Eurocom fires up PCI Express notebook

Nepean (ON) - Canadian notebook manufacturer Eurocom announced the D900T mobile workstation which includes Nvidia’s upcoming PCI Express-based mobile graphics chip, two SATA harddrives in RAID configuration and a 3.6 GHz Pentium 4 processor.

Road warriors who expect from their notebook primarily the performance of a high-end desktop PC will get another option with upcoming mobile computers integrating PCI Express graphics. Originally announced on September, Eurocom today said that it will launch the Phantom D900T on November 4 with Nvidia’s mobile PCI Express GPU, which will be called GeForce 6800 Go, according to the first announcement . The graphic chip will integrate 256 MByte DDR2 memory.

Weighing a whopping 12.1 pounds, the device can be equipped with virtually any technology available for high-end computers today. At the core of the Phantom notebook is a 90nm 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 chip, which can be upgraded to up to 3.6 GHz.

Based on Intel’s 915P Grantsdale chipset, the notebook can house up to two 80 GByte SATA harddrives in RAID 0 or 1 configuration, according to the order form . Additional features include a built-in web cam 512 MByte DDR2-533 memory (upgradeable to 2 GByte), a 7-in-1 card reader, a DVD burner (upgradeable to 8x dual-layer), a 1Gbit Ethernet card as well as a 17" WSXGA+ screen with 1680x1050 pixel resolution (upgradeable to WUXGA, 1920 x 1200 pixel).

Eurocom offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an internal TV tuner as options. Prices for the Phantom 900T start at $2500 but easily can top $6000 with choosing high-end upgrades. According to spokeswoman Iwona Osmolska, the notebook will be shipping in "two to three weeks".