HP Blackbird 002: Back in Black
by Jarred Walton on September 12, 2007 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Feature Summary
We've covered a majority of the features already, but before we get to the actual benchmarks we thought we would summarize all of the system details and highlight any other areas that we have not discussed so far.
There's plenty of room for additional hard drives, but the configuration we received includes a single 160GB Western Digital Raptor and a secondary 750GB Seagate 7200.10 drive for mass storage. The Blackbird also includes dual optical drives; one is a slot loader DVD-RW while the second is a combination Blu-ray writer/HD-DVD reader. Not sure which optical format will win out in the coming high-definition content wars? The Blackbird has you covered, at least in terms of reading media. We do have to mention, however, that the slot load drive makes a decent amount of noise when you first start up the system - it sounds as though it's trying to eject a disc, whether or not one is installed.
All of the usual suspects are present for the remainder of the system: Gigabit Ethernet (two ports), plenty of USB ports, FireWire, and HD audio. A small (relative to the rest of the case) hatch pops up at the top-front of the case, providing access to a couple USB ports and a FireWire port, microphone and headphone jacks, and flash memory readers for pretty much every conceivable memory type: SM, SD, xM, MS, CF, and MMC (and probably a few other formats besides).
A large 1100W modular power supply keeps all of the components happily juiced up, and provides plenty of room for expansion in the future. Our power supply testing has revealed that optimal efficiency usually comes in the 30%-60% load range, so with the given configuration the Blackbird 002 will usually fall into that area. We'll have more details on the power numbers later.
Considering that HP has included pretty much everything plus the kitchen sink, there is one notable omission. Audio is not provided by a dedicated sound card, although it does come on a riser card. ASUS uses the Analog Devices AD1988b audio chip, which we have generally found to be slightly better than the Realtek and other onboard solutions. In the past, we have recommended that gamers and other audio enthusiasts use a dedicated sound card, but Windows Vista has thrown a bit of a monkey wrench into that recommendation. Specifically, we have serious concerns about recommending a Sound Blaster X-Fi card for any Windows Vista system at this point in time. When the drivers do work, and with a little bit of extra effort on the part of the user, you can still get enhanced sound effects; however, we are content to sit this one out for a little while longer. In other words, while the lack of a dedicated sound card might seem like a flaw, we're not particularly concerned for the time being - users can always add one later if they feel it's necessary.
We've covered a majority of the features already, but before we get to the actual benchmarks we thought we would summarize all of the system details and highlight any other areas that we have not discussed so far.
| HP Blackbird 002 LCi | |
| Case | HP Custom "Blackbird" ATX |
| Motherboard | ASUS Striker Supreme |
| Processor | Core 2 Extreme QX6850 Overclocked (Quad-core 11x333MHz 3.67 GHz 2x4MB shared L2 cache) |
| Heatsink/Cooling | Asetek LLC Liquid Cooling for CPU/GPUs - Factory Sealed 1 x 120mm front case fan 2 x 120mm top case fans (for radiator) |
| RAM | 2x1024MB Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 (CM2X1024-8500C5D) |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon HD X2900 XT 1GB x 2 (CrossFire Capability) |
| Hard Drives | 1x160GB Raptor 16MB 10000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s (WD1600ADFS) 1x750GB Seagate 16MB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s (ST3750640AS) |
| Optical Drives | Slot-Load DVDR with LightScribe (TS-T632L) Blu-ray Rewriter/HD-DVD Reader (HL-DT-ST BD-RE GGW-H10N) |
| Expansion Slots | 3 x PCIe X16 (dual x16, single x8) 1 x PCIe x1 2 x PCI 2.2 |
| Expansion Bays | 5 x 3.5" internal bays |
| Audio | Analog Devices AD1988B |
| Power Supply | 1.1 kW Modular Cable Design |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit |
| Front Ports | 15-in-1 Flash Reader 2 X 3.5mm Audio (Headphone and Microphone) 1 x 6-pin IEEE 1394, 2 x USB2.0 |
| Rear Ports | Optical and Coax S/PDIF Out 2 x RJ45 GbE 4 x USB2.0 1 x 6-pin IEEE 1394 2 x eSATA LCD POST Panel LED Switch |
| Dimensions | 23.5" x 9" x 22" (HxWxD) |
| Weight | 72 pounds |
There's plenty of room for additional hard drives, but the configuration we received includes a single 160GB Western Digital Raptor and a secondary 750GB Seagate 7200.10 drive for mass storage. The Blackbird also includes dual optical drives; one is a slot loader DVD-RW while the second is a combination Blu-ray writer/HD-DVD reader. Not sure which optical format will win out in the coming high-definition content wars? The Blackbird has you covered, at least in terms of reading media. We do have to mention, however, that the slot load drive makes a decent amount of noise when you first start up the system - it sounds as though it's trying to eject a disc, whether or not one is installed.
 |
All of the usual suspects are present for the remainder of the system: Gigabit Ethernet (two ports), plenty of USB ports, FireWire, and HD audio. A small (relative to the rest of the case) hatch pops up at the top-front of the case, providing access to a couple USB ports and a FireWire port, microphone and headphone jacks, and flash memory readers for pretty much every conceivable memory type: SM, SD, xM, MS, CF, and MMC (and probably a few other formats besides).
 |
A large 1100W modular power supply keeps all of the components happily juiced up, and provides plenty of room for expansion in the future. Our power supply testing has revealed that optimal efficiency usually comes in the 30%-60% load range, so with the given configuration the Blackbird 002 will usually fall into that area. We'll have more details on the power numbers later.
