Register Hardware

Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/09/06/hp_voodoo_blackbird/

HP turns to Voodoo to conjure up gaming PC

By James Sherwood
Published Thursday 6th September 2007 16:27 GMT

Exactly a year after HP acquired Voodoo PC (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/29/hp_buys_voodoopc/), the two have collaborated to create a high-end gaming desktop to go out with an HP badge. The Blackbird 002 sports a stylish aluminium chassis and an impressive range of build options for the avid PC gamer.

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HP's Blackbird 002: will it settle in your gaming nest?

At its most basic configuration, the Blackbird 002 comes with a 2.9GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPU and with 1GB of 667MHz DDR 2 memory. This spec can be upped to a 3GHz quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850, with the memory clocked to 1066MHz. For users running extremely demanding games, the PC can also support up to a massive 8GB of main memory thanks to four expansion slots.

The build options also include an Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card with 256MB of GDDR 2 memory. However, this can be swapped out for an ATI Radeon HD X2900 with 1GB memory, which features liquid-cooling, presumably in addition to the standard fan cooling system already installed.

Storage space is unlikely to be a problem, with space for five independent SATA hard drives, which HP claimed can yield up to a massive 4TB. HP enables users to opt for a Blu-ray rewriter and an HD-DVD reader for their optical drives.

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HP's Blackbird 002: custom builds available

Four USB 2.0 ports are fitted on the back of the machine, with two more on the front. It also has a built-in card reader for 15 formats. Users won't be able to select an open source operating system for their build though - Blackbird only comes with Windows Vista.

The Blackbird is an undeniably stylish machine, with looks similar to Dell's XPS range of gaming desktops (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/05/23/dell_deploys_xps_720/). It measures 59.8 x 26.6 x 55.7cm - so it's well suited to a position either underneath or on top of the desk.

The system will be available in the US from later this month and is expected to set you back between $2500 (£1250/€1450) and $7100 (£3550/€3750), depending on the configuration selected. A European release date and price has not yet been confirmed.