6/16/08 - HP's Blackbird 002 is a collaboration between the lead designer from Voodoo PC and HP. It is a very successful and powerful desktop system that is geared towards gamers. Each system is custom built, but that is about to change with the recent announcement of preconfigured units being sold at select retailers. This profile however looks at the customizable versions available via the web. Let's see what HP has to offer with this new desktop system ...
Processor:
HP actually offers a wide arrange of processors with the Blackbird 002 system. Users can elect to go with the Core 2 Duo E6750, E6850, E8200 or E8400, Core 2 Quad Q9450 or Q9550, or the Core 2 Extreme QX9650. Depending upon whether it comes in the standard, LC or LCi configurations, the processor is wither air-cooled or liquid cooled. Obviously the Liquid Cooled versions provide a greater ability for the system to be overclocked for extra performance.
Memory:
Memory configurations for the Blackbird 002 come in either 2GB or 4GB capacities. With each of these configurations, there are three different memory speed options. The lowest is standard PC2-5300 DDR2 that will really limit the performance of the system. The middle option is Corsair PC2-6400 DDR2 which is matched to most of the CPUs bus speeds. Finally, there is the PC2-8500 DDR2 from Corsair for those that need more performance and higher overclocking.
Hard Drives:
HP offers a huge variety of options for storage in the Blackbird 002. Drive options include teh 10,000rpm 160GB Raptor drive, 320GB, 500GB, 750GB and 1TB 7200rpm drives. They then split up the drives between a primary OS storage and data storage. Each of these can either contain a single drive or up to three drives in a RAID 0 array for performance or RAID 1 array for reliability. RAID arrays are not available with the terabyte sized drives.
CD/DVD Drives:
The system comes default with a single dual layer DVD burner that also supports LightScribe compatible media. Users have the option of getting a second one of these in the system. In addition to this, users can elect to put in a high definition Blu-ray Rewriter or Blu-ray reader. Both of these also have the ability to playback HD-DVD discs in case you purchased that format.
Graphics and Display:
Users have a choice between the ATI Radeon X2900 or NVIDIA GeForce 8800 graphics cards. I don't really know why someone would choose the HD X2900 XT as the performance lags behind the GeForce 8800 models. The ATI cards come with either the 512MB of 1GB versions while the NVIDIA cards offered include the 8800 GTS 640MB, 8800 GTX or 8800 Ultra. Dual card versions of the X2900 or the 8800 GTX boards are available for those seeking extra performance. LCD monitors can also be purchase with it ranging in size from 20-inch all the way up to 30-inches.
Audio:
There are three options for the audio with the HP Blackbird 002. The default is the built-in 7.1 HDA audio solution. Upgrades include the Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer or X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional card. Either of the Creative cards would be recommended for gamers looking to have support for EAX HD audio. Users can elect to have included with the system some Logitech z-2300 2.1 speakers, Bose Companion 3 Series II or Bose Companion 5 speakers.
Software:
Software is quite strong for the HP Blackbird 002. The system by default comes with the Windows Vista Ultimate Edition operating system but users can downgrade to the Home Premium if they so desire. Grisoft AVG software is used for security and several versions of Office are available for productivity. A Cyberlink software package is available for multimedia playback including support for HD and Bluray movies.
Impressions:
6/16/08 - What hasn't been discussed yet in this profile is the Blackbird 002's case. This is really what makes and breaks this system from the start. The case is gigantic and with all the components loaded in, quite heavy even with the large use of aluminum. The case sits atop a stand that holds the unit roughly four inches above the ground to increase the amount of airflow into and around the case. This helps cool the massive components inside and gives it a unique look. All of this package comes with a tool less design.
But what about the performance? Loaded up properly, the Blackbird 002 is definitely one of the fastest systems available on the market. Of course, mismatch a few components and the system performance can be held back greatly. About the only thing really missing from the package is heavy overclocking. Some companies offer 20% or more overclocking for a fee that includes a warranty. HP seems to be avoiding this route for the most part.
The biggest quirk in the options for the system come with the hard drive options. There are a lot of options for users, but it seems kind of silly to have designs that actively separate the OS from the data storage. The use of a larger multiple drive RAID 5 array would help mitigate the issues involved with data reliability and performance rather than have separate RAID 0 setups for the two different partitions. This of course is just a design decision by HP and the user though.
The Blackbird 002 design is starting to show its age though. HP does not have any offerings that use the DDR3 memory standard for improved overclocking potential. It also doesn't offer the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 processor, the fastest model current available. It is very likely that HP will be changing the setup of the Blackbird soon and it might be worth waiting to see what those changes will be.
Manufacturer's Site
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