Digital Trends

After leaving traces of drool on HP’s tiny-yet-powerful Firebird on the show floor at CES, we couldn’t wait to get (a clean) one home and put it through all the rigors of real-world gaming. The computer’s hybrid design combines components from both the powerful desktop and compact notebook realms in an attempt to wring both performance and efficiency from a compact desktop you wouldn’t be ashamed to show off. It’s a unique approach that flies in the face of the typical over-the-top gaming rigs that emphasize computational grunt above all else. But can scavenged notebook pieces really compete in a field dominated by shameless watt guzzlers? We set up our freshly acquired Firebird up in the DT labs to find out.