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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georgemag07 - Saturday, October 20, 2007 - link
I spent some time with the Blackbird at the E4All Expo in Los Angeles. Here are some pictures I took to round out the article. I was inpmressed by the design and the eSATA ports that are standard with the Machine.http://www.flickr.com/photos/8184625@N08/tags/blac...">http://www.flickr.com/photos/8184625@N08/tags/blac...
newhit - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
I've already got a Blackbird. Where does the Exhaust go on this one. Twin Akropovich straight thru pipes should realease a few extra BHP. This ones not good for pillions though.nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
I might be nitpicking but I think your prices are a bit low. HP told me they use EVGA cards and I can't find any under $630But your biggest mistaske was forgetting to add the price of the case. Your parts came to $4,102 + $300 for the case is $4,402
You said:
"All told, it appears that the case, CPU overclocking, and system assembly carries a charge of around $1400 on the Dedication Edition."
So -with- case the extra charge is $1,100 - or with prices I found at newegg closer to $1,000
I say that ain't bad.
nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
I just re-read your article and you considered the case IN the overcharge. I understand your point now. Still, if you assume a $300 case the overcharge for the COMPLETED machine is indeed $1,100JarredWalton - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
$300 might also be a bit low for this case - I'd consider it "better" than something like a Silverstone in a lot of ways, so we could probably even go so far as to say it's a $400 or even $500 case. That's the price you pay for getting something "exotic", right?As for the 8800 Ultra, you're right that HP uses EVGA on their 8800 Ultra GPUs. Unless they're getting factory OC'ed models, though, there's no real difference between EVGA stock 8800 Ultra and "Brand-X" 8800 Ultra. They all use reference designs for cooling, RAM, PCB, etc., and since HP puts on water cooling (at least at the LCi/Dedication) the stock board seems to have even less meaning.
That said, I know I saw a $590 Ultra when I put together the original price list, but the cheapest I'm seeing now is $610 (XFX). Since prices will fluctuate over time, I'll bump the price up a bit but over time the tables will undoubtedly be outdated.
nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
I asked HP if they overclocked the GPUs and they said "they already come overclocked so we didn't mess with them."I think a $1,000 charge for what is essentially a boutique PC is a bargin (compared to Falcon, Maingear, etc.! From your review I think you agree.
JarredWalton - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
Definitely. As I tried to make clear, *IF* you're in the market for an "exotic" high-end PC, the Blackbird is a real bargain compared to most other offerings. Alienware is about $500 more at least - and personally I'm not a huge fan of the "Alien Head Case" design. Falcon is about $2500 more and VoodooPC is about $3000 more. But you do get additional attention to detail with the latter two companies (and I'm sure some others that I failed to mention).I have no idea which EVGA GPUs are used, as I have/had (FedEx is coming today... sigh) the CrossFire version. It will be interesting to see what the Blackbird comes with in early 2008 as well, as I expect quite a few upgrades to appear. Penryn/Phenom, X38 (or some other chipset), and new GPUs are all coming out soon.
nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
I certainly agree about Alienware, I have always hated that case.EateryOfPiza - Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - link
Anandtech should compare the Blackbird to a comparably equipped build-your-own system, with parts matching as much as possible to see how much the custom case, the professional wiring, and other junk VoodooPC and other high end PC OEMs like Alienware really add to the price.nets - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
The price for your excellent budget system was $3,125 but you want HP to get the Blackbird under $1,500?That sounds unrealistic.