Custom PC builder Maingear has launched a new 17-inch desktop replacement notebook, fully equipped with today's finest hardware. There are three base models of the eX-L 17, one which uses an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870, another with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 480M, and the last uses an Nvidia Quadro FX 2800M. All of the systems come with your choice of five laser-etched designs and are priced at $1,900, $2,500 and $3,000, respectively.
Besides the GPU, little if anything else varies between each model. They're all available with a 17.3-inch 1080p display, five Core i5 and i7 processors (i5-520M through the i7-820QM), 4GB or 8GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM, up to two mechanical (750GB max) or solid-state storage (512GB max) drives, a DVD burner or Blu-ray reader, a 2.0-megapixel webcam, and Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate 64-bit.
There is one thing that differs between the machines, which is that only the GTX 480M version comes with USB 3.0 ports. Other connectivity includes HDMI and DVI-out, IEEE-1394 Firewire, eSATA, S/PDIF-out, a 7-in-1 card reader, an ExpressCard 34/54 slot, a 56k modem, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, as well as audio jacks. All three variants of the eX-L 17 are available right now with an estimated ship date of July 7.
