Eurocom this week introduced its newest high-end desktop replacement mobile workstation, the Tornado F7W. Aimed at those who need desktop-class performance in a clamshell form-factor – with little heed to weight or power consumption – the new DTR packs in Intel’s latest eight-core desktop processors, 128 GB of memory, as well as NVIDIA’s flagship professional-grade GPU for notebooks.

Eurocom’s Tornado is the company’s flagship mobile workstation. The luggable computer comes in an aluminum + plastic chassis and is equipped with a 17.3-inch display panel (4Kp60 or 2Kp120). Under the hood, the machine is powered by Intel’s desktop-class (socketed) CPUs, as well as NVIDIA’s Quadro Mobile GPUs. In its top configuration, the Tornado F7W comes with Intel’s eight-core Core i9-9900K processor paired NVIDIA’s Quadro P5200 MXM module featuring 16 GB of GDDR5X memory. To cool down its two key components, the mobile workstation uses two cooling systems, each featuring a high-speed blower and five thick heat pipes.

The Tornado F7W can be equipped with up to 128 GB of DDR4-2667 memory, three M.2 PCIe SSDs, as well as two 2.5-inch storage devices for a total of 22 TB of storage space. Meanwhile, those machines powered by Xeon processors can also take advantage of ECC memory. Since the machine uses socketed CPUs, discrete MXM GPUs, SO-DIMMs, and M.2 SSDs, it can be easily upgraded after the purchase, just like a desktop PC.

Moving on to connectivity. the Tornado F7W can be equipped with Intel’s Wireless-AC 8265 supporting 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2, Rivet’s Killer Wireless-AC 1535 featuring 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.1, or Intel’s Wireless-AC 9260 supporting 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.

On the physical side of things, the system has one GbE port (controlled by the Intel I219-LM to enable vPro and remoted management for Xeon-powered machines), five USB 3.0 Type-A connectors, one Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C port, two display outputs (HDMI 2.0, mDP), an SD card slot, a SmartCard reader, and 5.1-channel audio connectors. Obviously, the laptop also has a keyboard with a keypad, a 2MP webcam, integrated speakers, and so on.

Since the Eurocom Tornado F7W is a mobile workstation, it has to support workstation-class security. Therefore, the machine comes with a pre-installed TPM 2.0 module, optional BIOS-enabled disk encryption, a fingerprint scanner, a SmartCard reader, and a security lock. For those who want an ultimate security/privacy, Eurocom offers machines without a webcam, microphone, and WLAN/BT.

Time to talk about portability and battery life. The Tornado F7W comes equipped with a 90 Wh battery that the manufacturer affectionately calls "a built-in UPS". Eurocom does not assign an actual battery life rating to the device, but then this isn't a machine that's intended to be away from a power outlet for long. The machine is 51 mm thick and weighs 4.14 kilograms, so it is portable but not especially easy to carry around. For mainstream configurations Eurocom offers a 330 W PSU that weighs 1.24 kilograms (making the effective weight of the PC about 5.4 kilograms), but for ultra-high-end configs the company also has a 780 W PSU that weighs 1.7 kilograms.

Eurocom’s Tornado F7W is already available for order at the company’s website. The cheapest configuration with a Full-HD 120 Hz LCD, Intel’s Xeon E2176G, NVIDIA’s Quadro P3000, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB HDD retails for $3,499. Once the system is beefed up for maximum performance and storage redundancy, the price of the Tornado F7W skyrockets to $14,000 and can actually go all the way to $20,500.

