The HP Firebird with Voodoo DNA is a high-end desktop PC designed for demanding applications, such as gaming and video editing. The system is unlike traditional high-performance desktops as it is considerably slim in size and relatively quiet, yet unfortunately it lacks the same expansion capabilities.

Highlights of the system include a quad core Intel processor, a Nvidia-based MXM SLI graphics solution, a 30-decibel noise level and a factory sealed liquid cooling system that keeps the processor, chipset and graphics cards cooled. Another neat feature that helps keeps the system slim and quiet is the use of an external 350-watt power supply brick, which surprisingly provides enough power to the system while remaining mostly unobtrusive in size.

Have you heard about HP's latest Voodoo-themed Firebird? It's pretty, it's SLI, and it's watercooled. Awesome that it's so small...

Because it's full of laptop parts. Sure, I don't really take issue with any of that; I don't really see PCs as "upgradable," not because it's impossible, obviously, that's flagged as a strength. But because upgrading is usually less cost-effective then just building a complete, to-date, and new PC. I digress.

A 9800S MXM module is not the same as a GeForce 9800, say, GTX. Or even GT. A 9800S is the laptop equivalent to a desktop 9600 GT. Yeah, you get two of them, that's fantastic. But they're, at this point, entry-level gaming cards. Doubling up on entry-level is still pretty damn entry-level.

I encourage small, innovative PCs, especially those that are designed with noislessness and power efficiency in mind, but NVIDIA's naming scheme here masks a basic misdirection: you buy a Firebird, you're getting a very expensive cheap PC.

Such a shame it's so pretty.