We were shocked to learn that despite the skeleton, nay, the flaming skeleton that adorns the case of Dell's XPS 600 Renegade, it wasn't the paint job that caused the custom gaming rig to sell out in less than a week.

An insider tips us that only 31 of the XPS were actually made. To make up for the limited run, the rigs sold (all before they were even produced) for $8,000 to $10,000 each with Dell's Ultrasharp 30-inch displays.

One of the flaming skeletons sits in Michael Dell's house, three went to review sites (can we come over and play Cnet), one is going to be auctioned for charity and another is going to be given away by the company. The rest, we are guessing, live in the bowels of hell where flaming skeletons aren't just cool, they're a way of life.

So, you must be thinking I love the skeleton motief and all, but $10,000? Here's the breakdown. The video cards cost $3,300 each and the CPU is also likely very high end since the 4.25 Ghz overclocked Intel 3.9 Ghz chip isn't even on the market yet. The thing also has the new AGEIA physx engine card, making it the first system to incorporate it.

Some other expenses include the fact that the custom built rig was tested by Dell's R&D engineers and that there's a special call-in number for customer support if you own one of these bad boys.

Oh, also the packaging for the PC cost $180. Yes, I mean the stuff the thing was wrapped in for shipping (it was pure cotton cloth). That rad paintjob? It was $800.

We're told that there were actually four designs submitted to Michael Dell for final approval. The flaming skeleton that touches the teenage nerd in us, an identical one in blue, an acidic green design and a blue ice design. Michael went with the skeleton dealio.

Dell Sells Well [Kotaku]

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