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.
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n0nsense - Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - link
It is serious gaming machine with all you might wish. Case design is the most attractive part. But as it mentioned in review, I'm completely happy with my P5N32-E SLI + Q6600 + 2GB of G.Skill DDR2 800 4-4-3-5 + Corsair HX620 + 8800GTS 640 (probably will need to upgrade after upgrading monitor to 24") packed in Enermax CS-718 case for less then 2K $.I would consider to by empty balckbird case for less then 200$, but it seems Science Fiction that HP will do something like this. And I don't think it's worth to buy whole computer just for the price. As for warranty, if you buy all the parts at one store, then the store is responsible for all your hardware. At least here in Israel.
Gholam - Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - link
I highly doubt this case, when sold separately, would be available for under $200. Antec P182 costs NIS900 (=$195+VAT), and this one is a class above it - even if you discount the integrated watercooling. My estimate for case price would be in the $300-400 range here.Bonesdad - Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - link
Not worth the pretty penny to buy one, but really good looking, nonetheless.