Remember the Lost

[diluzio91]

Anyone remember Voodoo PC? the first extreme high performance custom PC maker that created some of the most beautiful manufactured PC's that have ever graced the earth? HP has officially destroyed the companies legacy. the voodoo pc site says that voodoo started and ended with HP. the only true voodoo design on the website is the Envy 133, which, on another note makes me drool a little. Anyone know where you can find out about the old voodoo pc? before HP killed them? Has any company you guys know of taken up the place of Voodoo? Or are we the modders the only remaining legacy of voodoo? [/sadrant]

http://www.notebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/voodoo_envy_back_133.jpg

[Lothair]

I always wanted one of those. They were stupid expensive though which is why sales were poor which is ultimately why they failed. HP is in the game to make money, I would have dropped that product line too.

Beautiful PC's though. I wish some company would adopt it. The Adamo kind of comes close, but in an ugly mutant twin brother sort of way.

I think they should have dropped the Carbon Fiber chassis. Might have made it a bit more affordable and thus successful. Totally badass though.

[BuzzKillington]

They could have been successful if they made after-market GPU's available to the public. Not many are willing to drop $5,000 on a laptop knowing it'll be obsolete in two years MAX.

[x88x]

Anyone know where you can find out about the old voodoo pc? before HP killed them?
Well, there's always wikipedia. ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voodoo_PC
Not that much info, but at least they don't try and make it sound like HP created them..


They were stupid expensive though which is why sales were poor which is ultimately why they failed.
This is why I never bought one either...but Falcon NorthWest is the same deal and they're still going. *shrugs*



HP is in the game to make money, I would have dropped that product line too.

This does beg the question why they bought Voodoo in the first place.

[Airbozo]

.....

This does beg the question why they bought Voodoo in the first place.

Because they were competing with HP's top end...

Even though they never really invested in getting Voodoo going well, ultimately it may have been a bigger winner for them to let the company die.

[x88x]

Oh yeah, HP did used to make HP-branded gaming systems before they acquired Voodoo...I can't for the life of me remember what they were called though...guess they did their job. *shrugs*

[Airbozo]

Oh yeah, HP did used to make HP-branded gaming systems before they acquired Voodoo...I can't for the life of me remember what they were called though...guess they did their job. *shrugs*

I'm not sure HP even remembers...

lol

[x88x]

You have to wonder though, how much of their annual profit could it have possibly been? I can't imagine that anything less than ~75% of their profits come from their business products, and probably at least another 10-15% comes from their laptops...doesn't seem like a small, boutique manufacturer would have been that much of a threat to them. ..ah well, that's corporate politics for you. :(

[Lothair]

They didn't just buy them out for sales competition purposes, they also needed to vastly change their game in this area of computing. The HP Envy and the Blackbird for example were, in part at least, a creation of Voodoo PC's handy work. I think that alone just about made it worth it.

[Airbozo]

They didn't just buy them out for sales competition purposes, they also needed to vastly change their game in this area of computing. The HP Envy and the Blackbird for example were, in part at least, a creation of Voodoo PC's handy work. I think that alone just about made it worth it.

I'm not saying that they didn't get something out of the deal, just that they never really intended to put that much effort into keeping them alive. Same thing with Dell and Alienware. Once Dell bought them they seemed to lose that shine. Dell also does not seem to be focused on them becoming a winner.

[knowledgegranted]

You guys do realized that HP has been making the Envy for about 2 years now...

Voodoo has been long gone.

[x88x]

You guys do realized that HP has been making the Envy for about 2 years now...

Voodoo has been long gone.

HP bought Voodoo in 2006, so yes, they have been gone as a separate business for a while. As others have mentioned, though, they still do some stuff inside HP, making the Blackbird desktops and Envy laptops.

[diluzio91]

hmm. speaking of the falcon pc's.... awesome company btw, never herd of them before. how do they do the lighting effect on the fragbox? its so cool looking, i want to incorporate it into a mod.

http://www.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2006/10/20050305_falcon_fragbox_01.jpg

[x88x]

I think it's just frosted plexi with polished edges behind an aluminum faceplate. They used to sell the case by itself, but I think they've stopped doing that...apparently not enough people were willing to pay the (iirc) $350 for it. ..fancy that... :P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163071&cm_re=fragbox-_-11-163-071-_-Product

[diluzio91]

but where do they put the leds? and how do you do etching/frosting on plexy? I know Acid-etch wont scratch that stuff.

