HP has agreed to acquire Voodoo, a maker of high-end gaming PCs, for an undisclosed sum. 

The acquisition comes several months after Dell purchased Alienware, another high-end PC manufacturer. Alienware is considered the largest gaming PC manufacturer, followed by Voodoo in second position. 

Voodoo PCs can cost thousands of dollars and feature the latest and fastest microprocessors and graphics cards, and advanced cooling systems.

In the world of competitive gaming, having the fastest hardware can offer players a significant edge over their opponents.

These high-end PCs stand out by their case designs which typically sport bright colours and Plexiglas windows to show of the system's hardware and features such as fluorescent water cooling systems.

The expensive systems offer higher profit margins than regular consumer and enterprise PCs.

Those segments are facing fierce competition from low-cost manufacturers and are suffering rapid price declines, according to Tonie Duboise, a senior analyst with Current Analysis. 

"The gaming PC market is still niche, but it is the only space where vendors have a chance of making any money and where the margins are sizeable," Duboise told vnunet.com. "It makes sense to buy into that market." 

HP plans to form a new gaming PC group around the Voodoo business and maintain the brand name.

The firm's two co-owners, Rahul Sood and Ravi Sood, will join HP as the group's chief technologist and director of strategy respectively.

Duboise explained that it is important for HP to maintain the Voodoo brand, because gamers are unlikely to purchase systems with an HP or Compaq logo.

"Gamers are an alternative crowd," he said. "They are not followers in the respect that they would look at a traditional PC company the way they would look at Voodoo or Alienware."