HP officially launches Firebird with Voodoo DNA

We figured it was destined for a CES release, and HP has confirmed that today's the day. The hotly anticipated Firebird with Voodoo DNA has been properly introduced to the world, and within it will come an Intel Core 2 Quad CPU, twin NVIDIA GeForce 9800S graphics cards in an SLI configuration, hot-swappable 320GB hard drives (two of 'em) and an advanced thermal management system to keep things cool, calm, collected and quiet. As we'd heard, the rig will be available starting on January 9th for as little as $1,799 directly from Voodoo, while those too frightened to hand over their credit card information online can hold tight 'til it hits select retailers (read: Best Buy, most likely) on February 1st. Have a look at Rahul Sood and team gloating ad nauseum over this thing just after the break.

Gallery: HP officially launches Firebird with Voodoo DNA

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[Via DesktopReview]

[Pedobear @ Jan 6th 2009 12:29AM]

That thing looks like a toaster.






Watch me get low ranked.

[refriedbeans19 @ Jan 6th 2009 12:31AM]

let me help you with that ^__^

[1234321 @ Jan 6th 2009 12:48AM]

I don't know about a toaster but it definitely got its looks from HP and not Voodoo

[greyscale @ Jan 6th 2009 1:12AM]

It looks like Blackbird's underdeveloped, disfigured, stillborn twin.

[Esat Dedezade @ Jan 6th 2009 7:46AM]

Thats one sexy looking toaster!

[thatrotierkid @ Jan 6th 2009 8:34AM]

if thats a toaster... then i am in for some nasty burns

[GundamWingEW @ Jan 6th 2009 12:32AM]

Love the monitor but the rig itself looks a lil awkward to say the least...

Still though it sounds like an impressive machine.

[radicaldreamer99 @ Jan 6th 2009 12:32AM]

that keyboard looks snazzy

[Sam @ Jan 6th 2009 1:18AM]

a la sony 10 years ago?

[greyscale @ Jan 6th 2009 12:33AM]

F the Firebird and the non-upgradeable train it rode in on. You're slipping, Rahul.

[Rollins @ Jan 6th 2009 12:34AM]

I concur. Far too much money for what it gets you.

[Evan @ Jan 6th 2009 12:38AM]

That must be one HELL of an expensive case.

/ripoff.

[Jon @ Jan 6th 2009 10:59AM]

Rahul is such a tool. This guy is a sell out. Honestly, more power to him for building a nice company and selling it, but then he should have NEVER taken the job at HP to court his former customers. He should have spent his days sipping drinks on a beach somewhere. Honestly, no shit Rahul, if you make everything proprietary and non-upgradable you can come up with new and interesting designs. BUT, where is the value to the consumer who is paying a premium for all the design R&D and no option to upgrade with industry standard components. This guy needs to re-think how he made his fortune in the first place.....

[Richard @ Jan 6th 2009 12:38AM]

I'll keep my Blackbird case, thanks. At least it has room for upgrades. This thing is too small and too expensive :/

[FILA @ Jan 6th 2009 12:41AM]

I dont like HP

[Moi @ Jan 6th 2009 1:05AM]

Well I don't like you either.

[FILA @ Jan 6th 2009 3:08AM]

I don't like your mom either, but she pays the bills

[Frank @ Jan 6th 2009 12:58AM]

hp has been making some really nice laptops lately... The Dell lineup doesn't even come close. I will probably wait to get an hp 12"-13" laptop when Windows 7 comes pre-installed.

[absinthe party @ Jan 6th 2009 7:15AM]

This is not a laptop, Frank.

[CosterMonger @ Jan 6th 2009 11:26AM]

@absinthe party

but is has an external 350W power supply, I'm so confused?

[digitallysick @ Jan 6th 2009 1:05AM]

I agree , i do pc repair and guess what computers are brought in the most? HP, Dell, Compaq, Gateway. The motherboard dies, then to get a replacement almost cost as much as a new computer , and if you use an after market (non oem) motherboard, then you are stuck cutting the plugs off and rigging the power switches to work and hoping things fit.

Hp = junk

[Noah @ Jan 6th 2009 1:36AM]

Digitallysick...
Let me ask you a question. Who do you think sells the majority of the computers people buy? I'm thinking the list is topped by HP, Dell, Compaq, and Gateway. Wouldn't it (I'm just hypothesizing...) be easy to conclude that those "name brand" computers would be the ones brought in the most? Especially since the people who buy them are going to be A. Your Mom, and B. Your Grandparents, and C. Your sister... and let's not forget D. Uncle John...

That pretty much leaves you, me, and a few other peeps who read Engadget that build their own machines and know how to fix them when our motherboards pop a cap, etc.

Just some fuud for thought...

