Continuing our series on the HP Blackbird 002 chassis, today we are completely rebuilding our HP Blackbird Video Production Workstation and bringing it up to 2018 standards with an Intel Core i7-8700K and an EVGA GTX 1080 Ti Black Edition. As you’ll soon see, these components will provide a monumental upgrade to a legendary and ultra-rare computer case. Over a decade old now, the HP Blackbird is a timeless classic that’s always fun to revisit and work in. Enough talk, let’s get to it!

Total Teardown

Before we get to the new parts, here’s what we’re replacing. Aside from the 1TB Samsung 850 EVO and ASUS DVD drive, everything else will be upgraded.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4771 3.5 GHz 4-Core

CPU Cooler: Custom Asetek LCLC 240mm w/VooDoo CPU Block Cover

Radiator Fans: 2x Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition 120MM 1,450 RPM

Motherboard: ASUS Z87-K ATX LGA 1150

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1600 SDRAM

Storage: Corsair Force GT 120GB 2.5″ SATA III SSD Mounted Via WD IcePack

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5” SATA III SSD Mounted Via WD IcePack

Video Card: EVGA GTX 570 HD

Optical Drive: 5.25” ASUS DRW-24F1ST DVD-RW Drive

Power Supply: Corsair RM750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX

Case: HP Blackbird 002

One last look through the vents with the side panel closed before the big upgrade!

Taking off the primary side panel we can see the ASUS Z87-K motherboard populated with the Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM and the original Asetek LCLC AIO liquid cooling unit which is remarkably still running after 11 years! I’m pretty sure we hold the record on this one!

With the small side panel opened, you can see the now ancient EVGA GTX 570 HD graphics card and the plastic divider above it which separates the CPU chamber from the GPU and PCIe card chamber. There is also a plastic cover in the bottom right corner which hides the power supply cables.

And they’re gone!

Here’s a quick view of the back with the side panel removed. Cable management on the old build isn’t too shabby.

Back to the front of the case, we began by removing the EVGA GTX 570 and Corsair Vengeance RAM, leaving just the motherboard and CPU cooler.

Next, we removed the radiator fans by unscrewing the screw holding the tray into the primary radiator mount. We also removed the CPU block, retention ring and backplate from the motherboard.

To remove the AIO, two screws that secure the radiator housing to the top of the case must be unscrewed and then the housing is removed by maneuvering it out of place.

After removing the motherboard, we compared the old ASUS Z87-K to the new EVGA Z370 Classified K. Wow has a lot changed since 2013! There were no M.2 slots, shielded PCI-express or memory slots and look at all those regular PCI slots. You don’t see those anymore!

Rebuilding, From the Ground Up

That’s brings us to our new parts list:

We began by installing our Intel Core i7-8700K into the EVGA Z370 Classified K.

Then we added the two Gigabyte Aorus RGB RAM DIMMs.

Part of Gigabyte’s awesome new RAM kit is the inclusion of two demo modules. They look just like regular RAM sticks, with the same heatsink and RGB lights. We populated the remaining two RAM slots with the demo modules.

We haven’t even put it in the case yet and this RAM/motherboard combo looks amazing!

The Western Digital M.2 SSDs were easily installed on the motherboard. We strongly believe that M.2 SSDs are the best consumer storage solution and the combination of the 1TB WD Black NVMe and the 2TB WD Blue is a most effective fusion of speed and storage space! The operating system, programs and commonly used files will populate the WD Black NVMe drive while the 2TB WD Blue will provide a gargantuan warehouse for large 4K video and picture files.

Here is the processor, memory and M.2 storage filling out the Classified K motherboard.

Next, we retired the old Corsair SP120s in favor of two In Win Polaris RGB 120mm fans. These are among our favorite fans, with a classy design and the killer feature of being daisy chainable, running the PWM and RGB connection off one wire. The In Win Polaris fans are instantly indispensable!

To swap out the radiator fans on the Blackbird you just flip the tray over, unscrew the existing fans and screw the new ones in.

We also took this opportunity to remove the last remaining Delta fan that shipped with the Blackbird all those years ago. It rests in a housing that doubles as a PCIe card holder and is located adjacent the hard drive bays.

Speaking of hard drive bays, here’s a shot of the SATA backplane that allows you to hot-swap SATA drive in the five 3.5” drive caddies. Not only does it provide a passthrough for the SATA power and data cables, it also powers the LED lights at the top, front, bottom and back of the case. It is powered by either a SATA data, two molex or a special 10-pin connector that was compatible with the original Topower Powerbird power supply.