[x88x]

The LEDs can be pretty much anywhere. Plexi is a great light transmitter. :D As for the frosting, any abrasive will do the job nicely. Sandpaper, sandblasting, etc.

EDIT:
Rather, to be more specific, the LEDs can be pretty much anywhere, inside the plexi. Just cut and polish small holes inside the plexi, stick the LEDs in, and you're good.

[d_stilgar]

I'm not saying that they didn't get something out of the deal, just that they never really intended to put that much effort into keeping them alive. Same thing with Dell and Alienware. Once Dell bought them they seemed to lose that shine. Dell also does not seem to be focused on them becoming a winner.

I disagree with that. The Alienware Aurora ALX is quite possibly the best and coolest Alienware I have ever seen and is definitely the best high end pre-built system on the market today (from a design standpoint and "cool" factor). The articulating fins on the top of the case are totally awesome. I always thought Alienware was kinda tacky and running on old fame no longer deserved before Dell bought them. The current line is really nice and Dell killed their own XPS line instead of killing Alienware. I wish HP would have killed their own high end line and kept the Voodoo stuff around.

I look at where HP is now though and I think that HP needed the design kick-in-the-pants that the Voodoo team brought. HP was starting to go the way of Gateway for a few years. People liked Dell and didn't like HP. I can see some Voodoo influence in all of their current products even though the voodoo DNA line has been long gone. I think the acquisition was at least as much about reviving the HP brand than it was about killing Voodoo.

[BuzzKillington]

Regardless of whatever HP brings to the laptop gaming market, I wouldn't buy it with their reputation the way it is today. Buying an HP laptop is like buying a 360... you know it's gunna fail right after the warranty is out.

[Lothair]

Isn't that true regardless of who you're buying from? I can't think of anyone thats renown for their reliability and build standards. Even high end brands such an Alienware have their issues cut out for them. I suppose Falcon Northwest is a pretty trustworthy brand, but they're also very expensive.

I wish what happened to the desktop world would happen to the laptop world. It would be nice to choose from hundreds of chassis, parts, etc. so you could build your own. All they need to do is decide on a form factor for the parts. Then you could build around that with different designs and what-not. Pretty much exactly what they've done with desktops, just on a much smaller and more strict scale.

I know they have a few barebone laptops out there, but it's just not the same. Also, they're stupid ugly. :p

[x88x]

Isn't that true regardless of who you're buying from? I can't think of anyone thats renown for their reliability and build standards.

Lenovo, Asus, Panasonic, Dell Latitude. My general rule of thumb is that if you want really good build quality, regardless of the manufacturer, look at their business line. They're generally several steps above the normal consumer line in terms of quality.

[TheGreatSatan]

I remember wheen they made a gold plated case. It was $18K

Look at this PoS (http://cgi.ebay.com/Voodoo-ENVY-U709-Laptop-17-Custom-Paint-LEDs-D900K-AMD-/230568679231?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item35aef6d73f)

[Luke122]

HP Elitebooks are pretty nice laptops actually.. the business line rule holds true. Pay a bit more than you would for consumer level stuff, and get a much more solid product.

[TheGreatSatan]

Like I said in another thread, when you spend a grand or more on a lappy, it's gonna be good. That's regardless who you're getting it from.

[Luke122]

Like I said in another thread, when you spend a grand or more on a lappy, it's gonna be good. That's regardless who you're getting it from.

Absolutely true!

As for the gold plated case from Voodoo, you have to admit that you (I know I did, and I'm sure we all did) fantasized about building one of their full load machines, and pimping it right out! Haha.. I did a $40k build on their online configuration site (The Voodoo Kitchen) when it was still online years ago.

[Lothair]

That is possibly the ugliest laptop I have ever seen. What a waste of skill and resources. They should have hired an expert designer.

[x88x]

Hahaha, that was actually a chassis used by a bunch of boutique laptop makers around that time. We had a Hypersonic at work for a while that was the same thing, and I know Sager used to sell ones with the same chassis. And yes, they are massive...weigh more than some desktops I've used...put out more heat too. :P

[diluzio91]

that one is a custom mod by the seller, just protecting my fond memories of voodoo. but god that omen case was gorgeous... for the time it was just crazy.