Eurocom promises full upgradability with their Sky Z7 R2 Laptop
Eurocom promises full upgradability with their Sky Z7 R2 Laptop
One of the problems with high-end gaming laptops is their lack of upgradability, a factor that limits their potential lifespan from the outset. Eurocom has seen this problem, and holes to address it with their new Sky 7 R2 laptop, which promises to be “Fully Upgradable” with regards to its “CPU, GPU, Memory, Storage, LCD, and more.”
To offer full upgradability, Eurocom’s new Sky Z7 R2 gaming laptop uses Intel’s Z590 chipset and supports desktop-grade 10th Gen and 11th Gen Core processors, MXM 3.1 graphics cards with socket 2 technology and beastly amounts of RAM and SSD storage. Eurocom can kit this PC out with up to 32TB of NVMe storage and 128GB of DDR4-3200 memory.Â
The catch is that Eurocom’s upgrade options must be purchased from Eurocom and that the system appears p be stuck with Intel’s Z590 chipset, limiting the laptop’s upgrade options. Eurocom did not advertise motherboard upgrade options or any Radeon GPU options. That said, Eurocom can release new modules for their Sky Z7 R2 gaming laptop, enabling future upgrade options.Â
At a weight of 3.8 kg, Eurocom’s upgradeable gaming laptop is far from lightweight, but that is to be expected for a system where parts are easily removed and replaced. This laptop is designed for heavy use cases and delivers desktop-grade CPU performance; as such, this system cannot be the think and light offering that many crave.Â
Below is Eurocom’s press release, which covers more details about their upgradable Sky Z7 R2 gaming laptop.Â
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The EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 has unmatched levels of upgradeability through the Mobile Supercomputer’s modular slots, allowing the safe removal and replacement of important hardware components such as the laptop’s CPU, GPU, Memory, Storage, LCD, and more. Having slots or sockets allows the Sky Z7 R2 to customized, upgraded and modified with compatible parts- giving this Eurocom Mobile Supercomputer the ability to run the most demanding applications and perform high level tasks for a very long time. As newer and improved technologies emerge within the same chipset, the EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2’s hardware components such as the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, LCD, to name a few, can all be upgraded and replaced relatively easy in order to acquire more power as desired. Having modular components greatly increases the laptop’s lifespan for many years and prevents the cycle of having to buy new laptops every few years, which can be the case with most laptops that have non-upgradeable components.
Eurocom’s Sky Z7 R2 is one of the few laptops that utilizes modular GPU technology based on the MXM 3.1 version 2.0 socket technology. This means the Mobile Supercomputer’s high performance GPU can be replaced at any time as long as it is compatible in the chipset, allowing the EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 to perform at an extremely high level throughout the duration of its long lifespan. This Mobile Supercomputer can be configured up to the GeForce RTX 3080 which delivers twice the performance as its previous generation counterpart (GeForce RTX 2080). The EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 offers seamless and stutter-free 4K gaming at 60 FPS, as well as 8K video editing, rendering and gaming. Â
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Intel Z590 Chipset & Upgradeable 11th Generation Intel CPUs
The EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 uses the Intel Z590 Chipset, with support for Intel’s latest 11th generation CPUs such as the Intel i9 11900K. The Intel Z590 Chipset also boasts considerable upgrades from previous chipsets such as more bandwidth, faster networking and connectivity, more ports (such as Thunderbolt 4) and most importantly- native PCIe 4.0 Gen4 support.
PCIe 4.0 Gen4 x4 Technology
The EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 will have native support for PCIe 4.0 when using 11th Generation Intel (Rocket Lake) CPUs via one of its M.2 2280 SSD slots. PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 x4 technology is twice as fast as PCIe 3.0 and double the bandwidth. More specifically, PCIe 4.0 offers up to16 GT/s data transfer rate compared to PCIe 3.0’s 8.0 GT/s data transfer rate. With this, the Sky Z7 R2 can utilize the fastest NVMe drives available today (such as the Samsung 980 Pro Gen 4.0 x4), which delivers read speeds up to 7000 MB/s, making it 2 times faster than PCIe 3.0 SSD’s and 12.7 times faster than SATA SSDs.
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Upgradeable up to 128 GB RAM and 32 TB NVMe Storage
Offering more modular and upgradeable components, EUROCOM Z7 R2’s Memory/RAM is also easily upgradeable, offering up to 128 GB of modular DDR4 memory. This laptop’s upgradeability does not stop there, with the Sky Z7 R2’s three individual M.2 slots that support up to a whopping 32 terabytes of the fastest NVMe storage available today (PCIe 4.0 is supported). To add to the laptop’s already impressive specs, the EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 features high-speed Thunderbolt 4 technology along with a multitude of I/O ports, unmatched security, as well as award-winning network detection and prioritization via Killer E3000, with speeds up to 2.5 Gbps.
Chipset: Intel Z590 Express
GPU Technology:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 | 6 GB GDDR6 | 115 W TGP (15 W w/ Dynamic Boost)|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | 8 GB GDDR6 | 125 W TGP (15 W w/ Dynamic Boost)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 |16 GB GDDR6 | 150 W TGP (15 W w/ Dynamic Boost)
Processor: socketed, desktop LGA1200 CPU, up to Intel i9-11900K (8C/16T)
Memory: up to 128 GB; DDR4-3200; 4x 260- pin, 1.2 V, SODIMM sockets
Storage: Up to 32 TB of hyper-speed NVMe SSD storage with 4 physical drives; 4x M.2 2280 SSD NVMe (1x PCIe Gen4x4 3x PCIe Gen 3 x4)
Ports: 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen2 Type C; 2x Thunderbolt 4; 3x USB 3.2 Type A; 2x miniDP 1.4; 2x DC-in; 1x HDMI 2.0 output (with HDCP); 1x 2-in-1 Audio jack (Headphone/Microphone); 1x 2-in-1 Audio jack (Microphone/SPDIF Optical); 1x RJ-45 LAN
Display Technology: 17.3″ FHD 1080p (1920×1080) 300Hz; UHD 4K (3840×2160) 60Hz; eDP with Optional G-Sync to support 4 total monitors (including the laptop display).
Communications: 2.5 GB LAN RJ-45 port Killer E3000; supports Killer DoubleShot Pro (w/ Killer WLAN)
Card Reader: 1x microSD Card Reader
Keyboard: RGB Keyboard with individual key illumination; N-Key Rollover & Anti-Ghosting; Microsoft Precision Touchpad with multi-gesture two buttons
Loaded with Security: TPM 2.0; Fingerprint scanner; Kensington lock
Audio System: S/PDIF Output (Optical); Creative Super X-Fi Ultra DSP chip; Creative Sound Blaster Atlas; ESS SABRE HiFi DAC for high resolution headphone output
AC Adapter: 2x 280 W; 100-240 V, 50-60Hz Auto-Switching (Worldwide)
Battery: 8 Cells Smart Li-Ion; 97Wh
Weight and Dimensions: Weight- 3.8 kg/8.36 lbs; Thickness- 1.76″/44 mm; WxDxH- 399 mm x 319 mm x 44 mm/15.96″ x 12.76″ x 1.76″
You can join the discussion on Eurocom’s upgradeable laptop plans on the OC3D Forums.Â