PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 15, 2008 – HP today announced the immediate availability of HP Blackbird 002 alpha, a special edition version of its flagship gaming system with the new Intel® Core™2 Extreme QX9650 quad core processor.

Based on the new Intel® Core™ microarchitecture, the processors use Intel's Hafnium-based high-k metal gate (Hi-k) formula for the hundreds of millions of transistors inside these processors. The Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme is also manufactured on the company's 45-nanometer (nm) manufacturing process, further boosting performance and lowering power consumption. Combining these two advancements with new processor features enables faster and more energy-efficient processors that are better for the environment. The technology improves performance on games like Half Life 2 Lost Coast and Quake 4 and gives gamers the extra power they need to play tomorrow's multithreaded games.

“We’re thrilled to offer gamers the speed and strength of the new Intel architecture,” said Rahul Sood, chief technology officer, Global Gaming Business Unit, HP. “The HP Blackbird 002 was designed to redefine the gaming experience and delight even the hardest-core user. Intel’s new technology helps us to continue to deliver on that promise.”

The 45nm Hi-K Silicon metal gate technology represents a leap in technology with more transistors in a smaller space and a larger L2 cache for increased energy efficiency.

“At Intel, we use our process technology and transistor innovations to continually break the performance barrier,” said CJ Bruno, Director of Marketing, Intel Americas, Inc. “Our latest 45nm Hi-K metal gate silicon technology not only represents a leap forward in transistor design, it also helps our customers like HP deliver record-breaking speeds today and well into the future.”

Priced at $5,499(1), the special edition system is available for purchase today at www.hp.com/blackbird and includes:

• ASUS Maximus Formula with Intel® X38 Express chipset
• Intel Core2 Extreme QX9650 Quad- Core 3.0GHz processor
• 1,100-watt Power Supply
• Dual ATI RADEON X2900™ XT 1 gigabyte (GB), with 1 GB of GDDR4 SDRAM
• Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium
• 2 GB (2 x 1 GB) 1,066 MHz CORSAIR PC2-8500 DDR2 SDRAM SLI Ready
• 160 GB 10,000 rpm SATA and 500 GB 7,200 rpm SATA(2)
• Two drives: 16x Combo and 16x DVD r/w
• Creative Audio Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional
• Ageia PhysX™ 100 Series PCI-E GFX Accelerator Card
• Factory Sealed Liquid-cooled CPU
• 15-in-1 card reader
• Voodoo keyboard and Mouse by Razor

The award-winning Voodoo OMEN systems are also available immediately with Intel’s quad core technology. More information is available at www.voodoopc.com.