Eurocom Monster 1.0: Gaming with Quad-Core IVB and Kepler at 11.6”
by Jarred Walton on April 27, 2012 6:46 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Intel
- Sandy Bridge
- Eurocom
- Ivy Bridge
- Kepler
- 600M
- NVIDIA
Eurocom is a company that we’ve seen a few times over the years. Mostly, their focus is on the high-end mobile workstation market, though they also sell plenty of consumer-oriented laptops and notebooks. What we haven’t seen from them before is a high performance gaming-worthy system stuffed into a small chassis; they’ve had some business-class ultraportables and tablets, and they’ve had 15” and larger gaming notebooks, but there’s nothing in their past ten years even remotely similar to the Monster 1.0. In fact, the only other laptop we’ve ever seen that targeted this category is Alienware’s M11x, a small gaming laptop sporting ULV CPUs with moderate GPUs.
The Monster 1.0 (which uses a Clevo w110er chassis) isn’t just about stuffing the latest and greatest parts into a small form factor. Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processor is socket compatible with Sandy Bridge chips, and since there are no dual-core IVB offerings right now Eurocom offers the Monster with either dual-core SNB or quad-core IVB—though you’ll have to wait a bit longer for the quad-core IVB option it seems. Since it uses the updated HM76 chipset, you also get native USB 3.0 ports. Let’s run through the supported components and options just to give you a taste of what Eurocom has to offer.
| Eurocom Monster 1.0 Configuration Options | |
| Processor |
Core i7-3720QM (4x2.6-3.6GHz, 6MB L3, 22nm, 45W) Core i7-3610QM (4x2.3-3.3GHz, 6MB L3, 22nm, 45W) Core i7-2620M (2x2.7-3.4GHz, 4MB L3, 32nm, 35W) Core i5-2540M (2x2.6-3.3GHz, 3MB L3, 32nm, 35W) Core i5-2520M (2x2.5-3.2GHz, 3MB L3, 32nm, 35W) Core i5-2410M (2x2.3-2.9GHz, 3MB L3, 32nm, 35W) |
| Chipset | Intel HM76 |
| Memory |
Up to 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 (Two SO-DIMM slots, DDR3-1333 or DDR3-1600) |
| Graphics |
Intel HD 4000 (16 EUs, DX11) on Ivy Bridge Intel HD 3000 (12 EUs, DX10) on Sandy Bridge NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 2GB DDR3 Optimus (384 CUDA cores, 850/1800MHz Core/Shader/RAM) |
| Display |
11.6" Glossy 16:9 768p (1366x768) or 11.6" Matte 16:9 768p (1366x768) (AUO B116XW02) |
| Storage |
120GB-600GB SSD (Intel or Micron) 500GB-750GB 7200RPM HDD 1TB 5400RPM HDD |
| Optical Drive | N/A |
| Networking |
Gigabit Ethernet 802.11n WiFi (Intel or Bigfoot Killer) Bluetooth (Optional, depending on WLAN) |
| Audio |
Stereo speakers Headphone and microphone jacks |
| Battery | 6-cell, 62Wh |
| Front Side | Memory Card Reader |
| Left Side |
2 x USB 3.0 Headphone jack Microphone jack HDMI 1.4a Exhaust vent VGA Gigabit Ethernet |
| Right Side |
Kensington Lock 1 x USB 2.0 AC Power Connection |
| Back Side | N/A |
| Operating System |
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit |
| Dimensions |
11.48" x 8.28" x 0.51-1.48" (WxDxH) (287mm x 207mm x 12.7-37.1mm) |
| Weight | 3.96 lbs (1.8kg) |
| Extras |
1.3MP Webcam 83-Key Keyboard Flash Reader (MMC/SD/MS Pro) 90W Power Adapter |
| Pricing |
Starting at $817 with i5-2410M (500GB HDD, 4GB RAM, and 1-year warranty) $2203 for High-End i7-2620M (240GB SSD, 8GB RAM, and 3-year warranty) |
Okay, seriously, that is a metric ton of performance stuffed into a relatively small chassis. We’re obviously not looking at something in the ultrabook category, and the 0.51” thickness at the front is misleading as it looks more like a 1.1” height (the front narrows to a small wedge over the last inch or so of the palm rest), but for a <4 lbs. laptop with up to quad-core 45W CPUs I’m not going to complain.
