HP Blackbird 002 alpha hits with Intel QX9650 Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor inside

Drop five grand on a HP Blackbird yet? Good, that means you don't have to start crying right now, because HP just unveiled its "best of the best" alpha system, complete with a Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor, for a cool $5,499. There's also a PhysX card inside, and Dual CrossFire ATI Radeon X2900 XT 1GB graphics, but you still have to spring a few more hundies if you want Vista Ultimate and 4GB of ram -- Home Premium and 2GB come standard. Oh, and you'll also be thoroughly depressed the moment HP unveils some sort of "alpha alpha" system with that upcoming QX9770 processor inside. Good thing everything's upgradeable.

[James Cameron @ Jan 21st 2008 2:24PM]

Just give me the case. The rest I can put together a better system with that ridiculious price.

[Abuzar @ Jan 21st 2008 4:08PM]

I would rather get a CM Cosmos 1000.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jan 21st 2008 9:52PM]

When you buy this computer, you are not just paying for the components. The main reason for purchasing the HP Blackbird over building your own is the technical support you get as part of the package. Not everyone like me is inclined to troubleshoot their own PC when the SH*Y hits the 120mm case fan.

[Abuzar @ Jan 21st 2008 10:11PM]

What tech support? With the lifetime warranty many PC components come with it's as simple as sending it back and getting new parts. People aren't retards you know. There is a nice place called afterdawn.com where you can go for help should you need it.

http://forums.afterdawn.com/forum_view.cfm/111

[silverblackvoid @ Jan 21st 2008 11:06PM]

i would rather get two tata nanos and a eee pc.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jan 22nd 2008 10:42PM]

I realize people are not retards. But having to manage three component manufacturers to diagnose a hardware problem is not for the 90% majority of the population who does not over clock, disassemble, assemble, or fix PCs on a daily or weekly basis.

[Chris @ Jan 21st 2008 2:36PM]

Anyone with enough money to get this should wait a few months for the QX9770 and 9800 GX2. If I was gonna drop $5000+ on a system, I'd want to have the best of the best for at least 6 months.

[Demeth @ Jan 21st 2008 2:41PM]

That is way overpriced...

[Adam @ Jan 21st 2008 2:49PM]

Why can't Apple stick all those goodies into a MacBook Pro already?

[joshua.lambert @ Jan 21st 2008 2:56PM]

Because it would go thermonuclear.

[j_g_puff @ Jan 21st 2008 3:35PM]

Why can't we keep the comments on topic already?


I totally agree with James on this one. The case is nice, but for this money, you can do better yourself.

[Fundi @ Jan 21st 2008 3:33PM]

Looks cool but a ATI Radeon X2900 XT is a pretty crap graphics card.

[Abuzar @ Jan 21st 2008 4:10PM]

HAHA holy shit I can't believe they put that in there. Hell I can build a better PC for under 2 grand with Crossfired 3870s!

[iofthestorm @ Jan 21st 2008 7:48PM]

Well it's not bad, about the same as the 3870 but the power consumption is riciculous. Quad 3870s would have been ideal for something that would be somewhat worth that much.

[Abuzar @ Jan 21st 2008 8:22PM]

It's no where NEAR the same thing considering that the 3870 is much faster in Crossfire, it supports DX 10.1, and that the 3870 renders images better.

[c_haggan @ Jan 21st 2008 4:44PM]

Ok, this is all very nice, but when are we going to see a quad core laptop?
Something with a proper laptop processor, not a desktop processor in a presumably rather hot case!

[Linh @ Jan 21st 2008 5:25PM]

2900XT? What are they thinking? Weren't those cards already shitty enough when they first came out?

[giantenemycrab @ Jan 21st 2008 5:55PM]

I was shocked by that too. I'm thinking they must be courting the rich and stupid. The 1gb of video RAM sounds like it makes it the best card on the market.

[iofthestorm @ Jan 21st 2008 7:50PM]

Err, they were never "shitty," just not top of the line. The power consumption is ridiculous though, and a 3870 would be a much better buy.

[Eric B. @ Jan 21st 2008 10:49PM]

Actually. I e-mailed them about new stuff coming out and they said as it comes out they will add it to the site.

So the new NIVIDA card is going to be on the blackbird and I think they new ATI one is too.

[calypsojoe @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:37AM]

It is just foolish to buy a high-end gaming system with a quad-core processor and a physx card. There is not a single game on this idiot planet which supports quad-core, and only two or three multiplayer maps from unreal tournament benefit from the physx. Good luck finding other "l33t" players online for watching pretty hurricanes...

[sinnerman @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:43AM]

It is just foolish to buy a high-end gaming system with a quad-core processor and a physx card. There is not a single game on this idiot planet which supports quad-core, and only two or three multiplayer
maps from unreal tournament benefit from the physx. Good luck finding other "l33t" players online for watching pretty hurricanes...