We got to spend some time with the HP Firebird with Voodoo DNA and while some describe it as a gaming machine, I don’t think that I would agree. A large chunk of the resources (your money) spent on this computer is geared towards making it silent and nice to use. Making a powerful gaming machine that does not have any consideration for the power or noise that it generates is quite easy. Having a fast PC that can sit next to you without buzzing annoyingly is much harder – or expensive.
I found the use of two MXM GPU modules to be an interesting idea. MXM was originally designed by NVIDIA to make laptop motherboard GPU design to be more GPU neutral (to gain market share), but Voodoo convinced NVIDIA to help it design a desktop machine using this format. Now, the dual GeForce 9800S GPUs take only a fraction of a single card.
The liquid cooling and the external power supply help decrease the number of fans to nothing and finally, the dual 2.5″ disks won’t be heard while they seek for data. It’s not really a desktop that uses laptop parts, it’s not a laptop in a big case. It’s a PC for those who want high-performance, but not at the cost of having a Harley Davidson in the PC case. We wonder if more PC Makers will follow and if consumers will bite. Would you? (Specifications in the full post)
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