Update (10/1): We received a brief response from HP indicating they are aware of the issues and that they are looking into the problem – that's it. Best of luck to all affected customers, hopefully HP will step up and solve this appropriately.
It would appear that HP's Pavilion Elite desktop series might be suffering from a major design flaw, as users flock to the company's support forum with complaints. A thread pertaining to Pavilion Elite issues currently spans 112 pages, and has accumulated over a thousand posts. Owners of systems within the Elite line report excessive lock ups, freezing, and BSODs.
While HP's message board shows a scattered selection of models, someone who has experienced issues with three specific configurations contacted us a short while ago. That reader reports constant freezing and blue screens with both a Core i7 920 and 950-equipped e9150t, as well as the e9180t with an i7 975. HP's corporate offices have given the reader a cold shoulder despite several attempts to call, email and fax, and the company's technical support denies knowledge of any broad problem with the Elite range.
Some have speculated that the issues stem from a motherboard defect – quite possible – but after contacting Pegatron (Asus' OEM manufacturing unit), the reader received no answers and was passed back to HP. One fact is clear: HP has a lot of angry customers with faulty systems. We are trying to get in touch with HP and will update the story if we hear back.