HP / Voodoo Firebird sells out at $2,100

This morning, Hewlett-Packard's elite division began direct sales of its two newest Firebird enthusiast desktop models, though the top-of-the-line edition sold out right away.

HP's Web site revealed complete specifications and, for the first time, prices for the two slim form-factor enthusiast desktop systems introduced at CES on Tuesday. The lower-end model 802, which features Intel's 2.66 GHz Core 2 Quad 9400 with dual Nvidia 9800S GPUs, is still selling for $1,800 as of Friday evening. However, HP has sold out of the model 803, with the 2.83 GHz Core 2 Quad 9550 and the same dual Nvidias, priced at $2,100.

One other, perhaps critical, difference between the two models which we didn't know before is in the sound department. The 802 relies on integrated sound, while the 803 uses the Creative Labs X-Fi card -- for gamers, a potentially massive delta.

Unlike Voodoo's Blackbird 002 model -- which is also a full-size desktop system -- both Firebirds are sold as-is, with the Web site not invoking the typical "configurator." Neither system uses the absolute fastest processors available, though. But with their tight quarters (just over six inches wide), even with a liquid cooling system from the already overqualified Voodoo, you might not want to risk an "Extreme" quad-core processor anyway.

In what could only be described as "ominous" news, on HP's Voodoo Web site today, the only two products available for purchase and listed as being manufactured are the Envy 133 laptop and the Firebird. Neither the Blackbird nor the latest model of the company's classic Omen PC, unveiled only last July, were shown as available.