voodoopc
Latest
ExtremeTech's Ultimate Gaming Machine shoot-out
ExtremeTech and Games for Windows magazine have combined their forces to take on a few of the ultimate gaming machines that are tearing up the scene these days. Over the last week, they rocked six, that's right, six full-on reviews of these rapacious rigs: the Dell XPS 710, Gateway FX530XT Gaming PC, CyberPower Gamer Infinity SLI KO, Alienware Area-51 ALX, Falcon Northwest Mach V, and VoodooPC Omen (pictured). First up is the Dell XPS 710, which really didn't get high marks at all -- they dubbed it a "very average system." What made it deserve such a panning? Basically, the site found that it's overpriced ($5,314) for the performance you get (2.66GHz Core 2 Extreme Quad QX6700) -- Dell seems to have spent the extra money on case design and not the actual components. When stacked up against a very close rival, the Gateway FX530XT, ExtremeTech found that the 530 edged out the Dell system, earning points for a faster chip (3.24GHz QX6700 quad-core), smaller case, lower price ($4,030), and quieter fan. Keep reading to check out the rest of the hardcore action...
Vadim Computers unveils $8,800 quad-core gaming rig in the UK
Just moments ago, we're sure a hoard of you rushed off to purchase the newest OMEN PC from VoodooPC in order to have the most intense gaming rig in your neck of the woods, but we've got news for you: it's already been outdone. Vadim Computers is offering a custom-built machine that packs the latest and greatest computing hardware the world has to (currently) offer, outdoing even VoodooPC's latest offering. Inside the liquid-cooled case, you'll find Intel's quad-core 2.66GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor nestled in an Asus P5N32-SLI Premium motherboard, surrounded by such niceties as 2GB of DDR2 RAM, dual nVidia 8800GTX 768Mb PCI-e graphics cards, twin 150GB Raptor 10000 drives (and a 750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 just for storage), dual-layer DVD burner, CD-burning combo drive, and a Creative 7.1 X-Fi ExtremeMusic sound card -- and that's just the bottom-of-the-line configuration. The "3-to-20 percent variable overclocking," as well as the system itself, is backed by a two-year warranty, but similar to the Mac Mini, you'll be providing your own mouse, keyboard, and monitor. The tally on this incredulous beast comes to £4,622.23 ($8,818) -- which isn't quite what Dell demanded for its all-inclusive Renegade 600 -- but that's before the government even takes its share. Pony up, fellas.[Via The Inquirer]
OMEN PC, VoodooPC's flagship packs Intel quad-core action
If you really, absolutely, positively need to have the sweetest gamer rig at your neighborhood-friendly LAN party, then you may want to check out VoodooPC's latest offering, the OMEN PC. We're pretty sure this is the first Intel quad-core desktop that we've seen on the market, and boy it sure doesn't disappoint. It's loaded up with your choice of an ATi Crossfire or an NVIDIA SLI graphics card 2GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB SATA drive, a Pioneer dual-layer 16X DVD burner, a Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Music audio card, a near-silent liquid cooling system and an "advanced chamber airflow layout" (i.e. BTX). Of course, all of that gadgetry doesn't come cheap, no sir -- that'll cost you $5500, and that's before taxes and shipping. Did we mention that VoodooPC is throwing in a t-shirt too? That seals the deal, no?[Via Slashgear]
HP buying VoodooPC
With its high-profile XPS line and recent purchase of boutique gaming house Alienware, for awhile it looked like Dell would be the only major PC manufacturer willing to cater to serious gamers. Not anymore. In a move that caught everyone, including us, completely by surprise (you'll notice the lack of backlinks to any rumor posts about this), HP announced today that it will acquire Alienware rival VoodooPC for an undisclosed sum. After the deal closes -- following the usual regulatory rigmarole -- HP will form a new business unit dedicated to gaming in its Personal Systems Group, with Voodoo co-owners (and brothers) Rahul and Ravi Sood assuming the roles of Chief Technologist and Director of Strategy, respectively. As you're probably aware, the acquisition comes at somewhat of a turbulent time for HP: not only is the company still reeling from the bruising merger with Compaq under former CEO Carly Fiorina, it's currently undergoing unwanted public and governmental scrutiny over the so-called "pretexting" scandal that led to the recent resignation of chairwoman Patricia Dunn. Although we doubt that the Voodoo deal is going to make everyone forget about the alleged spying that has occurred, it's nice to know that once HP finally puts this ugly mess behind it, consumers (especially gamers) can expect to benefit from some hot products and lower pricing that can only be realized now that Dell has some real competition on its hands. [Warning: PDF link]
VoodooPC's 17-inch, dual-core Envy u:734 notebook
If VoodooPC's $5,000 Envy u:909 gaming laptop is a bit too rich for your blood, the company has come out with a more reasonably-priced 17-inch model that still manages to pack in a dual-core processor and top-of-the-line graphics card. The new Envy u:734 starts at "just" $3,800 and features a T2400 Core Duo processor (upgradable to the T2500 or T2600), nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX video card, 1,900 x 1,200 pixel widescreen display,1GB of RAM (2GB max), an 80GB HDD (160GB possible), 8x DVD burner, and the usual suite of ports, card readers, and wireless radios (three flavor WiFi and Bluetooth). You can place your order for this 8.1-pound desktop replacement starting today, and as usual, you can choose from about a million different color schemes along with numerous tattoo options for shlocking up personalizing your rig.[Via DailyCE]
