New York (NY) – Hewlett-Packard (HP) today announced its long awaited gaming rig that had been in development with the help of the firm's boutique PC builder for some time. Blackbird goes head to head with Dell's XPS performance desktops.

 

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In Pictures: HP Blackbird 002 ...

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HP isn't typically known as a PC company that caters to the needs of gamers. Blackbird could change that perception and enable HP to gain credibility with gamers in a price range that is substantially below what one would spend for a comparable and customized machine from Voodoo PC, which was acquired by HP last year.

The Blackbird 002 will be available as a "Dedication Edition" starting September 15 and will be available for configuration on HP's website beginning October 1. Similar to Dell's XPS, the Blackbird can be configured with high-end hardware, including AMD (X2 6000+) or Intel processors (Core 2 Duo 6750 – Core 2 Extreme QX6850), two graphics cards, up to five hard drives (160 GB 10,000 RPM – 750 GB 7200 RPM), up to 8 GB of system memory and a high-definition optical drive (Blu-ray or HD DVD).

HP said that prices of the system will range from about $2500 to $7100, depending on its configuration.

"We've studied the wants and needs of our Voodoo fan base and have brought that into the Blackbird system by leveraging technologies from across all of HP, including HP Labs, to make this the best PC for enthusiasts," says Phil McKinney, vice president and chief technology officer for the Personal Systems Group and general manager, HP Global Gaming Business Unit. In fact, there is some Voodoo know-how in the Blackbird, such as the integration of the liquid cooling system, hidden cabling and the layout of the  interior architecture.

The question about the Blackbird will be if it will be picking up customers that otherwise would look at a Voodoo system. Only time will tell, but we assume that the typical Voodoo customer may not even look at the Blackbird: A Voodoo PC stands out with its customization features and $7000 is just where the configuration fun at Voodoo begins.

what kind of idiot

Sep 05, 2007 21:55     

woudl spend 7000 on a gaming machine? Thats just stupid. I guess some people just have more money than they know what to do with. I can build something that will play the same games just near as good for under 1k. But I guess to get 10% more performance someone will pay 7x more money. Thats just insane.
Chris report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: what kind of idiot

Sep 05, 2007 23:18     

Have you tried actually putting together the same parts list and priced it out? In truth, high volume manufacturers get a steep wholesale discount to the parts to the point where what a consumer pays for the parts and what a manufacturer can sell the system at are almost the same. And no, you can't build something comparable to a $7k machine on a budget of less than $1k. I've tried. You also need to take into account the labor of putting together an integrated water cooling system and hiding all of those wires. It is not just "10%" more performance.

waffle911 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

re:what kind of idiot

Sep 05, 2007 23:24     

well, given the same horse power, a ford and a ferrari is just.. different.
kernelcored report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

To the person above

Sep 05, 2007 23:46     

A gaming system for under 1K is nothing compared to one that's build for 3K or 7K. Before you start babbeling that your sub 1K rig is just as good, do some research and get some knowledge through your thickhead! Most of the components used on that system easily exceed 1K. Intel Core 2 Quad QX6850 $1500 2 Ultras aprox: $1200-1400 Striker Extreme: aprox: $300
asdf report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

i believe the term is...

Sep 06, 2007 04:23     

"more money than brains" but hey, if HP labs got into it... i guess they designed a new heatsink or something. and that hiding wires technology must have set them back enough to buy a small country in africa. real rocket science to to lay it out too, prolly keeps em up at night, or mabie its the money stuffed in their mattresses... cant go wrong with the biggest name :(
mike report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

this idiot

Sep 06, 2007 07:29     

Chris, Im curious to see what specs you would use to build something under $1000.. then run your benchmarks and show me what you get. Ill bet its nowhere near what you think.
joe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

well

Sep 06, 2007 07:42     

it's more than 10% by far, and 1k won't buy you a full pc that can run todays games, maybe the major components. I'm not saying it's worth it, but it's a boutique item, and some people have that kind of money to blow.
j report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

$7100 a gaming rig??????

