HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition nabs NVIDIA GTX 280 graphics

Alienware was making some noise earlier today about being first out the gate with NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 280 cards, but HP's gaming division isn't about get shown up: it's launching the HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition which features two GTX 280 cards in SLI today, and it says it'll be shipping almost a month sooner than Alienware for $6,600 -- just over a thousand dollars less than a similar Area-51 setup. That's fightin' talk, people -- hopefully these two will get their prices down to something actually reasonable by the time this is all over.

[John @ Jun 16th 2008 7:10PM]

Still cheaper than the time wasted trying to build my own gaming rig, which is now out of date.

[maff @ Jun 16th 2008 7:12PM]

BOo HOo, someone got componen-pwnd!

[Chuckles McGee @ Jun 16th 2008 7:51PM]

Yeah....or you could buy a PS3/XBOX 360 and a powerful, less graphically inclined PC for half the price.

[JohnTitor @ Jun 16th 2008 8:02PM]

or you could get a similarly built PC for half the price
for all you whiners its really not so hard, and I'd think you'd be surprised
the thing that bothers me most is that while these PCs are great, they've given gaming PCs a much higher price than they really are in the public's eyes

[thedesolate1 @ Jun 17th 2008 2:10AM]

lol its funny you say that because this will be out of date in 2 months...

[Kax02 @ Jun 17th 2008 3:28PM]

@JohnTitor

Build the magical system then that does the same thing then, don't wuss out and use a Q6600 though, and don't sub in 8800GT's for GTX 280's.

The QX9770 runs around $1500-1600 alone, the GTX 280 in SLI will cost you around $1400 right now. So doing it for half the price is already out of the question because you're coming in screaming at around $3000.

Keep in mind if you shortcut just to reach the base specs on this thing you then have to account that if you overclocked to meet the speeds that this thing can overclock well beyond it's stock config so then you need to setup something that goes above and beyond at a lower price.

It's probably somewhat possible to come in low, but you still need to get a well suited case for water cooling, use a good water system and not just some kit from thermaltake and so on.

It's one thing to talk about how you could magically arrange some system at a lower cost but it's an entirely different thing to actually show it.

[Kax02 @ Jun 16th 2008 7:10PM]

Kinda scary trying to price this against regular retail components, the QX9770 is around $1500 - $1600 alone, the dual GTX 280's around $1400 and all this is without shipping cost. From that alone the system with the two primary components starts at $3000.

It'd be nice if HP and Alienware didn't price this based on what it would cost you to do it on your own and instead priced it based on their bulk purchase discounts that they pull in.

[Orbit1 @ Jun 16th 2008 7:13PM]

Good Luck getting this serviced. Voodoo's service is pathetic and the rot begins at the top !

[Mam00th @ Jun 16th 2008 8:27PM]

I'd be interested to know where you got this. Because quite frankly it's the first time I hear someone talk about voodoopc customer service.

[jltuttle @ Jun 16th 2008 7:14PM]

But I blame most of the wasted time on Vista.

[Noir @ Jun 16th 2008 8:06PM]

I blame you wasting our time on complaining..

Vista is a fantastic OS

[Mam00th @ Jun 16th 2008 8:13PM]

When I first saw your name I was like "jltuttle" he might be a cool guy you know but MEN now that you're bashing Vista!!!! You sir are the coolest person I've seen in a while!!! Did you see that guys!? He bashed Windows Vista he must be cool!!!

/sarcarsm (was that necessary?)

[Ian @ Jun 16th 2008 7:19PM]

thats nice because you know i have 6 and a half grand just laying around trying to get a super awesome gaming rig..

[Eric B. @ Jun 16th 2008 7:33PM]

Lol.
Blackbird 1
Crysis 0

Crysis just got its ass kicked!

[Dragod @ Jun 16th 2008 7:38PM]

I love the BlackBird... It's the most beautiful case I've ever seen... If only it didn't cost an arm, a leg, and my first born, I'd get one... It's really a shame the case isn't sold separately. I would totally buy it if it weren't ridiculously overpriced, like I know it would be.

[Tony Rayo @ Jun 16th 2008 9:24PM]

Meh, have some twins and ship'em in. They would just be interrupting your awesome gaming sessions with constant whining.

[bob e @ Jun 16th 2008 7:39PM]

I'd love one but 6G is kind of steep. I wonder what the actual sales figures are on these extreme models?

250 a year

Still kind of sad to see everything limited to your ISP and connection speed.

[Wii60 @ Jun 16th 2008 7:49PM]

Wow, HP really IS serious about this Blackbird line aren't they?

[LC @ Jun 16th 2008 8:04PM]

Or you could build a decent gaming rig (Core 2 Quad, 4GBs of RAM good.) with SLI'd GTX280s for say.....$2500? Maybe $3000 if you want some fancy Raptors, and an expensive case.

And John, let me guess? You read, and believed that Build vs Buy bull crap on Alienwares site? Correct? Haha. HAHAHAHA. If you wish to waste your money; be our guests, but don't go brainwashing other people.

[ChuChu @ Jun 16th 2008 8:49PM]

Building isn't for everyone and 6g's isn't a huge amount of cash for everyone.

Every time engadget posts some tricked out but expensive pre-built there is a chorus of people posting "omg I could build that with 2 coconuts and a ball of string". Well guess what professor buildalot, IT'S NOT INTENDED FOR YOU.

[Itsuru @ Jun 16th 2008 9:00PM]

@ChuChu

Well observed, funny comment too.

[Tony Rayo @ Jun 16th 2008 9:30PM]

@ChuChu - I thought that's why Engadget had user comments, so people could express themselves (and considering the technology minded crowd of the site, I'm not surprised to know that many people here can and have build their own PCs and advocate it). Aside from custom blinkers, cases and such, you can almost always build a computer with the same specs for much less.

