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Eurocom Launches Sky X4C, X7C and X9C Laptops with Core i7-8700K CPUs
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Eurocom Launches Sky X4C, X7C and X9C Laptops with Core i7-8700K CPUs

Eurocom has introduced its new Sky X4C, X7C and X9C desktop replacement notebooks featuring Intel’s latest six-core Coffee Lake processors (up to Core i7-8700K) and upgradeable NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics. Like other Eurocom systems, the machines are manufactured by Clevo, but they will have configurations that are specific to Eurocom. The systems will be available for sale in the coming weeks.

Eurocom’s Sky X-series DTR laptops are traditionally based on Intel’s desktop socketed CPUs. Since the Core i7-8700K (Coffee Lake) processors require Intel’s latest Z370 PCH and require new motherboards, Clevo and Eurocom introduced some additional upgrades to the new machines in addition to the CPU and the PCH. For example, all the machines get support for Intel Optane SSDs, a newer Killer E2500 GbE controller, and faster DDR4-3000 memory support. All of the systems can drive four monitors, feature a Realtek ALC892 audio solution with the Sound Blaster X Pro-Gaming 360° enhancements and the ESS Sabre ES9018K2M HiFi Audio DAC for headphones, integrated speakers with a subwoofer, and are equipped with 7-color backlit keyboards with WASD gaming keys. As with all DTR laptops, we are essentially talking about desktops in clamshell form-factors.

The Eurocom Sky X9C is the most powerful of the systems launched today by the company. It comes with 17.3” display, up to two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070/1080 GPUs in MXM 3.0 form-factor, up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM, up to five storage devices — three M.2 SSDs and two 2.5”/9.5 mm HDDs or SSDs. As for connectivity, the Sky X9C features two Killer E2500 GbE controllers, a 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth module, support Killer Double Shot-X3 Pro technology that combines multiple network controllers for extra performance, has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, five USB 3.0 Type-A connectors, and two mDP 1.3 ports.

The machine weighs 5.5 kilograms and is 47.2 mm thick, making it rather hard to transport around. Keep in mind that the high-end versions of the Sky X9C require Eurocom’s 780 W external PSU, which weighs 1.7 kilograms on its own.

The Sky X7C from Eurocom is another 17.3” machine that is very similar to the X9C, but which supports only one GPU and four storage devices. A good news is that the Sky X9C consumes less power and therefore does not need three blower fans.

The machine is also rather heavy — it weighs 3.9 kilograms and has a thickness of 39.9 mm. Furthermore, beefed-up versions of the Sky X7C come with two 330 W PSUs, which are not easy to carry around.

Finally, the Eurocom Sky X4C is a 15.6” laptop that can integrate NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1060 or 1070 GPU, two 2.5”/9.5 mm storage drives, two M.2 SSDs, one TB3 port, four USB Type-A connectors and so on. Apart from dimensions, the main difference of the Sky X4C is pre-wired support for 4G/LTE WWAN module so it can be used to access the Internet where other laptops cannot.

At 3.4 kilograms, this machine is slightly lighter than its bigger brethren, though it is pretty thick as well at 38 mm. Meanwhile, even overclocked configurations of the Sky X4C do not consume more than 330 W, these DTR notebooks are a little more portable than the even larger models.

