802
Latest
HP Firebird 802 unboxing and hands-on
HP was nice enough to send us a prototype Firebird 802 gaming rig, and while we haven't had a chance to fire it up and start sucking at Crysis quite yet, we thought we'd throw up a quick unboxing for you. It's pretty slick stuff, all around -- the box has big plastic latches that pop open, and the machine itself is held in by swing-out cardboard panels, giving everything that "top-secret missile codes" feel you'd expect from a gaming PC. The Firebird itself looks just as nice in our living room as it did at CES, but there are some sad surprises here -- the super-heavy external power brick has a troublesomely lame connector, and the included wireless keyboard is pretty simply crap -- the slightest downward pressure basically bends it in half. Plus, we're not at all sure why the mouse and keyboard require a plug-in USB dongle -- why not just build the receiver into the gigantic chassis? We're guessing the lameness of these two is why HP also sent along a Gaming Keyboard and Laser Gaming Mouse with our tester -- we'll have those two unboxed along with our in-depth Firebird impressions a little later. For now, hit up the gallery for the full unboxing!%Gallery-45664%
HP's Firebird with VoodooDNA 802 / 803 now available starting at $1,799
We know it's a little easy to lose track of time with the world's craziest consumer electronics show steaming ahead, but today actually is January 9th. The meaning of that? HP's two Firebird gaming towers are go for purchase. Both the Firebird with VoodooDNA 802 and 803 are available for purchase right now, with starting prices pegged at $1,799 and $2,099, respectively. The primary difference between the stock configurations are the CPUs (a 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad versus 2.83GHz Core 2 Quad), the hard drives (2 x 250GB verses 2 x 320GB), the sound card (the 803 has a Creative X-Fi mini-PCI audio card) and the fact that the 803 comes packed with a slot-loading Blu-ray drive. Hit the read link to get your shopping on.
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-40673%[Via DesktopReview]
HP Firebird gaming towers with VoodooDNA to start at $1,799
It'd be a gross understatement to say that we weren't remarkably excited about the HP Firebird 803 when we caught wind of it last week, but now you can safely say that our emotions have settled down after hearing the price. Granted, the $1,799 starting figure for the Firebird 802 isn't totally unexpected -- after all, the Blackbird 002 went for upwards of three large -- but we still see the sticker as a touch high given the weaker innards and the lack of upgrade options. Those of you who vehemently disagree can certainly hand over your wallet starting on January 9th, or you can wait for the boxes to hit unnamed retail outlets in February.
