HP to Offer Custom Compaq Gaming PCs 253
PunkerTFC writes "Announced in the run-up to E3, Hewlett-Packard will offer custom built-to-order gaming machines under the Compaq brand, according to Reuters. The machines will be avalible in June or July and 'offer a range of options with standard, off-the-shelf components.' HP has been selling a Compaq gaming machine on a limited basis through a few select retailers already - apparently, 'Those pilot sales... convinced the company that it could compete in a market where well-known specialty manufacturers like Alienware, Voodoo and Falcon Northwest face increasing competition from mainstream players like Dell Inc'. The X Gaming machines will feature 'a standard chassis from CoolerMaster, known for its work in keeping system noise down while also decreasing heat, and red glowing lights in front and back what will make it stand out in the dark.'"
Odd Choice of Brands, Maybe (Score:5, Interesting)
So it's odd to see them choose their cheaper brand to be their game box, since game boxes are by definition amped up versions of regular machines.
Maybe they just think Compaq sounds a lot cooler than Hewlett-Packard.
I've Seen These Pilots... (Score:5, Interesting)
Now, gamers who buy these gaming systems rather than building their own rigs go a lot for cool factor, name-brand recognition, and bragging rights. I think the fact that it's a Compaq may hurt this.
"Yeah, I have an Alienware Area-51"
"Sweet, I just got a Dell XPS laptop."
"Yeah, well, I got a Compaq gaming tower!"
See what I mean?
Hopeless. (Score:5, Interesting)
Enthusiasts won't pay these prices for a machine from HP. They should at least do like Sony, and pretend to be a different company for their better products.
Re:Is this going to be a popular serivce? (Score:4, Interesting)
After-all, mod = modify. If it was just the windows, lights and custom fans that made case mods cool, then we'd call them case accessories, or some-other innane term.
However, there are plenty of die-hard gamers who have no clue as to what to do inside their computers. These folks buy 'gaming PCs'. Of course, the popular ones don't include pre-fab 'case mods', just seats for where case-mods could go.
Markworth is wrong. (Score:5, Interesting)
Nope. You also can lose it over time, which HP and Compaq are notorious for. At this point, I trust the HP mid-to-high-end laser printers... and nothing else they make. I used to swear by HP scanners and calculators, but almost everything they make is going downhill in ergonomics and durability, even when the performance isn't crap to begin with.
Got one (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Is this going to be a popular serivce? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hopeless. (Score:3, Interesting)
At work my whole team's been given Compaq desktops, and we're now upgraded to these 'low-profile' machines that are making the rounds.
Both models have had serious issues. Out of four, we've had one die with a motherboard failure and a second with a dead hard drive. The graphics chip (Intel) in it is crap (or perhaps the drivers are), for it hard locks the machine sometimes while the screensaver is on.
As for the servers (Compaq DL360) and the racks they sit in, again, all crap.
The servers are 1U machines that can't support their own weight in the rack. Yes, they actually SAG in the middle. The CPU inside has three 1" fans next to it. If one of them dies, do you get a warning? No - the entire box will simply decide to shut down and refuse to boot again until you replace it. It can't run off the other two. Nevermind that I've had dead RAID controllers, dead hard drives and dead memory galore, and I only have 3 of those particular servers. All this in the last year.
Next the racks. The shelves in them can't support squat. Try to put a desktop machine on one, and it sags like it's going to break.
Fancy pull-out LCD monitor and pull-out keyboard for the rack? They get STUCK sometimes and you can't put them back in. You have to actually go in behind and adjust the rails so they don't catch on each other. It doesn't look like an installation problem, because it catches on itself, not on anything else.
It's stuff like this that made me insist that our next round of servers and racks were IBM. And when we got them they made me very happy, for they exhibit none of the abovementioned problems. I'm not trolling here, I'm just relaying my (very) frustrating experiences.
Re:Heh. (Score:2, Interesting)
Marathon was the 1st LAN FPS I'd ever played. I worked for Val-Pak DMS (was brought on-board to help with their migration from Mac's to Pc's for business) and we all had Mac's. Someone loaded up Marathon for us and we'd usually stick around after our shift to play for an hour or more (of course, we'd play any chance we'd get during the shift as well :) )
I can only remember one particular map in detail, it had a central circular platform with multi-level open tunnels running around it and overhanging it.
What a blast that game was.
Re:Is this going to be a popular serivce? (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't think it's a coincidence that they were a dying company before HP (incredibly foolishly) spent a bucket of money to buy them out, apparently in the theory that lashing two sinking ships together will make both float.
The Compaq brand is a terrible choice here. Even if they actually DO manage to shake off their slimy marketing habits, how many gamers are going to be convinced? They should have come up with a new label. A brand is supposed to help, or at least do no harm, but "Compaq" is an active hurdle to acceptance by the target market.
Re:Is this going to be a popular serivce? (Score:3, Interesting)
All they are going todo is take business away from the small shops.
Your right its all wannabes! There are atleast 10 wannabes for every geek!