The D901C Phantom-X server laptop

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 13th May 2008
Comments (12) Stumble
The D901C Phantom-X has specifications to put most SOHO servers to shame, but it's a trifle weighty on the shoulder and on the wallet.

The D901C Phantom-X has specifications to put most SOHO servers to shame, but it's a trifle weighty on the shoulder and on the wallet.

So, you're after something with a little more grunt than an Eee PC – and you've got the shoulders of Arnie to back up your requirements? Right this way, sir: Engadget has posted details of the latest laptop to come out of the factories of Eurocom, and it's no ultraportable.

Tipping the scales at a back-breaking 5.44kg, the D901C Phantom-X comes with a 17” 1920x1200 widescreen display, a 2 megapixel webcam, built-in 2x Blu-Ray burner, twin nVidia GeForce Go 8800M GTX 512MB graphics cards in an SLI configuration, up to 8GB of RAM (although the configurator on the site only allowed me to pick 4GB), three 320GB SATA drives in a RAID 5 setup, and 802.11n networking courtesy of an Intel mini PCIe card.

As if that wasn't enough, the unit comes equipped with an Intel Xeon Quad Core X3360 2.83GHz CPU with 12MB of level 2 cache. That's a server chip, in a laptop. Why? Well, because they can. I guess.

If you're worried about what sort of battery life you can expect from a laptop which puts most people's workstations to shame, then you're spot on: the twelve cell Lithium Ion battery, which would power a 'normal' laptop for a good four hours, provides barely an hour for this beast. But, let's face it – this isn't something you're going to be carrying down to the coffee shop to do a little light browsing on, is it?

The laptop configured as per this article, and excluding any operating system, will set you back a not inconsiderable £3,569. Which is quite a lot of Eee PCs, although having a laptop capable of playing Crysis – hell, capable of running a small datacentre single-handedly, would be worth a lot of geek points.

What's your opinion – an overpriced desktop replacement, or is there really a market for ultra-powerful laptops that can just about be lugged between your car and your house? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Quote DougEdey 13th May 2008, 08:31
This is a way to get your company noticed across the world.

PS: It's Eurocom with one "m"
Quote eddtox 13th May 2008, 08:41
Hmmmm.. not too sure about this.. I mean.. i like all the power, but the weight and battery life suck. They might as well provide a winding handle to recharge the batteries - seeing as they only last about an hour. I also don't really get the point of "desktop-replacement laptops". The reason desktops are so good is because they are incredibly easy to upgrade and you can get whatever peripherals you want (especially input devices and screens), whereas laptops are supposed to be portable. As a laptop it fails miserably (in my eyes at least). However, as a tech demo it's very impressive. I mean it's hard enough to cool that kit in a PC let alone in a laptop.
Quote ch424 13th May 2008, 09:01
I don't understand why they still cling to the "laptop" idea in things like this. Why not make it like Dell's XPS m2010?
Quote p3n 13th May 2008, 09:34
So thats where rock went wrong!
Quote r4tch3t 13th May 2008, 10:14
I think everyone is missing the target audience. It looks like a mobile server in laptop clothing, not a laptop in the traditional sense. Like if they needed a server on a job site, but it's not financially viable to truck a normal server out. Or if the server needs to be moved often.
Quote mclean007 13th May 2008, 10:19
Quote:
Originally Posted by r4tch3t
I think everyone is missing the target audience. It looks like a mobile server in laptop clothing, not a laptop in the traditional sense. Like if they needed a server on a job site, but it's not financially viable to truck a normal server out. Or if the server needs to be moved often.
Maybe, but what kind of server needs twin 8800M GTX graphics?
Quote johnnyboy700 13th May 2008, 10:36
The kind you can take home and play modern games on!

Sheesh this is taking willy waving over how good your laptop is to the extreme. You could probably leave this plugged in and switch off your central heating in the winter.
Quote Dr. Strangelove 13th May 2008, 14:31
I can to a degree understand where this type of laptop(desktop-replacements) is useful. But I really cannot understand why they even bother putting a battery in them. Surely they could use that space for better things or just to make them a bit lighter...
Quote amacieli 13th May 2008, 15:26
I'm starting a petition to have the word "Crysis" expunged from our vocabularies.
Quote HourBeforeDawn 13th May 2008, 20:44
ya I dont think this should be called a server or a laptop just a simple "Desktop Replacement" for gamers
Quote LordPyrinc 14th May 2008, 00:30
This is why I use the desktop pc for my graphic intensive games and reserve the laptops for more casual/older games when on travel. Spending that kind of dough on a laptop is a bit insane. Especially when the technology and speed of hardware continues to grow at a fairly quick rate.
Quote Cthippo 14th May 2008, 19:00
Aside from the price, this would be prefect for gaming at work.


Here's the advantage to desktop replacements. I work 24 hour shifts and it would be nice to have something to game on at work on the slow days. For this, I would need something that is reasonably easy to move, fairly powerful, and as large as possible, but doesn't really need a battery. It's going to go to work with me, sit on the table next to an outlet, and then go home with me in the morning. Obviously a real desktop would not be suitable, but a truly portable isn't whats needed either.
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