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HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Refresh Packs Newly Loosed Nvidia GTX 280 in SLI
Posted by Matt Buchanan at 2:30 AM on June 17, 2008
HP is one of the first out the door with Nvidia's right-off-the-presses GeForce GTX 280 in its Blackbird 002 Exhilaration edition. Also making up the Blackbird's refreshed guts are an nForce 790i Ultra motherboard ('cause the GTX 280s are in SLI), 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, quad-core Core 2 Extreme processor (QX9770). Naturally, all of this is liquid cooled so it doesn't melt a hole in your floor.
HP Introduces HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition
PALO ALTO, Calif., June 16, 2008 - HP today announced the release of the HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition, built for the ultimate PC gaming and performance computing experience.
The system, developed by the company's Voodoo business unit, is among the first to offer the newly released NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 GPU-based graphics cards with DirectX 10 support in an NVIDIA SLI configuration, along with the NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra MCP-based motherboard, DDR3 memory from Corsair, a liquid-cooled Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX9770(1), Windows Vista® Ultimate 64-bit edition(2) and more.
Available for order today, the HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition balances the performance of its next-generation component suite with stable high-performance gaming and computing. Each Exhilaration Edition system includes a Voodoo keyboard and mouse, as well as special edition SkinIt skins.
"Since its unveiling last year, HP Blackbird 002 has been recognised as one of the best designed gaming and performance systems available," said Rahul Sood, chief technology officer, HP Voodoo Business Unit. "With the HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition, we have made an incredible machine even better by leveraging the very latest in next generation components and conducting exhaustive tests to ensure that our customers enjoy a stable and immersive high-performance computing experience. We are also excited by the prospect that this system will accelerate more than just gaming applications through Visual Computing. We are so excited about this machine that I am personally signing every Exhilaration Edition Blackbird on behalf of our entire team."
The HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition includes:
· Liquid-Cooled Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Processor QX9770(1) - With a core speed of 3.2 GHz, a 2 MB L2 Cache and a 1,600 MHz Front Side Bus, the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX9770 is the heartbeat of the system. Experience games the way they were meant to be played, and run multimedia applications without breaking a sweat. With Intel's 45nm CPU coupled with HP Voodoo's liquid-cooling solution, users have power and performance at their disposal.
· NVIDIA Nforce 790i Ultra - The nForce 790i motherboard is Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core ready and designed to work and play well with the latest generation of Intel CPUs. It features full support for dual channel DDR3 1600MHz memory and beyond. And even though it arrives factory tuned for performance, the performance BIOS allows for complete end-user configuration.
· NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics cards in SLI - The Blackbird Exhilaration Edition features dual liquid-cooled GeForce GTX 280 Gpus, each with 240 multi-threaded processing cores.
· Corsair 1,600 MHZ DDR3 memory - Corsair 1,600 MHz DDR3 memory, upgradeable to 4 GB(3), lets the Blackbird run the most demanding applications and games smoothly.
· Creative Audio Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtremegamer FATAL1TY Professional - True 7.1 digital sound that was developed specifically for gamers. X-RAM provides earth-shattering quality and performance enhancement for games with X-RAM support.
· Super Multi BLU-RAY disc and HD DVD-ROM drive- The Blackbird's Super Multi Blu-Ray Disc and HD-DVD-ROM(4) drive gives users an expansive range of high-definition playback options. Users can enjoy next-generation media without sacrificing support for the titles already in their collection. Play BD-DVDs, HD-DVDs, DVDs, and CDs, and burn CDs and DVDs(5), all on a single optical drive.
· Windows Vista Ultimate- To support the high performance needs of its users, the Blackbird includes Windows Vista Ultimate, the most complete edition of Windows.
HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition can be ordered on the new Voodoo DNA website www.hp.com/voodoodna.
About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers - from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $110.4 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.
[HP]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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SneakerFiend
Posted 4:14 AM 17/6/08
@Log1c: You could get a Mach 5 too
Which one will you ever choose.
@Michai: With those specs it'll probably ass rape vista.
I'd buy this thing but then again...................I'd rather have all of that money to buy somethinq way more useful.
SneakerFiend
Michai
Posted 4:04 AM 17/6/08
Nice machine... too bad its Vista Ultimate.
Michai
Don Tobin
Posted 3:54 AM 17/6/08
Actually I used to agree w/Scuba Steve, however, HP has won back my faith (slight edge) since the proprietary nightmares.
At present I, and my corporation, have kicked Dell to the curb.
Like Pete points out, though, this is Voodoo who are just using HP's channels when it's prudent from their perspective.
