the impact Audi had

The point? Sood says HP is now taking the same approach with Voodoo. Sood's gaming unit will oversee two new lineups - - Voodoo PCs, which will be high-performing, elegant and like "exotic cars;" and a separate, "HP with VoodooDNA" lineup that will be more like a "muscle car," Sood says.

"HP management also wants us to improve Voodoo the way Lamborghini did from 1997 to 2008, so we are refreshing the entire Voodoo portfolio with HP engineering and quality control while also expanding our levels of personalization and customization," Sood says. "This is a huge deal for us as it allows us to build the coolest personal computers ever."

The PC industry in 2008 is in the midst of a battle that is being won or lost on innovation. The market is seeing smaller form factors, faster (but more energy-efficient) performance, choice in operating systems and tailored to a variety of needs. (The big OEMs have finally started learning some lessons from smaller custom system builders.)

Until now, the innovators have been Dell, Apple, Lenovo and Asus. HP has appeared happy to sit on its market share lead and $100 billion in annual revenue, without taking more chances than it needs. If they really let Sood and Co. lead and drive innovation throughout the PC line (a big if given the size of HP as a company), HP could join the innovators list in short order.