General Specifications of Eurocom Tornado F7W
  m452
Display Diagonal 17.3"
General Specifications 1920×1080, 120 Hz, TN, 3 ms, 94% NTSC
3840×2160, 60 Hz, IPS, 400 nits, 100% Adobe RGB
CPU Core i7-8700
Core i7-8700K
Core i7-8086K
Core i7-9700K
Core i9-9900K
Xeon E2176G
Xeon E2186G
PCH Intel C246
Graphics NVIDIA Quadro P3000
NVIDIA Quadro P3200
NVIDIA Quadro P4000
NVIDIA Quadro P4200
NVIDIA Quadro P5000
NVIDIA Quadro P5200
RAM 16 GB DDR4-2133 ECC (single channel)
32 GB DDR4-2133 ECC (dual channel)
64 GB DDR4-2133 ECC (dual channel)
64 GB DDR4-2667 (dual channel)
128 GB DDR4-2667 (dual channel)
Storage 2.5" 2 × 2.5"/9.5mm
M.2 3 × M2 PCIe 3.0 x4
Total Capacity 22 TB
Wireless Intels Wireless-AC 8265 - 802.11ac Wi-Fi (867 Gbps) + Bluetooth 4.2
Rivet Killer 1535 - 802.11ac Wi-Fi (867 Gbps) + Bluetooth 4.1
Intel Wireless-AC 9260 - 802.11ac Wi-Fi (up to 1.73 Gbps) + Bluetooth 5
Ethernet Intel I219-LM
WWAN none
USB 5 × USB 3.0 Type-A
1 × USB 3.1 Type-C (via TB3)
Thunderbolt 1 × Thunderbolt 3
Display Outputs 1 × Mini DisplayPort 1.3
1 × HDMI 2.0
TB3 port
Keyboard Backlit keyboard
Other I/O Microphone, stereo speakers, audio jacks, webcam, fingerprint reader, SD card reader, SmartCard reader, etc.
Battery 90 Wh
PSU 330 W - 780 W (1.24 - 1.7 kilograms)
Dimensions Width 428 mm | 17.12"
Depth 314 mm | 12.56"
Thickness 51 mm | 2.04"
Weight 4.14 kg | 9.1 lbs

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Source: Eurocom

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  • kultivat3 - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    2x 8TB 2.5" spinners and 3x 2TB m.2 SSD
  • PeachNCream - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    It seems lacking in practical applications. Someone would have to certainly stretch reality quite a bit to even find relatively weak justifications to purchase a system like this.
  • twtech - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    Consultants and other workers who need to move from place to place, but also need a lot of computing power may be attracted to this. It's easier to move around than even a small discrete workstation + separate keyboard and monitor.
  • PeachNCream - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    They'd be better served with a more conventional mobile workstation like a Dell Precision or somesuch, getting most of the performance in a much more practical package.
  • IBM760XL - Sunday, November 11, 2018 - link

    Speaking as one of those consultants, it depends. I stay in a different location, and if I were going to make use of the extra (mostly CPU) power this offers, it would me much more convenient to travel with than a desktop. But you're right that if the extra power is not going to be used, something like a Precision is more practical.

    Many weeks I travel with a mobile workstation that is 17" and weighs 8.4 pounds/3.82 kg - not a whole lot less than this, and given the age of its battery, it might lose in away-from-socket life to this one. Add in the MBP that I also carry for work at times, and the weight is more than this.

    I don't personally need this much power, spent far less than $3500 on this workstation a few years ago, and will likely be switching to something more "balanced" in the near future. But I can see how if someone were using this as their only machine, and was using the power, it could make sense in a role where you were traveling frequently, but not doing any of that work while on battery.
  • twtech - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    Because all of the 17" and larger laptops have a number pad, and I hate off-center keyboards for ergonomic reasons, it restricts my potential buying choices to the 15" and smaller units.

    It seems like for something this size, swappable keyboard units should be possible/practical.
  • willis936 - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    Regardless of the other comments I have to say I am rather impressed with being able to fit so much stuff into a 9.1 lb package. Obviously it will be thermally constrained to all hell and the battery is mostly there as a courtesy. The only thing that concerns me is the price. It seems very low compared to the BOM and the necessary engineering cost of a niche product like this. I would guess there are severely cut corners in build quality. After having a cheapo ideapad for a few years I can say that money spent on build quality is not a waste, at any price point.
  • Flunk - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    Looks like a lumpy "gaming" laptop spraypainted black with the RGBs removed. I don't see how this could compete with dedicated mobile workstations from the big laptop makers.
  • 0ldman79 - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    I'd love to see that thing reviewed.

    I imagine throttling would be an issue, to the point that it probably throttles by design before it hit's Intel's limits. I'm sure it can be unlocked, but wow...
  • win32asmguy - Saturday, November 10, 2018 - link

    I have an MSI WT75, which is the same as the Tornado F7W, but sold direct from MSI similar to the GT75. I installed a 9900k in it and with some tweaking it can reach 4.7ghz on 8-cores, no AVX, basically stock turbo performance.

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