Maingear Claims Most Powerful Gamer Notebook

Maingear's new eX-L 18 sports dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M GPUs, up to a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad CPU, and an 18.4-inch display.

Custom PC maker Maingear has unwrapped its new eX-L 18 notebook computer system…and claims it’s the most powerful gaming or desktop replacement rig on the planet. Leaving aside debate about what really constitutes a powerful system, there’s no denying the eX-L 18 brings the heat, sporting dual Nvidia GPUs with SLI, up to a 2.53 GHz Core 2 Extreme quad core processor, and a mammoth 18.4-inch LCD display with a native 1,920 by 1,080 resolution—plus capacity for heaps of RAM and storage.

“With the increasing demand for mobile high performance computing solutions, we wanted to offer our customers with the most powerful gaming desktop replacement possible” said Maingear CEO Wallace Santos, in a statement. “You’re able to get the same cutting edge technology available to desktop users in a balanced computing configuration that is ideal for today’s GPU computing environment .”

Maingear will customize eX-L 18 rigs to meet customer specs, but the options available are certainly tempting. The units can be equipped with Intel Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Extreme processors, up to 8 GB of RAM, as many as three 2.5-inch SATA or SSD drives (RAID configurations are possible), DVD or Blu-ray optical drives, and (of course) dual 1 GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M GPUS in an SLI configuration. The eX-L 18 also sports VGA and HDMI 1.3b video out, a 3 megapixel Webcam, and optional ATSC TV tuner, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 wireless networking, up to 7.1 digital audio output, along with three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, an ExpressCard slot, 1 eSATA port, and a 7-in-1 media card reader. The system also sports an illuminated keyboard with a separate numeric keypad, a full-size touchpad and instant access buttons for email, Web, and media playback control. The eX-L 18 is also available with Maingear’s M.A.R.C. custom laser etching technology: upload an image or logo, and Maingear will etch it on your notebook cover.

Does the eX-L 18 come cheap? Certainly not—prices start at $2,999.