Sep 06, 2007 08:20     

I rather spend those money to get two to three Sun Coolthreads servers to make some good eMagazine site or hosting something to make more money...for my own gaming rig, I wouldn't spend more than $1500.
Andy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I want the case

Sep 06, 2007 09:37     

Forget the internals, that is one sexy case (sold separately it would probably make a killing by itself). Too bad it weights 70lbs....
Hypeiron2010 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

vague ramblings

Sep 06, 2007 09:54     

There are tonnes of reviews on PC hardware and what kind of performance can be had with specific applications and games. Before you blab out your capabilities of building a gaming rig for under 1K, you should explain what games your running. If you're into the latest and greatest, you'll be aware of what's what and how much it costs.
tallpaul report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

sub 1k guy

Sep 06, 2007 10:10     

Ya right, sub 1k gaming rig with comperable performance to the 7k box from HP. Magic 8-ball say, "not likely to happen" maybe with about 1500 dollars and no watercooling. 2000-3000 with watercooling
cjmoye report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

This looks good

Sep 06, 2007 11:35     

There are is a place for sub $1000 gaming rigs. Some users don't need the greatest specs, "good enough" is often enough for someone who just wants to run the latest games on their 17 inch monitors. I think the enthusiast crowd totally dominates the gaming discussion while the average gamer marvels at the high end hardware, but often settles on the low/midrange. My 939 4600 ($246 last year) and X1950XT 512mb($170 this month) has been an excellent combination. Oblivion has never ran smoother and Rainbow 6 Vegas fells like it's running on a console. All in the meantime I wait for today's high end to become tomorrows middle before I build again. With that being said..the listed $2500 for the bottem specs of this rig sound attractive. I've spent that much over the past 3/4 years on 3 seperate PC's. Buying this nice looking Blackbird at higher specs...I'd accept it as-is and only consider adding additional HD space leaving the vid cards and processor alone during it's entie lifespan.

CJ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Sub $1k? No. About $3k? Close enuf for me.

Sep 06, 2007 11:36     

$7k, to me, is too much, unless I was made of money. Frankly, I think $3k is too much for something only used for gaming. But since I work with computers I can come far closer to justifying that figure. But I've just got far too many things I could better spend that excess $4,000 on. Re: $1k systems. Laugh as you might, that's what the majority of PC users buy/own. I think most of todays games hardware requirements lock out far too many potential gamers. But that's another discussion.

kw report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

i see chris' point, but...

Sep 06, 2007 11:41     

a $1000.00 will only get you a mediocre gaming rig by today’s standards. lets be honest though. you dont need a $7k rig to play even the high-end games out there. you dont need the fastest dual/quad core CPU. the intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 runs around $1500.00 and the amd dual cores run around $500. you dont need 5 hard drives, and you wont need over 4gb of ram either (at least not for the next few years). also, the articles says its a "gaming rig". why spend $500 to a $1000 dollars on a blue-ray or hddvd? you can always add that later and the price will be cheaper too. liquid cooling is good but not necessarily needed depending on the design of the case and fan layout. besides if you build your own rig you can pickup liquid cooling kits for a fraction of what HP will charge. I think chris' point was $7K is ridiculously over-priced. i build my own gaming rigs and i priced the same or atleast near the same parts on newegg and configured a rig for around $3000 - $3500 with just about the same as the HP BB (if you dont spend $1500 on the intel 6580). You could probably build 2 gaming rigs for the price of one of the HP BB's.

punisher report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

btw...

Sep 06, 2007 11:46     

in about 3years (some people say less) your $7k rig will be considered out of date. and while you are still paying off the $7k owed to the creditor, i will have paid off my $3k rig and getting ready to buy a whole new rig with better and faster technology.
punisher report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

1k rig

Sep 06, 2007 12:29     

I spent just under 1k on my gaming rig a year ago and it will play any game out there. Now, not at maximum settings, but good settings. Far Cry, Doom3, etc all look good on it. Of course, if I had 7k to spend, I would have ;)
Ted report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

re: 1k rig (Ted)