[Noah @ Jan 6th 2009 1:34AM]

Can someone fill me in on what "Voodoo DNA" is? In every post I've read about this thing, there has been zero mention of what that is. I'm beginning to think it's that stupid design on the side of the case. I'm thinking if I can't figure out what Voodoo DNA is, it's probably something I don't need.

[greyscale @ Jan 6th 2009 1:23AM]

Rahul ejaculates on every computer before it leaves the factory, obviously.

[Ixon @ Jan 6th 2009 1:26AM]

Voodoo is a fancy computer brand like Alienware (but Voodoo is like 200x more money, just to pick your color it use to cost $700-$900 LOL).

Hp owns Voodoo

I guess when they say DNA they mean it has the raw power that Voodoo machines have been known to deliver.

=/ Hopefully you weren't being sarcastic.

[Noah @ Jan 6th 2009 1:34AM]

Nope. No sarcasm intended. You'd think if they include it in the title as if it's some sort of feature, they'd elaborate a bit on what exactly translates to the exorbitant price.

[greyscale @ Jan 6th 2009 1:32AM]

Sike, it's what Ixon said. Had you going.

[Richard @ Jan 6th 2009 9:09AM]

Ixon is close. It doesn't have to do with the actual power though, more of the actual design of the case. My Blackbird for instance has "Voodoo DNA" because they designed the special hard drive trays, the wire management system, the air flow channels, the special compartments to contain the heat in three different sections of the case, the large aluminum foot the case stands on, the pop up media bay on top of the case, and of course, the led lighting around the case. All was designed by Voodoo, although it was not solely a Voodoo product (like the Omen).

[CosterMonger @ Jan 6th 2009 11:21AM]

Voodoo DNA is obviously a marketing term coined up HP to say that it has design elements from Voodoo PC [ Subsidiary of HP]
they could just as easily referred to it as Voodoo Gris-Gris

though I think @greyscale's answer is the best one, it explains why Mr. Sood takes so long to "come" out with product :)

[Nortius Maximus @ Jan 30th 2009 12:36PM]

That's "ad nauseam", not "ad nauseum." A "nauseum" would be, perhaps, a museum related to nausea.

[absinthe party @ Jan 6th 2009 7:21AM]

Oh, oh! And a "nausoleum" would be like a mausoleum that makes you queezy! Or it could also be linoleum that causes vertigo?

[pika2000 @ Jan 6th 2009 1:43AM]

How big is this thing? I'm a fan of HP's slimline models. I'm glad that there are more and more nicely designed "smaller" PCs that are not horribly crippled (eg. intel integrated graphics). Hopefully the price is right.

[aznofazns @ Jan 6th 2009 1:46AM]

Lack of Core i7 and crappy 9800S cards (only 64 cores each) = not so great

Honestly, I'm pretty sure two 9800S cards in SLI are not going to be more power efficient or much faster than a single card like a 4870 1gb or GTX260 Core 216...

[crescentdavid @ Jan 6th 2009 2:02AM]

They'll match or exceed ... the real benefit (from the marketing angle expressed in the vid) is that the cards are so much more quiet at load. I wouldn't want one of these, based on price and lack of expandability ... but HP is looking to fill a niche between the Dell Hybrid and ... ? and this seems to fit the bill.

For those with the knee-jerk reaction: Take a look at the market and look for points of differentiation. Then come back and say something intelligent like HP sux! At least you'll have taken a trip.

[YpoCaramel @ Jan 6th 2009 3:32AM]

Very interesting, something not so over the top and integrated. I wonder if the market for this exists out there, with casual to average gamers going laptop and enthusiasts doing their own super-rigs.

[Dummy00001 @ Jan 6th 2009 7:20AM]

Many people went with laptops because of numerous problems with plain desktops. Most common complain is that desktops are too noisy. The system solves the noise problem.

But to me personally, the system reinstates older problem I always hated beige PC boxen for: all ports are in arse, I mean on the back of the system. Even card reader. (Or how people say it over here: the ports are in the same place which designers used to think while making the system (answer: ass).)

But for the most people it would be a nice gaming rig anyway.

[FAI @ Jan 7th 2009 12:11PM]

That computer looks sick. It's nvery nice and it's small

[mobility @ Jan 24th 2009 1:54PM]

I'd rather have seen a Core i7 and a 4870-class card. The under-load consumption is not that different. This gear is too dated to be appearing in a brand new line.

[mobility @ Jan 24th 2009 1:58PM]

I meant to add: especially on a box that can't be upgraded. In such a situation, starting out with the best-possible parts is a must. Apple continually gets this wrong with the iMac line; I wouldn't expect the same from Voodoo.

In their defense, it's likely that the mobile versions of these parts just aren't out yet. As a buyer, though, that looming generation shift tells me it's a bad time to take a plunge.