http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/ Engadget Comments for HP Firebird gaming towers with VoodooDNA to start at $1,799 http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 11:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/
No guys, let's be honest: this is a kick ass contraption.
A guy I work with has got three of these babies (older models obviously) standing side by side in his den and I can promise you they are quite an impressive array of computing might.]]>Dec 30th 2008 12:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 12:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/
You are wrong about nearly everything you have said:

1. The case - This is a matter of opinion, Personally I think a lot of the cases you can buy look a lot better than this, and there are just so many cases to choose from you HAVE to be able to find something that is at LEAST just as nice if not better.

2. Time to assemble - Well if you where smart and got everything you needed at once you wouldn't need multiple trips, If you where smart and bought online you wouldn't need multiple trips or even one trip anywhere, This would save you a lot of time. Personally I can slap a PC together in about 15 minutes (minus the time it takes to unwrap all the packaging and install the OS) so I can't figure out why it takes you hours. Even if its your first build its really not that complicated, just read the manual and you'll be fine. Even if it does take you a long time you only have to do it once.

3. No guarantee - This is where you fail the hardest. Many of the components in my PC came with LIFETIME warranties. Try getting lifetime anything from one of these pre-built manufacturers. Many companies who sell PC components offer lifetime or ridiculously long (like 5 years) warranties for free replacement. Some even offer whats called double lifetime warranties where you get a lifetime warranty and the person who you later sell the part to will also get a lifetime warranty, Good luck getting something like that on a pre-built.

4. Not saving money - Okay, keep telling yourself that, Dell would sell my current rig at around 4000 dollars, I paid maybe 1000, and this is being generous because even on Dells top rig it doesn't offer specs that go as high as my rig so they would probably sell it for more. You can get into things like overclocking to save even more money, but I don't think that's really a fair argument so I wont get into it.

5. Your friend who bought three - Is a tool.]]>Dec 30th 2008 8:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 11:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 11:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 11:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/
Your words are falling on... dead ears.]]>Dec 30th 2008 1:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 11:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 12:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 2:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 12:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/While the Firebird looks ok, for that price and all the hype Mr Sood has been giving over the last 5 months im a little underwhelmed!! Shame. I am really in the need for a new notebook! The wait continues........ Just my opinion!!]]>Dec 30th 2008 12:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 12:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/
As to Voodoo's statements that PC gaming hardware has gotten ridiculous, I have to agree with that totally. And the blame lies squarely with developers and graphics card manufacturers : AMD and Nvidia.
]]>Dec 30th 2008 12:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/
Does he ever back up his bluster? PC gaming hardware has never not been ridiculous, it's significantly less ridiculous than it has been in the past, and just bitching without working toward a viable solution to whatever it is that he's bitching about here is counterproductive.]]>Dec 30th 2008 12:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/
This Firebird, although a cool idea, just doesn't seem right to me. Upgrade options seem way too limited. If you are a hardcore PC gamer, you will either build your own pc or buy something like the Blackbird. You are also going to plan on upgrades in the future to maximize the use of the case you just invested in. This seems more like its geared to a more casual gamer, but the cost is way too prohibitive for what you get.

I'm not really sure what market they are after :/]]>Dec 30th 2008 12:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Forget all I said about this being a kick ass contraption , I was referring to the mighty blackbird; this one I know nothing about.]]>Dec 30th 2008 12:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 12:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 1:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 4:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/]]>Dec 30th 2008 1:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 1:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 1:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 1:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/Dec 30th 2008 10:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hp-firebird-gaming-towers-with-voodoodna-to-start-at-1-799/
Can you build a machine for less? Sure. I just built a machine with a remarkably similar spec for under a grand. No, it does not have the same case, though that does have a bearing here; HP recently sold a batch of Blackbird cases for over $1K a pop (and, yes, that Firebird case IS carbon fibre). The case alone is a big part of the cost difference.

More important, though, is the idea that this represents a more "responsible" gaming rig, attempting to provide performance with lower power consumption. Most of us "hobbyists" would be hard-pressed to build a machine with this spec that typically consumes less than 400W.]]>Jan 2nd 2009 9:04AM