Eurocom Crams Core i7 Into a Notebook
Computer company, Eurocom today proudly displayed the specs for the upcoming D900F PHANTOM i7 and a name like that, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what the fuss is about: a laptop with Intel’s Core i7.
CeBit is just around the corner and considering the weather is getting colder and snowier, we’re hoping the show in German will give us something hot to keep us warm. However, while a Core i7 notebook sounds great, there are a couple of things to consider before we get all hot under the collar.
It’s no secret that the Core i7 isn't built for laptops -- not yet, at least. Intel has said it will be scaling down its Nehalem architecture to suit laptops in 2H 2009 so why cram the monster processor into a notebook? ‘Cause they can.
The Eurocom D900F Phantom i7 mobile workstation is a high-end 17-inch notebook based on Intel's desktop-class Intel Core i7 processor and X58 chipset. The notebook also features an Nvidia G280 GPU.
We won’t mince words, this thing is a monster. The Core i7 and 8 MB of L2 aside, the D900F packs 8 GB of DDR3, up to 1.5 TB of storage, 4 USB ports and a 12-cell battery. Unfortunately the spec sheet doesn’t list how long you can expect that 12-cell battery to last when you’re running this thing but we’re going to go out on a limb and assume you won’t want to be away from a power outlet for very long, which is great because the thing weighs the same as a very large baby. That’s right, be prepared to lug around 11.9 lbs of bulk. If nothing else, at least this will be the most compact Core i7 box on the market.
Check out the fill specs below. No word on pricing yet but we’ll likely know more as the May release date nears. In the meantime, any takers for this behemoth?

Yeah, this has little to do with Eurocom, since they just re-brand. This is a Clevo D900F... and I'd expect it to be branded by many companies, including Sager.
Clevo's done this before, too. So, its nothing too unusual. Look at the Clevo d901c, aka Sager 9262. Clevo already has experience cramming desktop CPUs into large 17" laptops.
IIRC, the Q6600, was 105W, and the i7s are like 130W... so, I'm pretty amazed they got it working in a laptop this quickly. I can't remember the previous laptop model having a higher power CPU than the Q6600, and they now just use 95W Q9650 CPUs...
I could see this being somewhat useful if you go to quite a few LAN parties, rather than dragging a big box, you could slide this into bag and carry it. But I don't see it being that useful as an actual laptop.
Sager is completely a reseller, not a designer, AFAIK, mainly for the US market. They are the most ubiquitous re-brand of Clevo's shells that end up in about a dozen or so "no-name" reseller's hands, like PcTorque, etc, who market for Sager exclusively. Other boutique builders use the Clevo shells extensively too, but don't have a Sager or Clevo logo. They tend to do more extensive customizations, however to add their flavor to it, so that's their prerogative (falcon NW/hypersonic/voodoo/alienware/etc come to mind).
Apparently it's a space saver, during those intense gaming sessions, it doubles as a skillet.
In all seriousness. From the specs, it seems like it would be something you wouldn't want sitting on your lap, so you may as well add a few more inches on to act as an air buffer for a frame.
I've noticed that Eurocom writes out the specs of their future products based on what they WOULD support, not what is currently available (e.g. supporting 8GB of some fast ram long before 4-GB SODIMMS were available in ANY speed).
This overstatement here is marketing only. No mobile graphics part exists with ddr5 yet (Nvidia or otherwise, as far as I know) - but if it did, and, say, when it does, it will supposedly work fine. **Note this was not ALWAYS true - in the days when the MxM slot was introduced (around 2005) as the FIRST upgradeable notebook graphics slot, many MxM-enabled Clevo machines could NOT handle the power requirements of the next-level graphics solution (Geforce Go 7800-8800 comes to mind) without a costly aftermarket motherboard upgrade. So they had to eat their words. Hopefully with the current PCIexpress standard, things are much improved, so that those days are behind us, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
AMEN! I've always loved these Clevo machines for this - they have been the only one who caters consistently to the "throw portability out the window for power" crowd for all these years. The cost is usually a bit prohibitive, though - you could almost get two similarly powered (though headless, I admit) desktops to put here and at work for the price of a maxed-out Clevo rig. But I still do love these "monster trucks" of notebooks they make.
i'm used to carrying around 2 notebooks at once so if i have one that can run everything i need that would be a little more practical.
and before someone reacts to this
i program plc's for a living and 1 notebook is for programming (but it can't run anything else while the prog runs or it crashes (don't ask me why)
and the other one is with all the documentation and process monitoring
so i can see what im modifieing in the programmation while i'm at it
Yes, it's big as a whale, weighs a ton, and probably generates a lot of heat. This is not a machine you would ever want to use on an airplane or a bus. These monster-truck machines are not meant for everyone, or even for all that many people. They are for people who need huge amounts of raw power, need to be able to use it in more than one place, and who don't care about mobility. Gaming, and heavy number crunching. Think of it as a high-powered desktop machine that will fit in a backpack. (a large backpack, mind you)
Currently, I have a quad-core Clevo D901c, and I'm really very happy with it. It is admittedly huge, heavy, and the battery lasts around an hour, but who cares? I only ever use it while sitting at a desk. I do stuff that eats processor power like popcorn, and this machine handles heavy number-crunching beautifully. I also really need to be have access to the same machine whether I'm at home or at the office. (and, *cough*, I understand that you can play games on it, too - I'm sure someone told me that.)