The HP and VoodooPC Love Child – Enter the Blackbird!

NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2007 – HP is pushing innovation in the PC desktop industry to a new level with today’s introduction of the HP Blackbird 002, a performance PC created by gamers for gamers.

Introduced at the company’s “Your Life is the Show“ event, the system features a striking aluminum chassis and is packed with innovative features in the areas of industrial design, thermal engineering and system architecture. It welcomes gamers and PC enthusiasts to indulge in customization and performance tuning, with its industry-standard components, tool-less architecture and other mod-friendly features.

“Hardcore and enthusiast gamers find consumer PCs underpowered for games performance and prefer stylish design. Boutique gaming PCs offer gamers power and style, but only at a premium price,” said Billy Pidgeon, program manager, Consumer Markets: Gaming at IDC. “The HP Blackbird 002 combines style, performance and upgradeability at a price competitive with upper-end consumer desktops. This is great news for gamers: HP is serious about games, and high end gaming PCs are now more affordable.”

HP Blackbird 002 is the first system to be developed by the HP Global Gaming Business Unit and combines HP innovation with award-winning VoodooPC expertise in performance PC design and architecture, resulting in a rig that delivers the look, versatility and performance gamers and PC enthusiasts want. The HP Blackbird 002 has Voodoo DNA, an ingredient that can be seen throughout the machine in its liquid cooling system, hidden cabling, interior architecture and more.

“We’ve studied the wants and needs of our Voodoo fan base and have brought that into the Blackbird system by leveraging technologies from across all of HP, including HP Labs, to make this the best PC for enthusiasts,” said Phil McKinney, vice president and chief technology officer, Personal Systems Group, and general manager, Global Gaming Business Unit, HP. “Blackbird will help redefine what innovation means in the desktop industry and it’s a predictor of what you’ll likely see in mainstream PCs in the future.”

Created for gaming, but well-suited for demanding content development tasks, such as photo, video and music editing, the HP Blackbird 002 screams innovation:

• Form Meets Function: The HP Blackbird 002 – from its aluminum chassis to the cast-aluminum foot – has a dynamic look that also contributes to its extreme performance.

• Beat the Heat: The HP Blackbird 002 is one of the only in its class to sport a full-system, maintenance-free liquid cooling, co-developed with Asetek, that draws heat away from the CPU, motherboard and GPUs. To further handle the heat, the CPU, GPU and power supply are housed in separate thermal chambers.

• Modders Rejoice: Those who can’t resist popping the hood will love the removable side panel, interior and back panel LED lighting, and Voodoo-style cabling that make performance tuning a snap.

• Put Your Tools Away: HP Blackbird 002 features tool-less upgrading. All of its major components can be removed and installed sans tools.

• Made for Speed: Gamers and PC enthusiasts can choose the best industry-standard components, including the CPU (Intel or AMD), GPU (ATI or NVIDIA), memory (Corsair or Hynix or Samsung) and motherboard (ASUS or Intel), when configuring their HP Blackbird 002 systems. The system also ships with completely open BIOS to permit system overclocking.

(1) “HP Blackbird 002 isn’t just a new PC – it’s an entirely new performance platform created by gamers for gamers, which means it delivers the kind of experience that will make a believer out of even the most hard-core enthusiast,” said Rahul Sood, chief technology officer, Global Gaming Business Unit, HP. “Based on the feedback we’ve received so far, we believe that Blackbird will be a huge hit among gamers and PC enthusiasts.”

For more information about HP Blackbird 002, customers can visit the Official Site, a highly interactive online experience where users can build, share and order their custom-designed system. Customers can begin purchasing a limited-edition system called HP Blackbird 002 Dedication Edition starting Sept. 15. The limited-edition system was created to recognize HP’s first PC for the gaming market, designed by a small team of dedicated gamers who sought to bring innovation back to the desktop PC. It will feature a pre-set performance configuration, unique side panels, free games and more.

Starting Oct. 1, customers will also be able to configure their own HP Blackbird 002. Each HP Blackbird 002 will be hand-built in HP’s production facility in Calgary, Alberta. Pricing is dependent on configuration, but will range from approximately $2,500 to $7,100 USD.

About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world’s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $100.5 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2007. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.