Closing Thoughts
Compared to most of the other high-end systems that we've seen and reviewed over the years, it's actually really difficult not to be impressed by the Blackbird. It's not necessarily a perfect system, but compared to most of the other prebuilt "enthusiast" gaming systems we've seen it gets just about everything right. It looks great, it performs as well as all of the other top systems, and unlike some of the proprietary designs we've seen (sorry - we're really not interested in BTX) we basically don't have any serious complaints. What's more, it does all of this while maintaining a competitive price.
That doesn't mean that you can't go out and build a similar system for less money on your own. Not surprisingly, you can, but unless HP decides to start selling the Blackbird chassis without any internal components, the only way you're getting this case is if you purchase a Blackbird or do some serious case modification on your own. We aren't huge proponents of enthusiast class prebuilt systems - mostly because these systems usually fall far short of what most enthusiasts want in terms of price/performance. However, if we were in the market for a top-quality prebuilt system, right now the Blackbird 002 would be at the top of our list. It comes with all of the performance and features you would expect, and the price is extremely competitive.
That's great for the wealthy enthusiasts of the world, but of course the reality is most people are unwilling to spend $3,000 let alone $5,500 on a new computer, regardless of how fast it is. Obviously, the Blackbird 002 isn't meant for everyone. For now we're left to wonder what will be the next offspring of HP's VoodooPC acquisition. We know that a notebook is in the works, but we're a lot more interested in seeing what they can come up with in the entry level and midrange gaming enthusiast markets.
Take what we've seen in the Blackbird 002 and scale the price down to $1500 or less, and we'd certainly be interested. Even better would be to get all of the benefits of the PC as a gaming platform and manage to compete with the PS3 in terms of price... but that might be asking a bit much. Then again, once you play games on a system like the Blackbird, the allure of console gaming may feel a bit tarnished.
Compared to most of the other high-end systems that we've seen and reviewed over the years, it's actually really difficult not to be impressed by the Blackbird. It's not necessarily a perfect system, but compared to most of the other prebuilt "enthusiast" gaming systems we've seen it gets just about everything right. It looks great, it performs as well as all of the other top systems, and unlike some of the proprietary designs we've seen (sorry - we're really not interested in BTX) we basically don't have any serious complaints. What's more, it does all of this while maintaining a competitive price.
That doesn't mean that you can't go out and build a similar system for less money on your own. Not surprisingly, you can, but unless HP decides to start selling the Blackbird chassis without any internal components, the only way you're getting this case is if you purchase a Blackbird or do some serious case modification on your own. We aren't huge proponents of enthusiast class prebuilt systems - mostly because these systems usually fall far short of what most enthusiasts want in terms of price/performance. However, if we were in the market for a top-quality prebuilt system, right now the Blackbird 002 would be at the top of our list. It comes with all of the performance and features you would expect, and the price is extremely competitive.
That's great for the wealthy enthusiasts of the world, but of course the reality is most people are unwilling to spend $3,000 let alone $5,500 on a new computer, regardless of how fast it is. Obviously, the Blackbird 002 isn't meant for everyone. For now we're left to wonder what will be the next offspring of HP's VoodooPC acquisition. We know that a notebook is in the works, but we're a lot more interested in seeing what they can come up with in the entry level and midrange gaming enthusiast markets.
Take what we've seen in the Blackbird 002 and scale the price down to $1500 or less, and we'd certainly be interested. Even better would be to get all of the benefits of the PC as a gaming platform and manage to compete with the PS3 in terms of price... but that might be asking a bit much. Then again, once you play games on a system like the Blackbird, the allure of console gaming may feel a bit tarnished.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
33 Comments
View All Comments
JarredWalton - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
I don't mean Blackbird for $1500 - I just mean I want to see more interesting PC offerings in the $1500 and under range. Blackbird starts at $2500 which is pretty high-end. Now let's see some true midrange (and maybe even entry-level) stuff from HP Gaming.nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
But once again if the PARTS cost more than $1,500 how can the full PC cost less?strikeback03 - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
why would the parts have to cost more than $1500? I'm guessing he is referring to something more along the lines of an overclocked E6xxx or E4xxx, an 8800GTS 320, etc. Say $900-1100 worth of parts plus assembly/tuning/warranty, etc.nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
True, but in the article his DIY machine was $3,100. If I'm going to game on a PC I want at least a 24" monitor with max settings on games and 60 fps.What is the minimum price for parts that I can play COH or Crysis on and get that?
JarredWalton - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
We don't know on Crysis yet, but Company of Heroes is more dependent on the GPU, and even an 8800 GTS runs it very well (provided you don't try the crazy-slow DX10 effects). So, just as an example:E6550 = $180
2GB RAM = $125
P35 board = $115
8800 GTS 640 = $350
500GB HDD = $100
DVDR = $40
Case = ??? (something custom would be nice if possible, or else just a decent $50 for DIY)
620W Corsair PSU = $120
Keyboard and Mouse = $50 (decent quality options)
24" LCD = $400~$700 depending on brand
Vista = $130
Rough Total = $1530 (plus shipping and tax) *with* a 24" LCD.
That's just a quick estimate, and actual prices might be off $10-$20 on some components. Still, since the Blackbird price didn't include a display, you can pretty much get a great gaming PC for $1100. $1200 will get you Q6600 quad-core as well (which of course does *nothing* for any current game I'm aware of).
nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
Not bad. I guess I got so caught up in 'super machines' I forgot what other options there are. But man, that is kinda low end. Gotta have an overclocked 8800 GTX and I'd want an extra 10,000 rpm HD, wireless keyboard and mouse, plus you need an OSJarredWalton - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
10k RPM is 90% hype. Oh, they're faster, but it's not a night and day thing for most people. I'm still using 7200RPM drives and am quite happy. More RAM helps, particularly with Vista. Anyway, the above *does* include an (OEM) version of Vista, so basically $1530 gets you a complete upper-midrange gaming system.nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
Oh yes, I see Vista on there now - missed it the first time.I'd say "upper-midrange" for that system sounds right
JarredWalton - Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - link
Isn't that exactly what I did on page 3? Those parts and prices are what I found on the open market, and other than the case (which can't be purchased), you can get the total price. You're paying $1400 for the case and assembly (and support I suppose). That $4100 without case holds for the same parts from Alienware, Dell, VoodooPC, Gateway, etc. So, throw in a nice case like I did on page 4 and you can get the same setup as the Blackbird 002 for around $4400 (plus shipping and tax, as appropriate). Or you can go the overclocking route as I did at the bottom of page 4 and get the same thing for $3100.EateryOfPiza - Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - link
I was thinking of actual benchmark numbers from the DIY vs the VoodooPC solution.