The Eurocom Sky X7C (Clevo P775TM1-G) Gaming Laptop Review: True Desktop Replacement
by Brett Howse on August 5, 2019 8:00 AM EST
If you are thinking about a gaming laptop, but are tired of the compromises that come with normal “laptop” parts, then a Desktop Replacement laptop might be a better fit for you. Eurocom’s Sky X7C, based on the Clevo P775TM1-G chassis, offers more performance than most desktops, but still lets you carry it with you. As is typical of the boutique PC makers, there’s plenty of customization available to slot into your budget, and plenty of performance on tap as well, with insane specifications for a mobile computer.
Starting with the processor, and as we’ve seen in previous Clevo DTR based devices, the entire idea of a laptop class CPU is thrown out the window. Rather than have a soldered-in TDP-limited processor, the Eurocom Sky X7C features socketed desktop class Intel CPUs, from the Core i5-8400 all the way up to what’s powering our review unit: the Core i9-9900K. And, if you really love performance and overclocking, Eurocom will delid your processor and apply one of several thermal compounds, depending on what you prefer.
On the GPU side, Eurocom uses MXM3 cards with a variety of choices. Those on a budget can opt for the NVIDIA GTX 1060, and the GTX 1070 and 1080 are available as well. RTX enthusiasts can choose among the RTX 2060, 2070, or 2080, and if you’d prefer a workstation class card, there are also Pascal based versions of Quadro available to choose up to the P5000.
The 17.3-inch display also features plenty of choices, from a 1920x1080 panel with a 60 Hz IPS, 120 Hz TN, or the excellent 144 Hz IPS with G-Sync. If you’d like a bit higher resolution, Eurocom also offers the 2560x1440 TN 120 Hz display, which is what we have in our review unit, or you can opt for a 3840x2160 60 Hz IPS choice as well.
As a DTR, there are an almost infinite number of choices for storage and RAM, with Eurocom offering up to 64 GB of RAM, with various timings depending on your preferences and budget, and an insane amount of storage, with two NVMe drives up to 2 TB each if you opt for the Samsung 970 EVO, and two more 2.5-inch drive slots which can be outfitted with a mind-boggling 8 TB SSD each, meaning this notebook can be outfitted with a total of 4 TB of NVMe storage plus an additional 16 TB of SATA SSD storage.
| Eurocom Sky X7C / Clevo P775TM1-G | |
| As Tested: i9-9900K, 32GB (2x16) DDR4-3000 RTX 2080, 2x500GB NVMe, 120Hz QHD, $4205 USD |
|
| CPU | Intel Core i5-9500K, 6C/6T, 3.7-4.6 GHz, 9MB Cache, 95W TDP Intel Core i7-9700K, 8C/8T, 3.6-4.9 GHz, 12MB Cache, 95W TDP Intel Core i9-9900K, 8C/16T, 3.6-5.0 GHz, 16MB Cache, 95W TDP 8th Gen Core available upon request |
| GPU | NVIDIA RTX 2060 6GB, 1920 CUDA Cores 80W TDP NVIDIA RTX 2070 8GB, 2304 CUDA Cores 115W TDP NVIDIA RTX 2080 8GB, 2994 CUDA Cores 150W TDP NVIDIA GTX and Quadro available upon request |
| Memory | 4 SODIMM Slots, 64 GB Max, up to 3000 MHz |
| Display Choices | 17.3" 1920x1080 IPS 60Hz 1920x1080 TN 120Hz 1920x1080 IPS 144Hz 2560x1440 TN 120Hz 3840x2160 IPS 60 Hz All displays matte, G-SYNC Optional on some panels |
| Storage | 2 x 9.5mm 2.5” SATA 2 x m.2 Slot (SATA or 4xPCIE) |
| I/O | 1 x USB-C Thunderbolt 3 2 x mini DP 1.3 1 x HDMI 2.0 3 x USB 3.0 1 x USB 3.0 Powered SPDIF Headphone Microphone Audio Input |
| Dimensions | 418 x 295 x 39.9 mm 16.72 x 11.81 x 1.6 inches |
| Weight | 3.9 kg / 8.58 lb |
| Battery | 80 Wh, 330W / 780W AC Adapter |
| Wireless | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC9260 2x2:2 with Bluetooth 4.1 Killer Wireless-AC 1535 2x2:2 with Bluetooth 4.1 Killer Gigabit Ethernet |
| Price | $2200 - $5000+ |
The choices continue with wireless offerings from both Intel with the Wireless-AC 9260, or Killer with the 9260 based Killer Wireless-AC 1535. If you’d prefer a wired connection, the Killer E2500 Gigabit Ethernet adapter comes standard, and if you want to connect anything else, there’s Thunderbolt 3 via a USB Type-C connector, an additional USB Type-C with power delivery, four additional USB Type-A ports, two DisplayPort outputs, and an HDMI 2.0 output.