Now to see if I can slide this past my accountants blind side . . . d'oh
Don Tobin
elgilicious
Posted 3:49 AM 17/6/08
I (hell, most of you) can build this, sans the wedge-shaped case, for much less money. I'd much rather have electricity and gas, though.
elgilicious
pete_at_brandeis
Posted 3:11 AM 17/6/08
@Scuba Steve: It may say HP, but it's really not. In truth, the Blackbird is a Voodoo to the core, and I sure as hell trust them.
pete_at_brandeis
Scuba Steve
Posted 2:48 AM 17/6/08
No. I don't care what it is, or what it has inside it. Buying an HP is a bad idea. BAD. I won an HP once, gave it away, wouldn't even use it as a paperweight.
If it was a Dell, you'll still have to worry about crap quality and craftsmanship, but HP will have to work hard to get their credibility back.
Scuba Steve
DigitalSciGuy
Posted 2:43 AM 17/6/08
Must have...but soooo poor...
DigitalSciGuy
Log1c
Posted 2:42 AM 17/6/08
@Dudemeister on the Run: Oh hey, look I found it. But you could also get an Omen... Decisions decisions...
Log1c
Dudemeister on the Run
Posted 2:41 AM 17/6/08
now where did i leave those $10,000 laying around so i can order this?
Dudemeister on the Run
Kaiser-Machead's got LindsayJoy's cookies on the SuperDrive
Posted 2:40 AM 17/6/08
I think a PC case with the name Blackbird should be a shiny black monolith, like the one in 2001, and makes that same eerie Alex North score when you turn it on.
Kaiser-Machead's got LindsayJoy's cookies on the SuperDrive
DisposableInterloper
Posted 5:07 AM 17/6/08
@Scuba Steve:
I'd have to agree here. HP's customer service is the worst I've ever seen, bar-none.
@elgilicious: At the high end, that gets iffy. If you look at features alone, then sure, you could easily build it cheaper. However, when you throw in a quality PSU, a proper case, and a powerful cooling system, if you're not careful going about it, then you've got a clunky monstrocity on your hands for not that much cheaper than an OEM system. You really have to appreciate the engineering of these gaming rigs.
DisposableInterloper
Dudemeister on the Run
Posted 5:03 AM 17/6/08
@Log1c: Since you found it, could you oh so kindly give it back? I need it to pay my ever increasing college tuition.
Dudemeister on the Run
reddingofish
Posted 5:47 AM 17/6/08
@Michai: Would everyone stop taking the Mac commercials literally. Vista is not that bad of an OS if you have the hardware to put it on and this monster seems to be the ticket. Mac is the same as Windows. I tried putting 10.3 on my iMacB and it installed but it is as slow as Xmas. Same goes for PC. If you put Vista on a Dell Dimension 4500 Pentium 4 it will be exactly the same. At least with a PC you can build your own and have the faith that it was built correctly.
reddingofish
SBM_from_LA
Posted 6:15 AM 17/6/08
It gets so annoying whenever a company comes out with a new "high end gaming rig", and some commenter claims "they can build a better one cheaper". Yeah Right. I'm willing to bet those commenters are using 5 year old PC's. It's just like @DisposableInterloper just said in a previous posting: If you try to match the "gaming rig" with the same quality components, plus factor in the cost of the FULL VERSION of the Operating System, your end result will not really be much lower. Also, you pretty much can't find or buy great-looking Cases. Most of the ones being sold all have the same ugly square look, in either white, beige or black.
I thought about building my own Ultimate Gaming Computer many, many times. I've calculated the costs of doing it, as well as looked at the prices for systems by Alienware, ect. And everytime I did, I've found that the amount of money I could save was so small, that I might as well just buy the complete system itself.
SBM_from_LA
DisposableInterloper
Posted 7:27 AM 17/6/08
@reddingofish:
Putting new OS versions on old systems will always lead to a slow experience. Vista's suckines goes far beyond that. Very far.
Sure, other options have their flaws, and Windows has its strengths, but Windows Vista has a lot more unique flaws and a lot fewer unique strengths.
I'd list them, but that's neither here nor there.
DisposableInterloper
T1nd0g
Posted 2:44 PM 17/6/08
@SBM_from_LA:
Look this system is so overprice that when I first looked into it I could build ten of them for their price of one. I'm not kidding anyone who buys this thing is either making a big mistake or has so much disposable cash on hand that they need to give it away so that they don't end up tripping over piles of money as they walk across the living room floor of their multimillion dollar mansion. Over priced and at base under spec-ed.
T1nd0g
T1nd0g
Posted 2:38 PM 17/6/08
Wow, such an awesome case and yet the system is so overpriced that last year when this thing had an official thread over at gametrailers all it received was a long string of negative comments and hate. It was overpriced then and it's overpriced now. There are good custom shops out there namely [www.avadirect.com] and [www.vigorgaming.com] those are two that receive much higher feedback from [www.resellerratings.com] then either Voodo or HP... Plus they don't take you on their prices.
T1nd0g