Eurocom Sky X*C-Series Laptops
  Sky X9C Sky X7C Sky X4C
Display Diagonal 17.3″ 15.6″
  Resolution 1920×1080
2560×1440
3840×2160		 1920×1080
3840×2160
  Refresh 60 or 120 Hz 60 Hz for 4K
120 Hz for FHD
CPU Up to Core i7-8700K(6C/12T, 12 MB, 3.7/4.7 GHz)
Graphics 2×GeForce GTX 1080
2×GeForce GTX 1070		 GeForce GTX 1080
GeForce GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1060
 		 GeForce GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1060
RAM Up to 64 GB DDR4-3000
Storage 2.5″ 2 × 2.5″/9.5mm 2 × 2.5″/9.5mm
M.2 3 × M2 PCIe 3.0 x4 2 × M2 PCIe 3.0 x4
Total Capacity 14 TB 12 TB unknown
Wi-Fi 802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.x
Ethernet 2 × Killer E2500 1 GbE Killer E2500 1 GbE Killer E2500 1 GbE
WWAN none Optional
USB 5 × USB 3.0 Type-A
2 × USB 3.1 Type-C (via TB3)		 4 × USB 3.0 Type-A
1 × USB 3.1 Type-C (via TB3)		 3 × USB 3.0 Type-A
1 × USB 2.0 Type-A
1 × USB 3.1 Type-C (via TB3)
Thunderbolt 2 × Thunderbolt 3 1 × Thunderbolt 3
Display Outputs 2 × DisplayPort 1.3
1 × HDMI 2.0
TB3 port
Keyboard Backlit keyboard
Other I/O Microphone, stereo speakers, audio jacks, webcam, subwoofer
Battery 89 Wh 89 Wh 82 Wh
PSU 330 W – 780 W 330 W or 2×330 W 230 W – 330 W
Dimensions Width 428 mm/17.1″ 418 mm/16.72″ 386 mm/15.44″
Depth 308 mm/12.3″ 295 mm/11.81″ 262 mm/10.48″
Thickness 47.2 mm/1.88″ 39.9mm/1.6″ 38 mm/1.52″
Weight 5.5 kg/12.1 lbs 3.9 kg/8.58 lbs 3.4 kg/7.48 lbs

Eurocom plans to start sales of the new Sky X C-series laptops based on Intel’s Coffee Lake processors on November 15, 2017. Pricing will vary as Eurocom will offer various configurations of the notebooks, but expect them to be on par with the previous-generation Eurocom Sky X E2-series machines available today.

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Intel Rebrands Kaby Lake Pentiums to Pentium Gold
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Intel Rebrands Kaby Lake Pentiums to Pentium Gold

Intel has announced plans to rebrand its current generation Pentium processors, and future generations, to ‘Pentium Gold’ chips. The rebranding reflects Intel’s intention to position the latest Pentium CPUs above the previous generation parts.

Starting from November 2nd, Intel’s boxed Pentium G4560, G4600, and G4620 processors will carry the Pentium Gold brand. These parts were launched in Q1 2017, and are dual-core CPUs with Hyper-Threading technology and an improved integrated GPU.

General Specifications of Intel’s Pentium G-Series Processors
Kaby Lake Skylake
  Cores Freq. L3 iGPU TDP   Cores Freq. L3 iGPU TDP
Gold G4620 2/4 3.7GHz 3MB i630 51W G4520 2/2 3.6GHz 3MB i530 51W
Gold G4600 3.6GHz G4500 3.5GHz
Gold G4560 3.5GHz i610 54W G4400 3.3GHz i510 54W
G4600T 3.0GHz i630 35W G4500T 3.0GHz i530 35W
G4560T 2.9GHz i610 G4400T 2.9GHz i510
HD Graphics 610: 12 EUs at 900 – 1100 MHz
HD Graphics 630: 24 EUs at 1000 – 1150 MHz		 HD Graphics 510: 12 EUs at 950 MHz
HD Graphics 530: 24 EUs at 1150 MHz

With the name changes also comes a slight branding and retail packaging update. The first is with their “Piggyback label” (included sticker attached to the instructions), which changes from the ‘PCB’ die map as a background to gold. Instead of saying Pentium inside, it now says Pentium Gold with the Intel name above it.

The outside of the retail packaging carton some changes are made as well. Where it used to simply say “Desktop Processor” now says “Intel Pentium Gold Desktop Processor.”

There are unofficial reports claiming that Intel is also preparing Pentium Silver products, thus splitting the desktop Pentium lineup into two groups. The Pentium Gold family evidently consists of the mainstream desktop (MSDT) processors based on the high-performance Core-branded microarchitecture. According to some reports, the Pentium Silver lineup will use the ultra-low power (ULP) codenamed Gemini Lake microarchitecture, but we cannot confirm this independently.

Taiwan Fines Qualcomm $773 Million for Antitrust Violations
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Taiwan Fines Qualcomm $773 Million for Antitrust Violations

Qualcomm’s global legal issues continue, as the Taiwanese Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) fined the company roughly $773 million (NT$23.4 billion) for illegal licensing and chip pricing practices. This development is yet another antitrust filing le…