Riding the fine line between
desktop and laptop
Eurocom D900T Phantom
The product: While it's commonplace to be able to swap out components on desktops, notebook users in general don't enjoy the same flexibility. That's slowly been changing, however, with the exception of one key component: the graphics module. Eurocom's D900T Phantom solves that, allowing users to eventually upgrade one of the three 256MB x16 PCI Express graphics card modules Eurocom offers. And its powerful and configurable components don't stop there:

• Dual optical drives, including a double-layer DVD±RW
• 3.6GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor
• Up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM
• RAID 0 or 1 arrays on two physical SATA hard drives
• Optional internal TV tuner

The price: The D900T Phantom is highly configurable through Eurocom's Web site, but the base model, which doesn't include many of its performance options, comes with the steep price of $2,699.

The prospects: While the Eurocom D900T Phantom has plenty to offer out of the box, the ability to upgrade many of its components down the road--including graphics--makes this system something to really consider. The mammoth, 17-inch wide-screen D900T, with its 12.1-pound weight, straddles the line between desktop and notebook; traveling with this mobile workstation is a back-breaking affair. Hopefully, though, this is just the first of a long line of upgradable notebooks, keeping your purchase from becoming obsolete inside of a year or two.

By Joshua Goldman, staff editor, Computer Shopper