A Canadian PC maker is offering a laptop with a massive 4TB of storage and Intel's fastest six-core processor, a rare combination of such high-end parts for a portable computer.
The Panther 2.0 is designed to be a workstation replacement for running high-end graphics and CAD (computer-aided design) programs, PC maker Eurocom said on its website, where it has started taking preorders for the machine.
The 4TB of storage equals or exceeds that offered with most desktops and even servers. It's housed in four slots, with a separate drive in each. Processor options include Intel's Core i7 Extreme Edition or Xeon 5600 chips, which have up to six processor cores and run at speeds of up to 3.33GHz. Those chips are typically found in high-end desktops or servers.
The machine has a 17.3-inch screen and comes with up to 24GB of memory and a 3.0-megapixel webcam, better than the 1.3- or 2.0-megapixel webcams on most laptops.
It can be configured to offer top graphics performance using multiple Nvidia GTX480M and Advanced Micro Devices ATI Radeon HD5870 graphics cards. It supports AMD's CrossFire X and Nvidia's Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technologies to link graphics cards together.
The laptops are expected to start shipping later this month. A system with Intel's fastest, 3.33GHz Core i7-980X processor, 4TB of storage and 24GB of memory could reach C$9,000 (US$8,634). A base configuration with a 2.8GHz Core i7 processor, 320GB of storage, an ATI Radeon HD5870 graphics card and 6GB of memory is C$2,999. OS options include Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008, and are priced separately.
Eurocom staff weren't immediately available to discuss international availability.