Specifications

16
Eurocom D470K Python
Hardware Review
By Bob Clyne
DATA BUS
Associate Editor
The Eurocom D470K Python laptop
computer is marketed as a Desktop
Replacement. As such it is designed
more for performance than light weight
and long battery run time. It is designed
around the AMD Athlon64 processors,
VIA K8T800+VT8235CE chipset, ATI
Mobility Radeon 9700 AGP 8x video
chipset with a 14" wide screen, and a
102 key keyboard with a separate
numeric keypad. It has three USB 2.0
and one FireWire IEEE1394a ports, a
WebCam, and a modem. The sound is
surprisingly good for a laptop, with five
speakers plus a sub-woofer, but
remember, it is a laptop, and the sound
is nowhere as good as even a mid-line
powered desktop speaker set. The
networking is 10/100/gigabit LAN. The
battery run time is about 1.5 to 2 hours,
and the weight, including the AC
converter and power cord, is about 10
pounds. There is no internal floppy
drive. The current base price is $1599
U.S., but there are many options
available (more than are mentioned in
this article).
I opted for the Athlon64 3400+
Mobile processor, the next to the fastest
available. The available 3700+
processor is from AMD’s DTR line and
uses more battery power. I also chose
1 GiB of memory and the 60 GB 7200
RPM hard drive and the +/-R DVD
burner. I decided against the wireless
LAN, since I already had an 802.11A/
B/G PC Card. I also decided not to get
the TV tuner and the Bluetooth module.
I have had my unit for about a year
now and really like it. The display is
very good, and the performance is
excellent. The keyboard is good for a
laptop, but laptop keyboards are never
quite as easy to type on as desktop
keyboards. The computer has a
touchpad like just about all laptops, and
I may never get used to them. They
never seem to know when I mean to be
using them and when my hand is just
near them while reaching for the
keyboard. There is a utility to adjust the
touchpad configuration though, and
maybe I just need to spend more time
tweaking it. There is, of course, a place
to plug in a PS/2 keyboard and mouse,
but I usually have more than enough
stuff to carry. If you order the computer
with Windows, they install it, and you
get an actual Microsoft Windows install
disc. The D470K Python is designed to
be field upgradeable so you can add or
change most of the options without
sending it back to the factory.
I like the computer, but there are
some areas that I would like to see
improved. As you might expect for a
performance machine, the computer
generates a lot of heat, and there are fan
vents on the bottom. This isn’t a
problem if you place the computer on a
hard or uneven surface, but if you place
it on a soft surface, it tends to block the
air vents, and the machine overheats.
This tends to sneak up on you. I wish
they could do all the venting through
the sides.
Next on my wish list is easier battery
swaps. Not necessarily, hot-swaps, but
shut down, slide a catch, pop out the
battery, and slide the spare battery in.
My previous laptop computer was a
Hewlett Packard Omnibook 7100, and
it had that arrangement. On the D470K