Sep 06, 2007 13:27     

When say "any game out there" and then list games that have been out for 2 years or more, it's not surprising that your 1k rig runs them. Attempt BioShock. This isn't to say a 1k rig is worthless, for many gamers this will suit them just fine. It all depends on how much the user wishes to stay on the bleeding-edge of gaming technology. Something that WILL play any current game will cost in the ranges other posters are suggesting (1500-3000) And if the user wants to be on the bleeding edge and have a flashy case and some kind of brand name (hey, to each their own..) they can expect to pay 7k.

naetho report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

To the person above correction

Sep 06, 2007 14:48     

Sorry the message is addressed at Chris not the person above the comment.
asdf report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

1k rig can run recent games

Sep 06, 2007 14:54     

This is getting off topic but..uhm..a 1K rig can run Bioshock. A close estimation of my parts under current prices and tell me where does that cost over 1000. I can max out Quake 4 and DiRT under 1080 X 1024, and I know I can play UT3 which was originally ran on 6800 ultras. I'm not trying to diss anyone but people are really taking things out of perspective when it comes to PC hardware. AMD 4600 X2 < 100 AM2 MB < 160 2 Gig DDR2 < 150 550 PSU < 100 8600GTS or 7950GT or X1950XT < 200 basic case < 100 This rounds to under 850 with money to spare for a faster card or CPU. Use onboard sound and stock heatsinks and you are gaming very well. Better than what you can find in Best Buy on a good day. This Blackbird offers a 6000 and a 8600GTS at base prices...not a hard combo to top for under 1000.

CJ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

LOL

Sep 06, 2007 14:54     

Chris got WTFPWNED by 16 people. 7k is exorbitant, but someone will buy it. I personally am going to spend $2200 on a rig that will last as long as my current 4 year old one has lasted playing games with a 9700 Pro. Now I haven't played anything cutting edge recently not for lack of trying, but cause I was playing WoW hardcore and since quitting, have been saving money for rent and stuff that is more important than a new game. Plus I am waiting for Hellgate: London with hopes of enough money before it comes to get my new rig. If not, there is always Christmas and I can play games on lowest settings. Honestly, I don't care how good it looks if it plays.

Abraxas report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

About 2.5k to build

Sep 06, 2007 17:00     

Well just over 2.5K, and that includes a transmission cooler from a car LOL With some fabn' i could have something nicer looking too. And its not like they sell them like hot cakes! I say the price is right for 6k for putting that many resources into that. i'm guessing custom bios and software because that an off the shelf motherboard.
Gabe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

NONE

Sep 06, 2007 17:44     

I THINK ANY ONE WHO SPENDS $7000 ON AN ALREADY BUILT GAMING RIG IS A FU ING IDIOT. AN FU ING IDIOT WITH A HELL OF A LOT MORE MONEY THAN ME!!! AND I SAY WE HANG CHRIS JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT ! PEACE
CARDIGAN report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Poor Chris

Sep 06, 2007 18:34     

I wouldn't pay 7k for an HP gaming rig. Heck, 1k would get me out of this hell-hole of an AMD-xp- athlon-rig-too-damn-old of a gaming rig.
LULZ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Worst way to spend money

Sep 06, 2007 18:36     

Spend 7100$ on a PC obsolete in 6 months, or spend 3000$ today and udpate in six months at 3100$? The second alternative is far better.
mm report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

labor is a killer

Sep 06, 2007 21:13     

labor is a killer, the testing and assembly time since its hand built will be around 20 hours @ $100 an hour(usual shop time for a higher end store)thats $2000 rite there before mark up so $4000 in parts $2000 in labor leaves $1000 for hp witch isnt much only 15% ho typically makes 35%
zanzabar report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Lulz and Card