Also you give a bad name to the Dreamcast =p.

[ChuChu @ Jun 16th 2008 9:42PM]

Am I interfering with your ability to express your feelings Tony? Because I would just feel awful if that was the case. Tell you what, why don't you write down a list of all of the emotions and feelings you are experiencing and mail it to me (no email please, it's too impersonal) so I can review it. Also feel free to add any custom blinkers and such to the list. I love those things.

[Ted @ Jul 3rd 2008 11:58AM]

That's just funny. Thanks for the laugh.

[MastrCake @ Jun 16th 2008 9:49PM]

HAH! This proves my point!

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/16/alienware-area-51-desktops-first-to-score-nvidia-gtx-280-graphic/comments/12679220/

Alienware IS overpriced, ugly, and slower than Voodoo (which is what this computer is; VoodooDNA).

By throwing this card into this computer, it basically owns Alienware!

[flyer @ Jun 17th 2008 10:52AM]

don't feed the HP troll...

[smith002 @ Jun 16th 2008 10:04PM]

ill put my Blackbird 002 LCi against any other machine and see who the performance winner would be . BLACKBIRD of course ... as for Blackbird tech support its wonderful. call them your self even if u dont own one , they would be pleased if u did , they love to talk gaming

[MastrCake @ Jun 16th 2008 10:19PM]

True that :)

[Alex @ Jun 16th 2008 11:04PM]

It's insane how people actually plop down that much money for a computer.

I could understand if it was for your job, or it would somehow pay itself off or something...but seriously...$6,000+ man....wow....

Think about what that could get you.

TV, PS3, XBOX, Cheaper computer, couch, audio system for all of it, snacks?

wow.

[Chris @ Jun 16th 2008 11:04PM]

This isn't a big deal, even these people have GTX 280's available for order in their systems. And while the support might not be great, its sure a lot cheaper than the HP.
(I'm not encouraging you to buy this, by all means go buy the HP Blackbird, I was just making a point)

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Infinity_SLI_Ultra/

[Mohammad @ Jun 17th 2008 12:19AM]

Now, all I need is $6600 and I'm set!

[natels @ Jun 17th 2008 8:49AM]

I didn't know people demanded 1000 dollar graphics cards. And I am sure the supply is not low.

[naz @ Jun 18th 2008 4:59PM]

if only i brought some Dell shares in the 90's i would be able to buy 10 of those.

[Nodspy @ Jun 17th 2008 2:44AM]

If only I'd invested in google during the 90's. Then I could light fancy cigars with 100bills.

[rcski77 @ Jul 1st 2008 10:03PM]

HP Blackbird Replica

2 EVGA GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3
$649.99 -$20.00 Instant $1,259.98

1 COOLER MASTER COSMOS
$209.99 -$20.00 Instant $189.99

1 ASUS Striker II Formula LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI
$329.99 -$30.00 Instant $299.99

1 COOLMAX CUQ-1200B 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power
$299.99 -$80.00 Instant $219.99

1 Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz LGA 775 130W
$1,018.99 $1,018.99

1 G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
$104.99 -$15.00 Instant $89.99

1 Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB 7200 RPM SATA3.0Gb/s
$129.99 $129.99

1 Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
$299.99 $299.99

1 LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA
$199.99 -$35.00 Instant $164.99

1 Swiftech H20-220-APEX-GT CPU Liquid Cooling Kits - Retail
$199.99 $199.99

Subtotal: $3,873.89
.
A better computer...and still a few grand cheaper than the blackbird, the only thing it is missing is an OS.

[gtodave @ Jul 10th 2008 10:17AM]

Better than the blackbird? considering the following. The blackbird case is better, and it has a 790i mb in it requiring ddr 3 memory, cpu and both video cards are liquid cooled. Hp also does not use a coolmax psu, they use a topower 1.1 kw fully modular psu and they use dominator ram, 2g ddr3. You also forgot a slim dvd drive. It comes with 2 160gb 10,000rpm hd’s in raid 0 with a 1tb 7200 rpm secondary drive. Also it comes with a super multi blu-ray & hd dvd-rom dive not the LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA you stated but they do offer it for $124 , $40 less than the $164 you quoted. I would like to see a revised “better computer” parts list pricing update with the parts I mentioned. I am curios what a sli vga liquid cooling system would cost, not to mention what the cost will be for a cpu, sli vga liquid cooling set up, that would fit IN the case? Let’s see the price for exactly what they are selling minus the case. The ball is in your court………..

[Musketeer @ Jul 18th 2008 9:29PM]

Wow $6k is insane. As others have said, think what else you could buy for this!

The timing of this post is interesting. because just yesterday, a friend of mine who had $3k all ready to buy a gaming PC changed his mind at the last moment. Instead of getting his dream PC, he came home with:

A Sony Bravia LCD HDTV
An Xbox 360
15 Xbox Games

All for the price of his dream PC.

[Musketeer @ Jul 18th 2008 10:08PM]

Wow - nearly 7 G's for a PC! As others above have said, you can't help but think about what else you could get for that money.

This is a timely post. You see I just spoke to my friend this morning. He had been planning to spend $3000 on his dream PC yesterday. I find out this morning that at the last moment he had change of heart and instead came home with:

A Sony Bravia LCD HDTV
An Xbox 360 Pro
15 Games

All for the same money he was going to spend on his PC. I think he'll get a lot more value out of this $3000 spend than if he'd dropped it all on a PC.

But of course its an enthusiast/hobby thing. kinda like tinkering with and modifying cars.

[Musketeer @ Jul 18th 2008 10:09PM]

Damn time-outs and double posts!