Did I even mention yet you can choose either a 330-Watt AC Adapter, or the bonkers 780-Watt model? The latter enormous power adapter is actually a small form factor desktop PSU, complete with an integrated backlit LCD to let you know all of the statistics, including voltage and current power output.
We’ve tested Clevo devices before, but Eurocom’s rebadged Sky X7C offers perhaps the most customization I have ever seen in a gaming laptop. And although you can certainly spec out the X7C into insane levels of cost, in a normal configuration it can still come in at hundreds of dollars less expensive than one of the bigger gaming brands. Let’s see how it holds up against the competition.
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DanNeely - Monday, August 5, 2019 - link
It's good to see that 1440p laptop screens aren't dead yet (4k is overkill for high DPI uses) even if this model gives a rather poor showing.anactoraaron - Monday, August 5, 2019 - link
$4,000 machine with literally the cheapest display they could find. Just embarrassing.airdrifting - Monday, August 5, 2019 - link
While it might be equipped with a desktop 9900K, it will never run the same speed and temperature as desktop counter parts. 9900K is notorious to overheat and I have seen it easily hit high 90C during Realbench with many motherboards WITHOUT overclocking using out of the box default settings (AIO liquid cooling), good luck getting it to run inside a tiny laptop. I have to manually lower voltage on most motherboards just to keep 9900K under 80C full load since most motherboards set like a ridiculous 1.2-1.3V voltage by default.MrRuckus - Monday, August 5, 2019 - link
If you read the article you would see they did exactly that. Loaded down the proc and were hitting 87c under load. Maintaining 4100-4200Mhz is very commendable in a laptop form factor. There could be more performance to be had by undervolting the Proc. As you say you do it on a desktop, it goes double for a laptop and can do wonders for throttling if there is any present. 80-90c is par for the course on Laptops that are desktop replacements.airdrifting - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
"Maintaining 4100-4200Mhz is very commendable in a laptop form factor." 9900K on desktop Z390 motherboards is able to maintain 4.7GHz all core turbo. Now go back to read what I said in the very first sentence: "While it might be equipped with a desktop 9900K, it will never run the same speed and temperature as desktop counter parts." 4.1GHz < 4.7GHz, point proven.eastcoast_pete - Monday, August 5, 2019 - link
Thanks Brett! I have a soft spot for these DTRs (I like the even older name for them: luggables). I wonder if Clevo&Co. could come up with a true hybrid design: portable notebook format with socketed CPU, and the main second GPU in a docking station with integrated large PSU, connected via a PCIE3-16 (or PCIE4) snap-in connector, all in a case with a handle. That would give the graphics more thermal headroom, and avoid the potential bottleneck of running the dGPU over TB3. And, with an optional smaller, maybe GTX dGPU card on board, the laptop itself would still be quite capable.MrRuckus - Monday, August 5, 2019 - link
I think TB3 is going to be your best bet. I dont think external PCIe is going to be a thing due to length limitations and a needed external connector of some kind. The ribbon connectors aren't exactly made for unplugging and plugging in 100's of times. They have people who have done it, but the implementation is pretty wonky and you gotta have access to a Wifi card slot to do it. If I remember right they are also limited to PCIex1 so the difference between that and thunderbolt, thunderbolt can actually be faster. Just better off getting a laptop with a true thunderbolt 3.0 slot that can push 40gbps = PCIex4. Maybe Thunderbolt 4 will offer a true pound for pound replacement and get the throughput closer to 100% instead of the 70-80% now on external GPUs.imaheadcase - Monday, August 5, 2019 - link
Um no laptop is a gaming desktop replacement.You literally showed it wasn't by the specs. THe price is insanely expensive, and the screen is laughable.
bennyg - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
It's not cheap. The particular panel has just been plagued with issues since it was first put in these 17" models in 2015/2016. The original B173QTN01.0 had horrible banding on alternating rows of pixels and the individual panels are quite variable. This would be a 1.2 or 1.4 revision I'm guessing. A colour calibration is necessary for this panel in particular. But its the only >1080p 120Hz out there.I have a P870DM3 with the same 17" 4K IPS panel that's an option for this P775, being 400nit 95% gamut and good colour accuracy it's the content creation and general beautifulness option, but it's transition of >20ms is not great for fast games.
bennyg - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
No idea how my reply got here, it was to the guy bagging the "cheap" panel on about page 4 of the comments.Same old stuff going on in the comment section at AT....