HP Blackbird 002 LC Gaming System Review

Opening up the HP Blackbird 002 case is as easy as opening the door to your beer-filled mini fridge.  A single hinge on the left side holds the door up and this unique setup allows for quick access to the case insides without the mess of even thumb screws. 

You should also notice that HP and Voodoo have compartmentalized the inside of the case for better cooling.  There is a panel resting above the back of the graphics card and below the processor and memory.  Another small door runs parallel to the main case door we are showing open in this image as well that allows access to that GPU.

One of the few indications of the heritage of the Blackbird 002, this Voodoo DNA logo is reminder of the past while staring at the future of HP gaming.

Here is the case with the components door open revealing the single 8800 Ultra graphics card by its lonesome.  The panel above the GPU is still there in this photo: this keeps the heat from the GPUs contained from affecting chassis temperatures or CPU temperatures dramatically. 

Removing yet another compartment at the bottom of the case reveals the cables from the modular 900 watt power supply; this is yet another compartment for chassis cooling purposes. 

Finally, here I have removed the panel above the GPU to show you that just a standard motherboard and graphics board are at the heart of HP’s Blackbird 002 system making it fully upgradeable moving forward.

The hard drive bays are hot-swap SATA 3.0 Mb/s ready and actually have a SATA power and data connection on a back plane so there isn’t any cable mess to deal with.  With five hard drive bays the HP system should have enough room to satisfy even the most demanding users. 

Another shot from inside the case: this angle demonstrates just how well organized the enclosure is — the power cables and accessory cables are perfectly routed and the processor water cooling setup isn’t a big distraction either.

Speaking of that, here you can see that the water cooler is a self contained unit, with the reservoir and radiator built into a single component that sits above the CPU/motherboard combo with a pair of 120mm fans responsible for air flow out the top of the Blackbird 002 case. 

A pair of Corsair Dominator modules are seen here as well — nearly all of the high end gaming boutique systems we are seeing today are using them and it’s a testament to their quality. 

Continuing with the screw-less design, the expansion cards are held in place with unique and well-designed clips that push in and are released from the back of the chassis. 

Looking towards the front of the case we see a fan that is used to pull air across the hard drive cage as well as the vertically mounted Blu-ray / HD-DVD optical drive.  The slot loading DVD burner is hidden just behind the secondary optical drive. 

Another look at the water cooling setup shows that it does indeed take up some considerable space at the top of the case, though with the power supply located at the bottom the location doesn’t interfere with anything.

Just another of the great little items that make the HP Blackbird a great system, here you can see a foam setting for a screwdriver with phillips and hex drive on it as well as four screws and mounts for another optical drive or larger motherboard.