Considering that HP has included pretty much everything plus the kitchen sink, there is one notable omission. Audio is not provided by a dedicated sound card, although it does come on a riser card. ASUS uses the Analog Devices AD1988b audio chip, which we have generally found to be slightly better than the Realtek and other onboard solutions. In the past, we have recommended that gamers and other audio enthusiasts use a dedicated sound card, but Windows Vista has thrown a bit of a monkey wrench into that recommendation. Specifically, we have serious concerns about recommending a Sound Blaster X-Fi card for any Windows Vista system at this point in time. When the drivers do work, and with a little bit of extra effort on the part of the user, you can still get enhanced sound effects; however, we are content to sit this one out for a little while longer. In other words, while the lack of a dedicated sound card might seem like a flaw, we're not particularly concerned for the time being - users can always add one later if they feel it's necessary.
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rsvdhd - Thursday, September 13, 2007 - link
Hi guys, there is a known bug with Crossfire 2900XTX and 3D Mark. There is a patch you can download to fix this issue.Thanks for the review, for more info check out http://www.hp.com/blackbird">http://www.hp.com/blackbird
rs
ddarko - Thursday, September 13, 2007 - link
Raul,Why not offer a broader ranger of CPU choices for the Blackbird? The only quad core processor offered is the most expensive one, the QX6850. Why not also offer the Q6600 and overclock it? I dislike the tendency of only offer the most expensive part. Being a gamer doesn't mean you should have to spend the most money; price/performance is an important consideration, especially when, as this review demonstrates, increasing CPU speed produces diminishing returns. I don't mean the Blackbird should be offered with Celeron processors but when an option exists like the Q6600 that is economical AND offers great performance, why is HP ignoring it? I'm disappointed that the Blackbird seems designed to wrestle the most money out of the buyer's pocket.
rsvdhd - Thursday, September 13, 2007 - link
Good question,We are offering a series of choices, including a full line of Intel processors. We are also offering both Nvidia and ATI video cards (depending on your preference). Right now we have the "dedication edition" for sale starting Saturday - but if you want to create your own configuration then go to www.hp.com/blackbird and you can hook it up in early October.
Thanks again, look forward to some big things -
mcnabney - Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - link
72 pounds?!?!And a $6500 computer without a monitor included?
DigitalFreak - Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - link
The Blackbird was originally dubbed the RS-71. So how did it become the SR-71? Well as it turns out, it's Lyndon Johnson's fault. In a speech where he advocated the funding to finish development and purchase of this line of airplanes, he flubbed his lines and repeatedly referred to it as the "SR-71 Blackbird" instead of its proper designation of "RS-71 Blackbird." In order to avoid embarrassing the President, the good folks at Lockheed and the Pentagon decided to quietly change the designation.The pilot's manual for the SR-71 has been declassified and is available online. Maximum speed is Mach 3.3.
strikeback03 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
Where is the manual? That would be interesting to see.yyrkoon - Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - link
Heh, I remember reading about the Blackbirds maximum speed when I was a kid, and I am now 41 . . . and no, no one I know works/worked for Lockheed Martin. Where did I read about it you ask ? In an illustrated Aircraft book bought from a local bookstore. This book also insinuated that mach 3.3 was its maximum *safe* speed, and that it actually could go faster.JarredWalton - Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - link
The rumors are that it routinely broke Mach 3.6 and possibly even got near Mach 4.0 in certain tests. Maximum official altitude and speed records belong to the SR-71, but it's reasonable to say that the official records are likely lower than the actual maximums the plane achieved. Some feel that the SR-71 could have probably been pushed quite a bit further (rumor mongers and former pilots seem to think Mach 4.0 wasn't out of reach), but that this was never done because you pretty much don't mess around playing games with an expensive plane.yyrkoon - Thursday, September 13, 2007 - link
Supposedly this aircraft also leaked fuel while on the ground when fueled to full capacity. According to random 'literature' on the web, there were two reason why the Blackbird normally would not go faster than mach 3.2. First was shock waves which would narrow enough between mach 3.6-3.8 that could potentially narrow enough off of the nose to travel through the engines, thus stalling the aircraft. Second was heat, which would increase above mach 3.5 enough to effect the glass/windshield center divider.Inkjammer - Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - link
Y'know, it seems like these "high end gaming machines" are becoming more and more expensive with each company's new iteration, the high end edition always more expensive than the previous. The Dell 720HC, the HP Blackbird 002, Alienware's ALX. They're all good machines, but at a price points that get more and more ridiculous.My home machine has two 8800 GTX in SLI, 4GB of RAM and an OC'd E6600 to 3.2Ghz. Sure, it won't detonate charts and graphs, but it'll come close with even the baddest boys thes companies can throw out. I still have yet to run into a game that does NOT play smoothly at 1920x1200. And it cost about $2,800. Everything is OC'd just fine, too. A Freezone, 7 Scythe SFlex fans... and I still have room to grow.
Yeah, yeah, it's always cheaper to build it yourself, that's an established fact. But these machines are coming out at 2 to 3x the cost of their components, and for what? Overclocked machines that use off-the-shelf Coolit Freezones and some fancy cable management? How much are you paying for design and name alone? For the cost of this machine I'd expect Mr. Freeze to personally hook up the cooling units himself and gaurantee absolute zero thermals. But not, y'know, before putting on a show and fighting Batman in my living room. For $6,500, I expect a show.