On the CPU front, even dual-core Sandy Bridge is plenty fast for most users, and what’s more Eurocom uses full voltage CPUs. That means even the minimum i5-2410M ought to give Alienware’s M11x a run for the money. (Granted, we haven’t seen any news on the M11x since the R3 version, and while we can still find it on Dell’s site, it’s a bit odd that it doesn’t show up at Alienware’s laptop page.) Looking at the heart of any gaming system, it’s the GPU that’ll really determine what will run well and how high you can crank the settings. With the Monster, NVIDIA’s Kepler GK107 chips look ready for mainstream gaming at the very least.
Pricing isn’t bad either for what we could see; the base model should perform reasonably well, especially if all you want is a petty gaming laptop; the only real upgrade we’d make for sure is on the RAM. We’d also look into the LCD upgrade, but $136 extra for what may or may not be a substantially better panel is a tough pill to swallow. If you need more CPU performance, you’ll have to wait for the Ivy Bridge options to show up, and we’d guess the i7-3720QM will be at least a $300 upgrade, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Given everything listed above, the Monster 1.0 should certainly live up to its name. We’ve requested a review unit and hopefully we can report on the overall experience in the near future. Eurocom did release some preliminary benchmarks, and it looks like the GT 650M DDR3 with a full voltage CPU should improve on the early GT 640M we tested in the Acer TimelineU ultrabook by 30-50%. Eurocom also quotes battery life of up to 410 minutes (though they don’t say what sort of test they used), which should be sufficient for non-gaming use. In the meantime, fans of gaming ultraportables have something new to look forward to.
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Meaker10 - Friday, April 27, 2012 - link
The M11X has been officially discontinued by Dell.JarredWalton - Saturday, April 28, 2012 - link
Unless they change their mind. Honestly, having played with an M11x, I'd actually prefer something larger for a gaming laptop -- not heavier, but the M11x always wasted a lot of bezel space to be "11.6 inch" when in reality it was nearly the same size chassis as a 13.3" laptop.TrackSmart - Sunday, April 29, 2012 - link
Agreed! I always thought it was idiotic to put an 11" screen on such a large chassis. The M11x weighed as much as a 13" MacBook Pro and it's footprint was pretty similar (though the Macbook is longer and the M11x is deeper from front-to-back. Everyone would have been better off if the M11x just came with a 13" screen and was called the M13x instead.Mathieu Bourgie - Friday, April 27, 2012 - link
It's perfect for me, except for the 1366x768 resolution...If ASUS can offer 1920 x 1080 in their future Zenbook, why can't Eurocom at least offers it as an upgrade option?
I understand that it would hurt gaming performance, but still...
cjb110 - Saturday, April 28, 2012 - link
Not sure if I'd want 1920x1080, for far to many years we had the opposite problem with gaming laptops, high res screens without the power to drive them at decent settings.But a 1440x900 would have been a nice middle ground.
More height to make general computing easier, tbh I can only think of two activities where widescreens are good, movies and games...for everything else you need height not width. Which is the biggest issue with 720p screens, they are no use for most of the tasks!
kyuu - Friday, April 27, 2012 - link
This is an ELEVEN INCH screen. 768p is a fine resolution for that size. Of course, I'm sure the display is crappy in all the usual ways that cheap 768 panels are, but the resolution really is not an issue at that display size, guys.tim851 - Friday, April 27, 2012 - link
It's a meme. Getting to be the first to whine about a laptop's resolution is like being the first to make a sazzy comment about negative votes on youtube videos - it's nerd heaven.The next thing is going to be 48p. Ever since it was announced that The Hobbit is filmed at 48p, nerds are outdoing each other with claims of how much they've been suffering from stuttering 24p movies since ... well, forever.
SlyNine - Saturday, April 28, 2012 - link
24P is pretty crappy, I didn't know a movie filmed at 48P. Bet the flicker will be more pronounced tho.What kills me is your over emotional whine state in which you whine about other peoples whining. Without providing useful feedback on the subject.
MrSpadge - Saturday, April 28, 2012 - link
768p at 11.6" is really fine enough.. actually borderline uncomfortable already if you don't have 100% vision. Maybe the support for larger fonts will work good enough in win 8?Roland00Address - Friday, April 27, 2012 - link
1366x768 on a 11.6 is 135 pixels per inch1920x1080 on a 15.6 is 141 pixels per inch
1920x1080 on a 17.0 is 130 pixels per inch
1920x1080 on a 23.0 is 96 pixels per inch
2560x1440 on a 27.0 ix 109 pixels per inch.
Trust me 1366x768 on a 11.6 inch is perfectly fine. I use that same resolution on my current acer netbook (uses intels ULV i3 processor.) The problem with my acer screen is not the ppi (which is great) but instead the horrible viewing angles and the glossy screen!!!