Sep 07, 2007 03:28     

Honestly, obsolete is a relative term in the computer industry. Truly, no computer system is obsolete until it can't run what you want it to run the way you want it to run it. I spent $1,255 to make my AMD Athlon XP 3000 rig 4 years ago, and its just not obsolete for my needs.
Abraxas report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

in defense of Chris

Sep 07, 2007 03:31     

not to speak for Chris because i am sure he can fend for himself, but the point is that with gaming rigs expandability and alterations is a key to a good rig. being able to modify within the rig is the best part. with the BB it doesn't look like you can do extensive remodifications without a degree from M.I.T. and remember the best part about gaming rigs and gaming is doing it yourself. buying a fast car is not as fun as building a fast car

pmav report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

2k at most

Sep 07, 2007 09:12     

I don't know what would make a gaming rig cost 7k unless they're including a 50" LCD, but damn, what gamer really has 7k to spend on a rig, most gamers are overclockers and we're the type that would buy the cheapest and get the most power out of it. With a modest system setup including just 1 high end 8800, hehe DX10.1 not compatible, is good enough. A solid OC MB for 200ish, a low voltage CPU from 60-120, solid memory 120-200 depending on 2 or 4 gigs, watercooling is only about 100. I'm not a fan of water cooling, a few things can go wrong. Nice raptor HD 140, Win Vista OEM 100 bucks, gaming case can run from 70-200 depending on what you want, and a few fans can run 30 bucks. Good name brand PSU I wouldn't skimp on so lets throw 200 at it, and you're all set, still under 2k. And of course you have the extra minor stuff that you can alwasy port over, sound card, DVD drives, floppy, hehe, web cam. But what is HP offering for the 7k, life insurance policy, 24/7 non outscourced techs?

Danster report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

1.5k WILL buy you awesome power

Sep 07, 2007 14:12     

You can get insane muscle by 1.5k, fact. I'm just checking Dell and its Dimension 9200 features Intel® Viiv™ Core™ 2 Quad-core QX6600, 8800 GTX nVidia® GeForce® (single) w/768 MB, 2x1024 dual-channel DDR2 667MHz, and some 22" LCD screen, all at 1549€. You can take out that screen and get a nice rebate. This setup can run anything you can throw at it right now. Some months from now, who knows. Crysis and Far Cry 2 may be too much for any machine you can build today. I don't think you can get too much performance gain by investing 6K more on any given setup now.

Francisco report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

About $700 can get you a decent system (Core2 D...

Sep 07, 2007 15:41     

About $700 can get you a decent system (Core2 Duo, 2 gigs of RAM, etc) with an 8800GTX. It would more than capable of playing all of today's games. The problem here is not price. The problem is bang for the buck. You can spend $7k on a machine, but the more you spend, the less return (in performance) you get on your investment. So, let's say I play the latest game on my $700 rig. I get 75 FPS. Let's now say the $7k rig gets 2x the frame rate, or 150 FPS. Is there a difference, really? No. I have a Core2 Duo E4500 rig (o/c to 2.7 GHz) w/ 3 gigs of RAM, RAID5 (3 160 gig drives), Abit AB9 QuadGT mb, 2 DVDR's, Antec Lanboy aluminum case, 450W PS, fanless Geforce 8600GTS. Yes, it's not top of the line, but I bought all the parts on sale (with rebates, etc) and my total system cost was ~ $600. Would I spend ~ 11x that amount for the rig described here?? Hell no. For that price, I could equip a small classroom with nice computers.... sheesh!

Stephen report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Not enough PC games

Sep 07, 2007 15:41     

PS - there aren't enough worth while games on the PC to justify the expense either.
Stephen report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

aww man.......

Sep 08, 2007 01:32     

back in 2000, I spent $3750 on a Dell Dimension XPS B933R.. good specs (933MhzPentiumIII,256Mb Rambus main memory,32MbNvidia GTS card550mhz DDRmemory, and old SoundBlaster card for audio)..It does not play any current games, but still does all the basics very well, and its an antique I am proud to still own and use!!!!
Interested Observer report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

"More Dollars than Sense" is the term actually

Sep 08, 2007 22:28     

High end Pre-built PC's were and will always be for those who don't have time, patience, or passion to build their own. IMO fine, they also have the money to do just that so once again, fine. a 1K com to a 7K system errr sorry but no, a 4K to a 7K probably and easier a 1.5K to a 3K. But to each his own.
anon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0