How would you change HP's Firebird gaming rigs?
By Darren Murph 
posted January 23rd 2009 11:57PM
posted January 23rd 2009 11:57PM
posted January 23rd 2009 11:57PM
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I think the problem most people are having is that it seems quite expensive for the specs. The trouble with this thinking though is there's no consideration of the fact that it uses SLI MXM modules and is, in most respects, a laptop in a desktop case. It's designed to be fairly compact and use a reasonable amount of power.
That said, there's a reason companies haven't done it before - it's not cost effective and everyone is left scratching their heads or pointing at dollar figures. There's a niche for it, sure, but they'll be lucky to recoup the construction costs with the number of people willing to shell out for one. If they had done a more compact system with a single MXM module for significantly cheaper, you'd see some different responses. Well, you'd still see the "overpriced!" replies, I suppose. It *is* Voodoo, after all.
The problem is that it's much too large to be considered a middling solution between a laptop and a desktop.
Okay, after actually owning one for two weeks, the first thing I would change is to add a front or top USB port.
It looks like HP has sold out of the first run of 803s and did not produce anymore. The 803 is no longer available on their site. The price of the 802 has dropped $500.
Wish it had proper hard drives instead of laptop 5400 rpm ones. Seems too much of a sacrifice
I think you just hit the nail on the head, that is the first thing that needs tweaking.
I don't think it's really possible to comment on a desktop PC other than the specs and possibly the case, which you can do without even needing to own it, you needn't even see a desktop because you can use your own mouse, keyboard and monitor and your own operating system, what else is there to comment on?
Does it have motion control?
How stable is that base if you put it on the floor (carpet)? Looks a little top heavy. So maybe legs that spread out on the bottom like an upside down Y
It's very stable. What they don't show in these images is that it ships with a set of "wings" (they look like something off of a jet) that screw onto the base plate and stick out 4 1/2 inches on each side of it. These are very heavy-duty and make the computer extremely stable (which is important, given that I live in earthquake country). Perhaps the real surprise is how good they look!
I really love my blackbird, inside and out. It's a great system, quality built (which I should know, because I self-built the five desktops I used before this one). Perhaps more importantly, every time I've needed tech support, I've gotten an English-speaker who knew more than I did about computers (not the experience I've had with Dell), knew my build inside-out, and was able to actually help me.
These PCs are the real deal. Built for later modification with undeniable style and build. Score one for HP.
You must have just smoked peyote. Or you work for HP, which is probably like smoking peyote. "Style", "the real deal", have another hit there Tonto.
half the price and someone might actually buy the thing.
the core market that this pc is aimed at would honestly much rather just build their own though.
Ditch the laptop video cards and shove Core i7 into it. While you're at it, lower the damn price!
I just got a Dell XPS 730x for $1500 with the following specs.
Core i7 920
6gb Corsair DDR3 1066mhz(3x2gb)
2x74gb WD Raptors (Mirrored, these i put in from my old rig)
2x500 gb 7200rpm drives for storage and scratch disk
Xfi Titanium
Ati 4850 1gb
That kicks the living hell out of the Firebirds specs and for a lot less money
Two words: reasonable price.
subtract the huge
You know the whole "ability to upgrade" thing? Yeah, that would be nice.
The last two times I went to "upgrade" I looked at what was available and ended up rebuilding from the board up. The first time was maybe 12-18 months after a rebuild and they'd already stopped making the memory for my board, anymore.
I'd be interested in buying this if it were half the price.
Is it just me that thinks it's Butt Ugly?
Comment from an actual new owner of the Firebird follows...
To answer previous posts re: why spend this much as opposed to building it yourself.
The answer is that you can't build this yourself. I wanted something quiet that could sit on the desktop; I wanted something that is attractive, yet powerful enough to play Fallout 3 on high quality settings at 1920x1200, and I wanted something that doesn't suck down power as if it were going out of style. Not only could I not build this myself, but there are no current alternatives.
This is very well engineered. The integrated liquid cooling, slim chassis, quiet temperature controlled fans below the radiator, and tool-less design all make it worth it. I bought the 803 model for the $2k asking price. Frankly, I was expecting it to cost more, and would have paid more.
There would be a better comparison here with Apple hardware. Is it more expensive than if you built it yourself? Yes. Can you build it yourself? No. Is it evident that a lot of thought and creativity was put into engineering this product? Yes.
Looking at how well Apple has been doing in spite of a downturn in the economy, I would say that it isn't a poor business decision to emulate Apple.
If there is a post in the future here re: the firebird, I will post more of my thoughts. So far, after about a week of usage, I am very pleased. With all the interest that this product has generated, I probably should have made an unboxing video ;-)
Faster hard drives (or even Intel X-25 solid state), more memory slots (which are pinned-out on the board), and an upgrade path on the video. MXM is the hardest point to get over, if it means that this system can never be upgraded.
I just bought one. It's really cool (literally). :+)
Know what the best thing about it is? The woman of the house does not mind it sitting next to the entertainment center in plain view. It's dead quiet, only needs 2 cables to connect (HDMI and Optical Audio) and GTG. I'm gaming on 42" screen from my la-z-boy. I built my last 3 systems but I could not build this liquid-cooled rig. I don't even know where to get the radiator parts.
>>>>>>>>>>-----------------------------------------------
saiko @ Jan 24th 2009 1:42AM
which means we won't see anyone who actually owns this thing post, will we?
It's a lot more stable than it looks. If you walk into it, it will fall over, but a light bump won't tip it. The foot is cast aluminum. I've got it pushed between the entertainment stand and the CD case. The cats ran accross it yesterday and it stayed upright.
Yeah, the drives could be faster. I've got a couple of games installed on one of my 10,000 rpm raptors via esata. I pulled them from my last rig and ecased them. Otherwise, the worst thing about it is #&*$^#-ing Vista! I've got a machine that exceeds the power of a Cray 1M-4200 and Vista has managed to make it work really hard just to do mundane stuff.
Here's a picture of my bird in it's native setting:
http://i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr235/stockstuff08/HP803.jpg
Blends right in.