One of the two parts we retained was the Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5” SATA III SSD.

Here is the new Seasonic Prime Snow Silent 650W platinum rated power supply next to the old Corsair RM750.

The Prime Snow Silent is among the most beautiful power supplies ever built.

Seasonic’s offering has additional PCIe and CPU power connections.

Next, we installed the EVGA CLC 240 AIO liquid cooling unit to replace the decade plus old Asetek LCLC 240 unit that had become obnoxiously noisy and inefficient over the years. While the CLC 240 is also an Asetek unit, the new sleeved tubing which is far superior to the old stiff, ribbed tubing uses a slightly larger connection where it meets the radiator. This makes it difficult to install without modification.

There are a few ways around this. One is to mod the Blackbird’s radiator housing by cutting the end off, so the tubes fit. The other is to install the radiator in the housing and use the four out of eight screws that still line up. We had previously cut the housing on another Blackbird but wanted to try the second method this time around given how secure the radiator is when the housing is reinstalled in the Blackbird.

It worked, with no issues.

After installing the now fully outfitted Classified K into the Blackbird we couldn’t help but marvel at how great everything looked! It’s almost as if they were made for each other!

Here’s a quick comparison of the 2010 era EVGA GTX 570 and the modern EVGA GTX 1080 Ti Black Edition.

The GTX 570 looks like a toy compared to the behemoth that is the GTX 1080 Ti.

The back of the GTX 570 looks naked without a backplate.

We haven’t even gotten around to cable management yet!

HP Blackbird 002 with the EVGA GTX 1080 Ti Black Edition for scale!

The GTX 1080 Ti installed in the Classified K with a CLC 240 to match.

Here are the tool-less PCIe clips that secure expansion cards in without the need for screws. They are very fragile though and I’ve seen them missing on many Blackbirds as they tend to fall off after several years of use. To fix them, one method is to super glue them back on.

Here’s the GTX 1080 Ti with the original PCIe power cables that shipped with the Blackbird. We would later find out that they would need to be swapped out for flat cables as the cord chokes prevented the small interior side door from closing.

The back of the Blackbird. The standouts here are the EVGA Z370 Classified K’s beautiful rear IO with all those blue USB 3.0 ports and double LAN ports as well as the Seasonic Prime Snow Silent creating a white/black theme all on its own.

Finally getting around to cable management on the back of the case. Pretty close to the way Voodoo/HP did it back in the day. With no channels to run the cables, you need to position them to be as flat as possible, so the rear side panel can close.

Here’s a closeup of the backplane where you can see the SATA data cables coming out as well as the lighting controls. You can switch off any or all of the LEDs on this cleverly designed circuit board. The red and black wire you see at the bottom going under the backplane is for the case speaker which is installed under the hard drive bays.

We closed the rear side panel. Here you can also see the giant cast iron foot with the optional wings installed on the left and right.

Getting ready to button up the primary side panel now that the GPU cables have been swapped out.

Here it is closed. You can see the reflection of everything above the small door in the plastic chamber separation panel directly above the GPU.

There’s still some Voodoo DNA left. The tool you see above can be used to unscrew motherboard screws, etc. there are also four additional motherboard standoffs and hex screws as the Blackbird can fit E-ATX boards.

Here’s the front IO panel that pops-up. It’s got a memory card reader with support for almost every type imaginable, two USB 2.0 ports, headphone, microphone and yes that’s a FireWire port that’s been out of service for ages now!

Getting ready to close her up.

Back to the beginning, you almost wish that tempered glass side panels had been around in 2007! Perhaps a mod for another day.

Complete Build Gallery

RGB Gallery

Conclusion

It was extremely fun to build in the HP Blackbird 002 again! This time we went all out and upgraded all components and brought a five year old build up to date in every possible aspect. The HP Blackbird remains a truly special case that was in many ways ahead of its time. If you happen to own or are considering purchasing one of these super rare computer cases, we hope this guide serves as an example of the type of high-end build that is possible.

All the components used are highly recommended, we have used many of them across several build guides, tested them extensively and have yet to be let down. The few parts that have not been reviewed will receive reviews over the next week or so. Check our Twitter often to be alerted as soon as new builds and reviews are up!

Feel free to email us with any questions.

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